Bayless as Salahi 2.0: The chef seemed more interested in serving his own career than his President and First Lady
When Chicagoan Rick Bayless was invited to be the guest chef for Wednesday’s State Dinner with Mexico, he was offered both the absolute highest honor an American can have–the opportunity to serve his country–and the highest honor an American chef can achieve. But since announcing his post to the world via a story in the New York Times in mid-May, Bayless has turned his service to his country and to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama into a disconcerting personal publicity junket. It’s been a stew of hubris, a lack of discretion, and breaching of White House tradition, which included stepping on Mrs. Obama’s role as First Lady.

It began the moment Bayless started spilling State Dinner details to the Times, and continued with his use of Twitter, where he’s been tweeting about the White House since May 12. As the star of the self-created drama of “Twittergate,” Bayless has made sure that the State Dinner was more about him, rather than the larger diplomatic/social mission he was charged with helping create. For future White House guests chefs, Bayless stands as an object lesson in everything not to do when called to serve the country.

White House chefs wear a crest that’s a version of the presidential eagle on their formal chefs’ whites, with little American flags on the collars. They are literally serving their country, and their president. Many of those working in the White House kitchen are long-time vets, with multiple decades of service. The guest chefs who are invited to share this honor are given the opportunity to join a very small, elite corps of highly talented individuals who are literally creating culinary history. The State Dinner with Mexico was a diplomatic event of the utmost importance, set against a backdrop of political tension. Bayless’ behavior has been a low moment in the context of the long history of the White House culinary corps. (Top of post: The First Couple with Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón and Mrs. Margarita Zavala, at the formal arrival for the State Dinner; above: The crest on Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford’s jacket; the other White House chefs have a version that has a darker blue)

Everything was perfect…until Bayless became Salahi 2.0
From a menu that encompassed both the First Lady’s commitment to local, regional and sustainable foods and the cuisine of the honored guests, to the dramatic yet whimsical reception tent filled with hundreds of airborne butterflies in a nod to President Calderón’s birthplace…the White House social staff, led by Social Secretary Julianna Smoot, thought of everything for the event. Staff worked tirelessly, and achieved something very close to perfection. They created an elegant, memorable evening presented by the President and First Lady, spotlighting the best that is America, and celebrating the crucial relationship between the US and Mexico. (Bayless, above)

And as the star of Twittergate, Chef Bayless has been the source of the only bad headlines–and there have been many–for the State Dinner. After months of negative publicity following the first State Dinner of the administration, this one was also the chance for the White House to hit the social reset button. But Bayless became Salahi 2.0, this State Dinner’s version of the crashers who marred the first State Dinner. There’s now no talking about the State Dinner with Mexico without talking about Bayless and Twittergate. And post-dinner, he’s hitting the talk show circuit, and his little scandal during what should have been his silent, shining moment of service, with the President and First Lady in the spotlight, will continue to be discussed. That didn’t have to be the case.

The root of the problem…
Twittergate officially began when Lynn Sweet reported in Chicago Sun-Times that Bayless was breaching protocol and posting White House information on Twitter, and noted that he’d been asked by the White House to stop. Bayless protested–on Twitter–that Sweet “made up” the story, saying that he’d never tweeted from the White House, and that he hadn’t been instructed by anyone in the White House to stop the potentially security-breaching behavior. (A Bayless tweet, above)

The location of where the Tweeting originated wasn’t the critical point. Sweet’s point was that Bayless was leaking White House info on Twitter–and he certainly was. For the record, the White House frowns on tweets about or coming from the kitchen. There’s a good risk of accidentally breaching the food security protocols that are in place to protect the president.

Thursday afternoon, after a period of laudable Twitter silence, with no more comments about the White House and the State Dinner, Bayless roared back with ten new Tweets in a row– “correcting the record” about the White House and Twittergate once again–just in case anyone had managed to forget it.

Bayless tweeted: All made up rumors of my WH Twitter posting have become tiresome. Wanna know the truth? Here goes (not nearly as titilllating as the rumors). He then gave seven points of “truth” about his drama. Clearly, Bayless was well aware he’d caused a big stir in the blogosphere and in the media. If he had any discretion, Bayless would not have tweeted about the White House again, following Round 1 of Twittergate. And sure, in one of his tweets he notes that he was honored to be chosen to be a guest chef…but that just doesn’t make up for the rest of it.

There’s also the question: Why did Bayless originally post Lynn Sweet’s story in his Twitter stream, if it was so offensive? Clearly, Bayless likes publicity, good or bad. And was it perhaps to remind everyone that Rick Bayless is the most important thing about the State Dinner, not the President and First Lady’s efforts at critical diplomatic outreach?

