Pierre Chambrin (born September 13, 1947) was the

White House Executive Chef The White House executive chef is the individual responsible for managing the kitchens, and for planning and preparing of all menus and meals for the president of the United States and the first family, which includes their private meals, their ...

from 1989 to 1994.

Early life and career

Chambrin was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on September 13, 1947. He received his culinary education at the Ecole des Metiers de l'alimentation, which he attended from 1961 to 1963. He moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1969 and opened a restaurant in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. In 1979 Chambrin took over the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

restaurant Maison Blanche, located near the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

White House

Chambrin was appointed under the presidency of George H. W. Bush to succeed Hans Raffert. Under the Clinton administration, a group of prominent American chefs, led by

Alice Waters Alice Louise Waters (born April 28, 1944) is an American chef, restaurateur, and author. In 1971 she opened Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant famous for its role in creating the farm-to-table movement and for pioneering Californi ...

, sent a letter to the White House urging an appointment of a chef who would "promote American cooking," although Chambrin stated that he was already using American ingredients and that his first concern was food quality.

Ruth Reichl Ruth Reichl (; born 1948), is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''The New York Times'', Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and ...

defended the chef in an article in the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

, calling him "enthusiastic about just about everything organic, and so excited by the idea of seasonality," and pointing out that it was not the norm for new administrations to appoint a new chef. In March 1994, however, Chambrin resigned after a push from the administration to impose newer health standards, specifically using food with less fat, a standard that Chambrin was unwilling to conform to. It was widely reported that he was asked to resign, although he says that this is not the case and it was his own decision. Chambrin's staff of three chefs left the White House with him. He was succeeded by

Walter Scheib Walter Stanley Scheib III (May 3, 1954 – June 13, 2015) was an American chef who was White House Executive Chef from 1994 until 2005. Early life and work Early life Scheib was born on May 3, 1954, in Oakland, California, to Walter S. Sche ...

Later career

After leaving the White House, Chambrin became the executive chef at the Saint Louis Club in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. The Maitres Cuisiniers de France named him "Chef of the Year" in 2008, and the Academie Culinaire de France bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on him in 2013.

Personal life

Chambrin has been married to his wife Linda since 1977 and has two children Sabrina (John) Jureidini and Pierre (Giselle) Chambrin and three grandchildren. He became a

United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

in 1977.

References

External links

Website of the St. Louis Club
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambrin, Pierre White House Executive Chefs American male chefs 1947 births Living people French emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States Chefs from Washington, D.C.