Cooking For Kings: Club Des Chefs Des Chefs

It is likely the most exclusive food fraternity in the world. There is only one condition for membership – you must be head chef to a head of state. This elite group is virtually unknown to outsiders, but its 30-odd members include the chefs to US President Barack Obama, the Queen of England, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Prince Albert of Monaco, China’s Great Hall of the People and the Kremlin. Each country has just one delegate (China being the exception with two) and convenes annually in a member country to learn about new cuisines, to exchange information on their bosses’ dining preferences, and of course, to commiserate on the trials and tribulations inherent in feeding the world’s most powerful people. This year, they met in Beijing.

According to its founder, Gilles Bragard, the club’s mission over its 30 years of existence has been to promote each member nation’s food culture and to foster friendly cooperation amongst member chefs. “It is over the table that people form friendships, even world leaders,” said Bragard. “So the role of these chefs is paramount in helping to maintain good international relations.” While that might be a slight overstatement, it is undeniably a daunting job, and the stakes high.

Leaders come and go, but entertaining (thus food) remains an unchanging and important feature of political life. In fact, many of these chefs have cooked at the presidential residences or palaces for years. Bernard Vaussion has cooked for five French presidents over 34 years at the Élysée; Cristeta Comerford entered the White House under the Clintons and now feeds the Obamas. And their job is not easy. Each chef must have the versatility to handle both family meals and formal state dinners. Mark Flanagan of the UK, for instance, is not just in charge of the Queen’s scones, but also heads a massive team spread over five palaces that cooks for both the royal family as well as the palace staff. Sri Lanka’s Rohan Fernandopulle once oversaw a state dinner for over 2,000 people.

One of the purposes of those state dinners is to showcase the nation’s best products and produce. As Christian Garcia, who serves Prince Albert II of Monaco, explained, it is the chef’s duty to make the head of state proud of their country’s cuisine. However, the political nature of feeding, well, politicians, requires more savvy than a typical banquet. National pride is important, Garcia said, but it is equally essential to respect the traditions of other countries. Comerford gave the exampleof a Japanese state visit, during which she incorporated ginger into the menu. She said she must “take into consideration flavors indicative of the visiting country, to honor those guests. But we will still cook in the best of American tradition, so it is still American hospitality.” In essence, her challenge is to marry American style and ingredients with a food element that state visitors hold dear.

Though they entertain the world’s most influential people, at heart the Chefs des Chefs are private chefs. It is illuminating to hear that they consider their primary responsibility to be the health of their head of state. For example, most people may see the White House as a monument, but to the Obamas, it’s also a home. Thus, Comerford feels her duty in the kitchen is to ensure that “whatever is going on out there in the political world, there is still a home for [the President] … a healthy home with healthy meals.” Oliver Bartsch of Canada echoes this sentiment by cooking only light lunches – as heavy meals would only tire out a prime minister who already works long hours.

As for tips on cooking for the world’s power brokers, Hilton Little, chef for South Africa’s presidents, supplied a few. One must not serve food that is hard to eat (i.e. escargot, fish with bones) or hard to eat elegantly (e.g. oysters, ribs); nor should one try to overdo it. For all its pomp, a state dinner is also a meal at someone’s home, so it is more important to put guests at ease with comfortable foods rather than aiming for ostentatious displays of culinary virtuosity.

Speaking of comfort foods, these chefs are naturally very well-versed in their employers’ eating habits. According to Little, Nelson Mandela’s favorite food is stewed oxtail. The other chefs divulged that former French President Jacques Chirac loves Chinese food, Canadian Prime Minster Stephen Harper enjoys simple barbecue the most, and Barack Obama is a fan of dim sum, particularly shaomai. But not all chefs were as forthcoming –in fact, many refused to name favorite dishes. Flanagan quipped that it’s not allowed, lest the Queen be served the same “favorite dish” at every dinner out thereafter.