Hubris: The art of the leak in the New York Times, and overstepping his bounds
To compound matters, Bayless wasn’t just blurting White House details on Twitter. The leaking and protocol breaching started with the Times story. In what is a fairly historic act of hubris, Bayless overran Mrs. Obama’s prerogative as State Dinner hostess when he told the Times on May 12 some of what he would be cooking as guest chef.

Traditionally, the East Wing releases all menu details on behalf of the First Lady, or the First Lady hosts a menu preview for media to discuss foods and china, etc., on the day of the State Dinner. But Bayless announced, a week in advance of the event, that he’d be preparing Oaxacan black mole, part of the evening’s entree, and herb green ceviche. He even went so far as to provide the Times with the recipe for the ceviche–and he was photographed for the paper with the done dish (above).

And then Bayless tweeted about it, proclaiming: “One of the dishes im serving at the State Dinner!” (sic)

For contrast, when White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses was interviewed in a different story in the Times, in the same week, and queried about the desserts he’d be prepping for the State Dinner, Yosses stuck strictly to protocol.

“This is Mrs. Obama’s house,” Yosses gently pointed out. “It’s not my place to say what dessert she might serve.”

Another breach
Bayless also told the Times that Yosses would be using locally sourced strawberries for his desserts. Not satisfied with the Times and Twitter, Bayless gave an interview to NPR, further embellishing on his menu plans. And in the same Times piece, Bayless breached protocol further by announcing the head count for the State Dinner. Again, that’s something that’s not revealed by the East Wing until the day of the event, when the list of expected attendees is made public late in the afternoon.

Bayless on shortcomings of the White House kitchen
Bayless was tweeting about the White House even before he arrived in DC. The tweets continued after he got to Washington, because in the midst of what was supposed to be his service to his country, Bayless was publicly lamenting all the “problems” the White House was presenting for him. To the Times, and on Twitter and elsewhere, Bayless worried that the White House couldn’t find the “rare” ingredients he needed (really? It’s the White House), he mentioned that he was worried about the size of the White House kitchen (too small!), he complained that he couldn’t send his own food into the White House, he noted that it was a battle to be allowed to bring in his own knives.

In a post-dinner interview given to Esquire after the last bite of State Dinner Wagyu beef had been consumed, Bayless continued the complaining, and said that the only problem he had with creating the dinner was the junky jello the White House gave him:

“They got us this gelatin that we’d never worked with before,” Bayless said. “And the little jellies didn’t ever set up. We had to remake them twice before we got them to do what we wanted them to do.”

But, Bayless adds, he made it all work in the end, despite the incompetence of the White House. And he spent a lot of print inches worrying about his mole sauce, too.

“They’re not used to making those kinds of things in the White House,” Bayless told Esquire. “So I was concerned about whether they would know good quality from bad quality. So I sent them a care package of all the different specialized ingredients. And they got it.”

Again, really? Bayless sent food into the White House? Both the act of sending and the idea of bringing outside food in are unlikely. And why the public tweeting about the White House having difficult finding his ingredients, if Bayless had sent ingredients in? This is not a question I’m going to ask the White House to confirm or clarify; I know enough about food security protocol to understand that questions about food sourcing get a “no comment.” You’ll note on the State Dinner menu that the Wagyu beef for the entree is identified as from “Oregon,” but there’s no farm named.

For the record, the White House has hosted seven different State Dinners for Mexico. Not to mention the fact that both President Bushes and President Lyndon B. Johnson were Texans, and huge fans of Mexican food, which was routinely created in the White House kitchen. And there’s probably no cuisine that “can’t” be cooked at the White House.

Adios, Rick Bayless…vaya con Dios
The White House has nothing to do with Bayless’ bad behavior, obviously. Everything for the State Dinner was planned perfectly, and the event was superb. Unfortunately, the chef’s behavior couldn’t be planned for.

And Bayless seems entirely unaware that he’s done anything wrong, too. In one of his “correcting the record” tweets from Thursday, Bayless wrote “State Dinner@WH went off without hitch.Flavors were mine…”.

Without a hitch? Bayless himself is the hitch.

Another tweet from the same series (above) makes no sense. If Bayless understands security and privacy…why would he continue to tweet about the White House–when he was already aware that he’d caused a big, negative stir??

In the end, it’s Bayless who will get burned by a situation that’s become a little too hot to handle. The White House has become the center of America’s culinary landscape. Many of the high-profile chefs who have been invited to serve their country by cooking at the White House are welcomed back again and again. Chefs Art Smith, Bobby Flay, and Jose Andres have each been guest chefs multiple times. Bayless, who in skill may be the equal of his peers, is not their equal in discretion. He will be the one chef who doesn’t get called to serve his country again.

That’s a prediction, but I’d bet the Blackberry I tweet from on it, wink wink wink.

If Bayless returns to the White House during the Obama years–I’ll eat that Blackberry. Topped with some Oaxacan mole, and a side dish of green ceviche.

