Hail To the Chef!
Filipina in the White House!
For the Filipina White House chef, serving homegrown vegetables straight from the garden is just like preparing food in her native Philippines _ healthy and simple.
Filipina-American Cristeta Pasia-Comerford, the first woman, first minority and first Filipina to serve as the executive chef in the White House, credited the first lady for making sure her family eats steamed, organic vegetables from the garden Michelle Obama planted in April.
"Mrs. Obama is a very hands-on person when it comes ... to knowing healthy meals for the family," Comerford told a news conference Monday in Manila.
She is one of three to be honored this year by the Bank of the Philippines as an outstanding Filipino overseas. The honor will be formally awarded on Tuesday.
The naturalized American said that picking food from the garden reminds her of summers spent at her grandmother's house in the Philippines' Bulacan province.
The Obamas' Filipina chef at home with healthy ways
"They like simple meals, they like simple food," she said of the first family.
The first lady had said earlier that she and Comerford shared a "perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families."
The chef refused to answer specific questions about the Obamas' favorite foods and eating habits.
Comerford, who also served under former President George W. Bush, studied French cooking in Vienna, Austria, and specializes in ethnic and American cuisine.
A True Filipina!
Cristeta Comerford was born in 1962, as Cristeta Pasia in the Philippines and grew up in Sampaloc, Manila. She completed her secondary education at the Manila Science High School. She attended the University of the Philippines, Diliman in Quezon City and majored in food technology. However, she did not earn her degree because she had left school to immigrate to the United States.
Cristeta and Michelle...
First Barkadas!
Don’t be surprised if Filipina-American White House chef Cristeta Pasia-Comerford becomes First Lady Michelle Obama’s Barkada (best friend) at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
According to Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre (of The Filipino Reporter), the First Lady is said to be extra chummy with the Pinay (Filipina) chef she now calls “Cris,” from the day the two met when then outgoing First Lady Laura Bush introduced them to each other late last year, with Mrs. Bush heaping praises on Cristeta’s culinary expertise, as well as her warmth and grace.
In the latest issue of Vogue magazine, Mrs. Obama mentioned that she wanted to get to know more about the Manila-born chef who has become a celebrity herself, being the first woman and first minority (and First Filipina) executive chef in the history of the White House.
“Just a month after the Obamas moved to the presidential residence, Cristeta has already mastered some of the likes and dislikes of the First Family when it comes to appetite,” said Edmund who recently interviewed Cristeta.
In a report by Entertainment Tonight (E.T.), the UP-educated Cristeta said First Daughters Sasha and Malia Obama don’t always want to eat their green food.
“The chef says First Lady Michelle Obama enjoys creamed spinach but the girls are not as crazy about the dish,” reports E.T. “Mrs. Obama told Cristeta, ‘Sasha still didn’t like it … and sometimes (the) kids are like, ‘it’s green.’”
Cristeta told Edmund that the kitchen staff “is still working on cooking for youngsters but as for President Barack Obama’s favorite dish, he loves scallops!”
“The family favorite of the Obamas is the White House huckleberry cobbler,” according to Cristeta.
Last Feb. 22, the First Lady opened the White House kitchen to six culinary students so they could learn about preparations for a big official dinner.
Wrote Edmund, “Mrs. Obama was joined by Cristeta, executive pastry chef Bill Yosses and social secretary Desiree Rogers. They toured the students to the kitchen and guided them through the menu and planning for Pres. Obama’s first state dinner that night for the National Governors Association’s winter meeting in Washington, D.C. ‘This is where the magic happens,’ Mrs. Obama told the students from the L’Academie de Cuisine in nearby Gaithersburg, Maryland, as they gathered in the main kitchen.”
Mrs. Obama told them about the value she places on fresh and regionally-grown food.
“That’s one of the things that we’re talking a lot about, you know, when you grow something yourself and it’s close and it’s local, oftentimes it tastes really good,” she said. That’s especially important, she added when trying to get kids to eat vegetables.
Added Edmund, “Cristeta told me that Mrs. Obama stood beside her and later allowed her to do the talking for the students. Cristeta said that she patiently answered questions like how to get a job in the White House kitchen and if she sources local ingredients, while Mrs. Obama looked in awe.”
The soft-spoken Pinay from Sampaloc, Manila, now lives in Columbia, Maryland, with her husband, John, also a chef; and their daughter, Danielle.
Cristeta also told Edmund that she designed the menu for the governors dinner to reflect the season and represent the American spirit. It included beef from Nebraska, red dragon carrots from Ohio, sea scallops from Massachusetts and watermelon radishes grown in the Washington area. The dessert featured huckleberries from Idaho.
“Mrs. Obama was asked what her favorite dishes served from the White House kitchen were,” continued Edmund, “and she said that the waffles and grits at breakfast were particular family favorites. She also praised the soups and salads served for lunch.”
Cris was retained as the administration’s head chef last Jan. 9, with Mrs. Obama stating, “Also the mom of a young daughter, I appreciate our shared perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families.”
Town Hall - Obamas' Filipina chef at home with healthy ways
Source: http://townhall.com/news/world/2009/08/24/obamas_filipina_chef_at_home_with_healthy_ways
PhilStar
Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=447136&publicationSubCategoryId=70