For the record, the White House has declined to comment on Bayless.

Note:
To clarify about the White House and Twitter: As noted in this post, non-kitchen visitors who arrive at the White House for certain meetings are sometimes asked to surrender their phones, or specifically instructed not to Tweet. Journalists, including this one, use Twitter at the White House. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton do, too. But there’s a big difference between journalists tweeting, and a guest chef who is dishing up privileged info to the world. Especially if it involves a potential security breach or privacy issue–as discussing White House food protocol necessarily does. Tweeting from the White House kitchen is frowned upon.

Photos: Formal arrival at top of post and crest by Obama Foodorama; Ceviche by New York Times; Bayless from publicity

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1st Annual Open House & Walkathon
May 27, 6-8pm

Come join the students, parents and teachers from Peterson Middle School for our first Open House & Walkathon. Come cheer the kids on as they make their laps around the Farm! We need to double our Children’s Education Garden for the upcoming school year. Proceeds will go towards new garden beds and an irrigation system. With your help, we know we can “dig in” and make it happen.

Don’t miss our Farm “Science” Faire where we will be showing off the creative and ingenious projects of our 6th and 7th grade students!

For more information, call 408-394-1464

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On Tuesday, First Lady Michelle Obama will reveal to America the way forward in her Let’s Move! campaign, when she unveils the much-anticipated report from the White House Task Force on Child Obesity. Mrs. Obama will be joined by Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes, who chairs the high-level advisory group, and both will make remarks during the morning event. They’ll be accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries and other Task Force members.

On April 9, during the first-ever White House Summit on Child Obesity, Mrs. Obama called the Task Force report “a very important road map” for the future of Let’s Move!, and noted that it will contain goals, benchmarks, and measurable outcomes for the initiative, which will “help us collectively tackle this challenge.”

The Task Force, another first, was created two months before the Summit, when President Obama signed a memorandum on February 9, the day Mrs. Obama formally launched her campaign. In the memo, President Obama charged Task Force members with “accelerating” the implementation of successful strategies to prevent and combat child obesity, once these strategies are identified.

Who will be at the unveiling….
Members of the task force who will be present on Tuesday include Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan, Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle, Small Business Administrator Karen G. Mills, and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz. All will be available to take questions from reporters following the presentation of the report, but Mrs. Obama will not be available for the Q & A. What’s the FTC and SBA doing on the Task Force? Let’s Move! is an administration-wide initiative, and the approach is “all hands on deck,” which Barnes noted during her remarks at the Summit.

The White House Child Obesity Summit
And speaking of the Summit, that, too, was included in the President’s directives when the Task Force was established. Mrs. Obama and Barnes hosted the Summit, which gathered together 101 invited participants from across the country. These included health and food policy activists and advocates, corporate food executives, medical professionals, representatives from the diet and eating disorders sector, representatives from non-profits, fitness experts, and two chefs who have created model school lunch programs.

Administration officials from twelve agencies were present, and those who joined Mrs. Obama on stage during her formal remarks included Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, OMB Director Peter Orszag, and Duncan. Each made their own brief remarks. Orszag’s comment from the stage could, unfortunately, be a slogan for Let’s Move!. Positing that obesity causes premature aging, Orszag said, only half-jokingly: “Forty may be the new 30; but if you’re obese, 40 is the new 60.” (Above: Mrs. Obama during her remarks; from l, Duncan, Salazar, Benjamin, Merrigan, Orszag)

During break-out sessions led by members of the administration, participants gave their input on a wide range of issues and initiatives, from federal nutrition programs to pre-natal impact on child health.

The Task Force report unveiling will be held in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus,at 10:30 AM ET.

*Photos by Obama Foodorama

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CNN’s Ed Henry is both dinner host and reporter, on a day when President Obama speaks out about roll of press
On Saturday, President Obama spent a good bit of time being Media Critic in Chief, and discussing the role of the press in democracy, and the need for separating opinion from fact, in a new-media environment in which information travels at lightening speed. The President’s remarks came just as First Lady Michelle Obama made a little bit of media history, when she sent her very first Tweet as First Lady, from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, an event that’s sometimes criticized for blurring the line between reporters and their subjects.

Mrs. Obama’s Tweet was courtesy of a reporter who she was very close to on Saturday–CNN’s Ed Henry, who joined her at the head table at the dinner. Henry had a bit of a blurry role at the dinner: He was simultaneously reporting it–with live-Tweets all night–and hosting it, as Secretary of the organization. A somewhat legendary Tweeter, Henry (@edhenrycnn ) got photos of the event that no one else did, and was sharing insider infro with the world all night.

The annual dinner, held at the Washington Hilton, is DC’s glitziest affair, and this year was attended by about 2,700 journalists, Hollywood celebs, and politicos. The WHCA was originally created to safeguard reporters’ access to the White House, but the dinner–and the weekend surrounding it, which is filled with all kinds of pre- and post-parties–can’t help but fudge the line between reporters and their subjects, because everyone’s mingling together. The blurring is the topic of critical conversation in town every year, but only one major media entity routinely sits the dinner out–the New York Times. And Henry himself does double duty as reporter and celeb; he’s now highly recognizable as CNN’s main White House correspondent, sending daily reports from the North Lawn, and traveling with the President when he goes abroad–and even when the First Couple vacations. (Above: Mrs. Obama and the President at the dinner)

Of course Mrs. Obama’s Tweet was with the blessing of Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who was also seated at the head table. Gibbs is in charge of approving things like FLOTUS Tweets, and Henry noted Gibbs’ blessing for the First Lady’s virgin Twitter outing, in a separate Tweet. From his seat at the head table, Henry also tweeted a photo of comic Jay Leno getting ready to take to the podium and perform, and later, also on Twitter, criticized Leno’s less-than comic stylings. Before dinner started, Henry got some good shots of the President and First Lady during a VIP cocktail reception, too. (Above: A Henry photo during dinner; comic Chevy Chase leans in to talk to the President)

Henry got better access than the President’s pool
At a time when the press corps has been regularly criticizing the White House for lack of access, Henry enjoyed far more access to the President and Mrs. Obama on Saturday than the president’s own dedicated press pool for the evening. In an e-mail sent by the White House press office to all reporters who cover the White House, the pooler noted this during the dinner.

“We are in the servant’s section next to the stage and have no blackberry access – so don’t expect real-time updates, I’m afraid,” was included in a pool e mail. There weren’t real time updates, except for Henry’s Tweets, and he wasn’t on official pool duty. Plenty of other non-pool reporters who were guests at the dinner were Tweeting all night too, as were celebs and regular old citizens, but Henry was right next to the President and First Lady, so his are now historic. Especially because he got Mrs. Obama’s first “official” Tweet.

Media Critic in Chief
The evening-long “Henry Project” was especially interesting, given President Obama’s day of being Media Critic in Chief.

In the morning, when speaking to a crowd estimated by the White House to be about 92,000 strong at the commencement ceremony at the University of Michigan, President Obama discussed the role of a responsible media in democracy, noting that blogs and social media and the instantaneous transmission of information can lead to a confusion between opinion and fact. He urged a higher degree of responsibility, observing that a volatile media environment is making people reluctant to enter public service, as well as poisoning the well of public debate. It’s a theme the President–and Gibbs–have embroidered on frequently in public remarks. On April 18, Gibbs suggested (among other things) during an appearance on CNN that reporters stop using unnamed sources when doing White House reporting. And he spoke about press relations with the White House, too, noting reporters’ discontent. (Above: Henry tweeted this photo of the President and First Lady with actor Alec Baldwin, taken during the VIP reception)

In his remarks during the WHCA dinner, the President returned to the subject of the media vs. democracy, and took comedic pot shots at the press, noting how various outlets had covered his activities.

“A few weeks ago I was able to throw out the first pitch at the Nationals game,” President Obama said. “And I don’t know if you saw it, but I threw it a little high and a little outside. This is how FOX News covered it: “President panders to extreme left-wing of batter box.” On the other hand, MSNBC had a different take — “President pitches no-hitter.” And then CNN went a different way altogether — [a video was shown about the volcano eruption in Iceland] — I guess that’s why they’re the most trusted name in news.”

The President spent a lot of time taking fun jabs at Politico’s coverage of his administration, too, in a less than flattering light (for Politico), but he closed by noting that dinner attendees were both “seasoned veterans who have been on the political beat for decades,” while others “began their careers as bloggers not long ago,” the President suggested (hoped?) that “every single reporter in this room believes deeply in the enterprise of journalism.”

“Every one of you, even the most cynical among you, understands and cherishes the function of a free press in the preservation of our system of government and our way of life,” President Obama said.

President Obama also noted his own popularity on Twitter and Facebook, and joked that Sarah Palin refers to these as “the socialized media.” The President and Mrs. Obama, of course, were all over Twitter and Facebook last night. On Twitter, the WHCA dinner had its own hashtags, #nerdprom and #whcd, as well as numerous media outlets live blogging; Politico, C-SPAN, and AOL’s Politics Daily, among others, had dedicated livestreams. (Above: President Obama during his dinner remarks; Gibbs is at right in glasses)

Twitterbama
The President sent his own “first Tweet” as President on January 18, when visiting the DC Red Cross headquarters for Haiti relief–and like Mrs. Obama on Saturday, he also did it on someone else’s machine. Gibbs joined Twitter in mid February (@presssec), and he’s become pretty active on it, though not as active as Henry, who doesn’t miss an opportunity to Tweet. Gibbs didn’t Tweet from dinner last night, however. Mrs. Obama does not yet have her own Twitter, but can it be far off? Sarah Brown, wife of Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is an active Tweeter, and she’s posted many behind-the-scenes pics of Mrs. Obama, during times when the two First Ladies were together.

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Chirping eggs, White House seeds, Sam Kass
There was big foodie action at the White House this week, from Monday’s 2010 Easter Egg Roll to Friday’s Childhood Obesity Forum. The events bookended a period that also included President Obama attending a ceremonial luncheon in Prague, following the signing of the START treaty, and holding a special dinner for European leaders. Herein, a look at some highlights.

When First Lady Michelle Obama turned the South Lawn into one giant playground for the 2010 Easter Egg Roll, there were numerous efforts to make the event accessible to all kinds of kids. Above is Best Foodie Photo #1, one of the “chirping” eggs used during the traditional egg rolling races, which involves pushing hard boiled eggs across a grass course with big wooden spoons. The noisy plastic “eggs” released high-pitched “chirping” noises, so visually impaired kids could participate in the race.

Your intrepid blogger noticed many kids at the Roll with white canes, but no guide dogs. One dog who was spotted rolling: First Dog Bo. Other accessibility efforts: Seven American Sign Language Interpreters were on duty around the South Lawn for hearing impaired visitors (here’s Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling, reading in the Storytime Garden, with her ASL interpreter in action).

Kids who romped through the Play With Your Food area of the Roll were given packets of green bean seeds to take home to plant, in Best Foodie Photo of the Week #2, above.

At a station sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, kids could learn all about the growing cycle of green beans, including dissecting these and viewing them under microscopes. Kids were then given their own seeds, and a diary booklet, to monitor home growth. The Play With Your Food area was equal parts cooking school and food science education station; it also featured White House Beekeeper Charlie Brandts discussing bees and pollination.

In Best Foodie Photo #3, above, White House assistant chef and Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass (L), who oversees all angles of Mrs. Obama’s food agenda, chats with chef Timothy Cipriano of New Haven Public Schools, during Friday’s Childhood Obesity Forum at the White House. Cipriano masterminds a pathbreaking school food program in his hometown, and was among the many citizen participants invited to the White House to brainstorm ideas for an upcoming report from the Child Obesity Task force.

Hmm, yes, none of these photos is actually food, but that’s in keeping with unintentional White House “policy” of leaving photos of plated dishes out of the historic record. The President’s official photographer, Pete Souza, rarely gets plated food shots either, wink wink wink. Souza has better subjects to capture….

*More on the 2010 Easter Egg Roll: The President and First Lady welcome the guests. The First Family Egg Rolls and then hops into the crowd to say hi. The full foodie recap; more on the White House Chefs rolling is here. Reese Witherspoon rolls here. New Social Secretary Julianna Smoot rolls into action. Pastry Chef Bill Yosses’ Chocolate Farm is here. The Roll started early and went late this year.

*Photos by Obama Foodorama. With thanks to the hand models; top is a Roll volunteer, bottom is a fun journo who’d flown in from California to cover the event…

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Celeb chefs, organic foods, garden crafts, family farmers market…and 19,000 hardboiled eggs
The big slate of activities centered around food and gardening at today’s 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll is unprecedented in the history of the event, a White House tradition that dates back to 1878. But it’s in keeping with First Lady Michelle Obama’s year-long focus on raising awareness about food and health. And the First Lady, as official hostess, is welcoming all foodie stakeholders to the event: Marshmallow Peeps and Hershey’s chocolates are sharing equal billing with local, organic fruits and vegetables.

This year’s theme, Ready, Set, Go!, coordinates with Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, and just like that project, the Roll activities are simultaneously traditional and cutting edge. It’s also the most recycling friendly and sustainability-aware White House event to date. Below, a report on the foodie fun–and the celeb chefs–that the expected 30,000 White House guests will experience. The rest of the event line-up, and list of special guests is here.

Play With Your (organic) Food…then compost it
In a White House first, the 2009 Easter Egg Roll featured a Kids Kitchen, an outdoor cooking pavilion in which White House chefs and guest chefs demonstrated healthy, family-friendly recipes. It was a big hit with the crowds, and this year’s version is even more elaborate. The Play With Your Food activity station will again feature the White House kitchen team, led by Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, as well as seven world class guest chefs demonstrating recipes. New for this year: The White House has announced that most of the fruits and vegetables in the used in the demos will be organic. (Above: Chef Comerford, right, at the 2009 Roll, putting a chef’s hat on a child visitor to the Kids Kitchen)

There will also be a Family Farmer’s Market, and a Make Your Own Garden activity. Using the White House Kitchen Garden as the inspiration, children will plant seedling cups, so they can take their own gardens home. In another White House first, food scraps from the cooking station will be composted in the White House’s own biocycler, which is used to make compost for the Kitchen Garden (read more about the biocycler here).

The Celeb Chefs…
Three of the guest chefs for Play With Your Food are particularly notable. Chef Nora Pouillon is a pioneer in the farm to table movement, and her self-monikered eatery, Restaurant Nora, located in DC, was the first restaurant in America to be certified organic. She’s been one of the leaders in raising awareness in the mainstream about the benefits of local, sustainable and organic foods, through her advocacy and cookbook. Nora’s, by the way, is the restaurant President Obama chose to surprise Mrs. Obama with a special birthday dinner in January.

Guest chef José Andrés is world renowned, and credited with bringing the small plates concept from Spain to America. His cookbooks are bestsellers, and his PBS series, Made in Spain, turned him into a household name. A James Beard Foundation award winner in 2003, and a nominee for the 2010 awards, he has five restaurants in the DC area, and one in Los Angeles. Andrés focuses on local, sustainable and organic sourcing, even going so far as to get area farmers to grow the special ingredients he uses for his traditional dishes. Andrés has a big interest in nutrition education for kids, and has visited DC schools with Mrs. Obama’s Food Initiative Coordinator, Sam Kass. Most recently at the White House, he cooked a private lunch for President Obama and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Andrés was one of the guest chefs at the 2009 Easter Egg Roll, and had his daughter cooking beside him in the kitchen pavilion. He’ll be teaching at Harvard next Fall. (Above: Andrés in the Kids Kitchen at the 2009 Roll)

Chef Art Smith is another renowned chef who will be playing with food, as well as a vet of the 2009 Kids Kitchen. Smith owns Table Fifty-Two in Chicago, and Art & Soul in DC, both of which feature modern takes on Southern American cuisine. He’s a celeb cookbook author, and also known for being Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef. Smith focuses on local and sustainable sourcing, and his Common Threads foundation teaches under privileged kids about nutrition education and cooking. For his fiftieth birthday last month, Oprah gave Smith a $25o,000 gift so he can incorporate Let’s Move! initiatives into his own foundation work. President and Mrs. Obama dined at Table fifty-Two in Chicago for their first presidential Valentine’s Day in 2009, and he’s been seen at the White House even when he’s not officially cooking.

The other guest chefs for Play With Your Food are rising stars from the tri-state region around DC, and include Chefs Cliff Wharton, Robert Wiedmaier, Susan Limb, and Victor Albisu.

An Eggstravagant focus on a certain kind of farmer…
Easter is always a special holiday for the chicken farmers of America, and of course they get a huge nod at the Easter Egg Roll. 19,000 hard boiled eggs will be used, for everything from the traditional eggrolling–a race done with wooden spoons and eggs–to the annual Egg Hunt. There’s also an Eggspress Yourself arts and crafts station, where children can dye eggs and make “Medals of Eggsellence,” to spend the day looking like the Olympians who are visiting the White House to promote physical fitness (speedskating star Apolo Ohno is among these notables). Thousands of the eggs were prepped by DC Central Kitchen, a local nonprofit that teaches culinary skills to help at-risk populations and ex-convicts re-integrate into society. In yet another White House first, the Egg Hunt will feature “chirping eggs” for visually impaired visitors. Where are these 19,000 eggs from? The White House has not revealed whether the eggs are from small farmers or factory farmed. And yes, your intrepid blogger has asked.

The kids’ Treat Bags…with sustainable souvenirs
With all the focus on sustainable and organic that’s going on, the White House was careful to note in guidance to media that the traditional sugary sweetness of Easter is not being overlooked, either. Here’s the quote from the official 50 Facts About the White House Easter Egg Roll: “Don’t worry, sweets are still a part of the Easter Egg Roll.”

That’s where the marshmallow Peeps and Hershey’s chocolates come in: These will be included in the treat bags that are given to all the kids who attend. It’s in keeping with Mrs. Obama’s position as a staunch Defender of Twinkies. No foods are off limits; the less healthy ones simply need to be enjoyed in moderation. But there’s also a brochure on healthy eating in the treat bags, which are made of 100% recycled plastic. And the Official Souvenir Wooden Eggs that are included in the treat bags are made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – certified US hardwoods, and colored with vegetable dye. 135,000 wooden eggs were produced for this year’s event. They feature the Roll logo, and President Obama and Mrs. Obama’s stamped signature. These are also available for purchase at www.easter.nationalparks.org, where they’re packaged in recyclable and sustainable materials. Of course. There will also be recycling stations all over the South Lawn and the Ellipse. (Souvenir eggs, above)

Who’s going rolling…
Kids under twelve and their families from around the US will be showing up; ticket lottery winners come from all fifty states. Tickets for the Roll were also provided to 3,000 DC, Maryland and Virginia elementary school students, and 4,000 kids from military families. One notable group: 30 students and eight faculty members from Pecan Park Elementary School in Jackson, Mississippi will also attend the Roll. Mrs. Obama visited the school on March 3, when she brought Let’s Move! to the state capitol, and was joined by Governor Haley Barbour and First Lady Marsha Barbour to talk child obesity initiatives. The school features a walking trail and incorporates fitness education into the curriculum.

*All the details on the non-food activities at the Easter Egg Roll–including the A-list talent who will be reading stories and performing in the Rock N’ Egg Roll Stage–are here. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, the cast of Glee, tennis legend Billie Jean King, and NFL superstars are some of the notables. The event will be livestreamed at www.whitehouse.gov/eastereggroll. A full schedule will be posted here on the morning of April 5th. 50 Facts About The Easter Egg Roll is here.

*Photos by Obama Foodorama

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“Tonight we answered the call of history,” President says. And is it time for Congressional Charm School?
President Obama watched from the Roosevelt Room at the White House this evening as the US House of Representatives passed historic legislation for health insurance reform.

A year of full-bore White House efforts culminated in two hours of very, very contentious debate on the House floor tonight, and there was much cheering (in the White House) and much booing (in the House) as the legislation passed. As he watched on TV, President Obama was joined by about forty staff members and White House advisers, and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gave White House updates via Twitter. Gibbs tweeted that when the House vote hit the magic number, there were “cheers and clapping at 216 – high five for Rahm, hugs all around.” (Above: The historic moment in the Roosevelt Room)

The final vote came in at 219 yeas, 212 nays. 34 Democrats voted no, as did all Republicans.

Gibbs also tweeted that the President’s first call, from the Oval Office, was to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to tell her “You’ve done what no other Speaker has done.”

“What a night…what a journey,” was Gibbs’ final tweet as the President went to the East Room to make formal remarks about the vote. With Vice President Joe Biden at his side, President Obama praised all on his own staff, as well as those in Congress who have worked for more than a year on getting the legislation to this point (in photo). He also noted that it was millions of citizens’ hard work that got the legislation to a vote, and that it is not a victory for either party, but for all of America.

“Tonight we answered the call of history,” President Obama said. “This is what change looks like.”

The President said that the legislation is not radical reform, but major reform, and much work remains to be done.

“This was not a victory for either party, but a victory for common sense…it’s the right thing to do for our future,” President Obama said, and added that “This day represents another stone firmly layed in the foundation of the American dream…We did not fear our future, we shaped it.”

The President closed his remarks with thanks and blessings for America, and took no questions from the press pool. The designated pooler noted that White House advisers David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel were also in the East Room as the President made his remarks. He is expected to sign the legislation into law on Tuesday, according to a White House spokesman.

“Baby Killer” & Congressional Charm School
The two-hours of debate on the House floor at times resembled the British Parliament, where yelling is common and accepted. It was incredibly contentious, and there was much gavel pounding, interrupting, and booing. The entire day had been spent with Members making statements for and against the legislation, and there was a final attempt, after the Bill passed, to return everything to committee. The attempt was futile, in the end.

One House Member, still unidentified, shouted “baby killer” at Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) as he was speaking about an Executive Order that President Obama had signed earlier in the day. The EO reaffirmed that no federal funding will be used for abortions, which swung Rep. Stupak to a “yes” vote on the Bill. Rep. Stupak is one of the strongest abortion foe Democrats, and he was refusing to vote for the health care legislation without an assurance from President Obama on the abortion issue.

The shout of “baby killer” was reminiscent of Rep. Joe Wilson shouting “You lie!” at President Obama, when he was addressing Congress last Fall. Rep. Wilson’s campaign coffers were loaded with new donations after the incident, and he was briefly floated as a presidential candidate for 2012 by enthusiastic Tea Partiers. President Obama has frequently spoken about the uncivil nature of both Congress and the media, and tonight’s shouting was just the latest example of this. It might be time for mandatory Congressional Charm School, which should be all about re-learning the real meaning of the word “politic” …and decorum.

Update: Gibbs’ final tweet of the night: “It’s 1:05 AM and finally leaving the White House…spent some time celebrating with a proud POTUS – not abt him he told us, but for America”

A transcript of the President’s full remarks is here. The Roll Call for the final vote, from the Clerk of the House is here.

Top photo by Pete Souza/White House; inset via Getty. White House video

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This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Agricultural Credit Act of 2009, approved for consideration earlier this month by the House Agriculture Committee.

The Agricultural Credit Act of 2009 (H.R. 3509) would reauthorize funding for the USDA’s State Agricultural Mediation Program, which administers grants for certified state agricultural mediation programs. These programs help agricultural producers, lenders and various USDA agencies resolve disputes outside of the traditional process of litigation, appeals, bankruptcy, and foreclosure.

“Like most of the country, the agriculture sector is currently experiencing increased financial stress, which has created a greater need for the service of the agriculture mediator program. This program provides our farmers and ranchers with a voluntary and low cost service to mediate disputes that may arise between their creditors, or to address adverse decisions with USDA,” said Agriculture Committee  Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK), who was an original co-sponsor of the act. Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) is the lead sponsor of H.R. 3509, which has attracted bipartisan support.

State agricultural mediation programs offer many benefits, including providing a confidential forum for addressing disputes, building strong working relationships between participants, and streamlining the decision making process. The Coalition of Agriculture Mediation Programs (CAMP) offers a useful summary of additional benefits, components and background information for these programs.

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For all my clients who suffered severe illness due to food poisoning, like Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, Guillain-Barre Syndrome or Reiter’s Syndrome, Thank you President Obama and Senate and House Democrats for passing a comprehensive Health Care Bill.  My clients facing being dropped from insurance coverage, being excluded for pre-existing medical conditions or facing a life time cap on medical coverage, will sleep better tonight.  Thank you!  Here is an Email I just received:

William –

For the first time in our nation’s history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for decades to reach this moment. Tonight, thanks to you, we are finally here.

Consider the staggering scope of what you have just accomplished:

Because of you, every American will finally be guaranteed high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Every American will be covered under the toughest patient protections in history. Arbitrary premium hikes, insurance cancellations, and discrimination against pre-existing conditions will now be gone forever.

And we’ll finally start reducing the cost of care — creating millions of jobs, preventing families and businesses from plunging into bankruptcy, and removing over a trillion dollars of debt from the backs of our children.

But the victory that matters most tonight goes beyond the laws and far past the numbers.

It is the peace of mind enjoyed by every American, no longer one injury or illness away from catastrophe.

It is the workers and entrepreneurs who are now freed to pursue their slice of the American dream without fear of losing coverage or facing a crippling bill.

And it is the immeasurable joy of families in every part of this great nation, living happier, healthier lives together because they can finally receive the vital care they need.

This is what change looks like.

My gratitude tonight is profound. I am thankful for those in past generations whose heroic efforts brought this great goal within reach for our times. I am thankful for the members of Congress whose months of effort and brave votes made it possible to take this final step. But most of all, I am thankful for you.

This day is not the end of this journey. Much hard work remains, and we have a solemn responsibility to do it right. But we can face that work together with the confidence of those who have moved mountains.

Our journey began three years ago, driven by a shared belief that fundamental change is indeed still possible. We have worked hard together every day since to deliver on that belief.

We have shared moments of tremendous hope, and we’ve faced setbacks and doubt. We have all been forced to ask if our politics had simply become too polarized and too short-sighted to meet the pressing challenges of our time. This struggle became a test of whether the American people could still rally together when the cause was right — and actually create the change we believe in.

Tonight, thanks to your mighty efforts, the answer is indisputable: Yes we can.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

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Oscar winner* Mo’Nique stars in a Let’s Move! PSA; Food, Inc.; Julie & Julia; and Precious; Avatar; Beyonce, Jay Z, Dreamgirls…
The 82nd annual Academy Awards will be handed out in Hollywood tonight. As many people know, there’s a mini movie theater at the White House, where President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama–and the Obama girls, and even Bo–can watch the latest Tinseltown offerings, even before the films have been released.

Food, film, and the Oscars often intersect at the White House, whether it’s in the movies that are screened, or thanks to the actors who visit, or thanks to the new focus on making raw and arty in-house movies. For instance, just this week, the White House released an Oscar-worthy documentary short about President Obama having lunch with real folks in Georgia, but somehow it didn’t get a nod from the Academy. (Above: Time magazine awarded President Obama a fake Oscar when he won the Nobel Peace Prize)

Mo’Nique, the actress whom many critics believe will win tonight’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the film Precious, recently made a PSA for Mrs. Obama’s child obesity campaign, Let’s Move!. The video encourages fitness (the video is above; if it’s not visible, click headline at top). Update: Mo’Nique won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

In Precious, Mo’Nique gives a harrowing performance as the psychologically and sexually abusive mother of the title character, who is an obese teenager who is also raped and impregnated by her father. Mo’Nique’s career has previously been built on her being a ravingly funny fat rights activist; she spent many years proclaiming herself “Fat and Fabulous,” and even had a reality TV show on Oygen network, Fat Chance, that celebrated plus-sized women. But after losing about 40 pounds last year, Mo’Nique has turned over a new leaf. Let’s Move! has a specific focus on non-white populations, which Mrs. Obama has started to discuss publicly, because blacks and Hispanics have a higher prevalence of obesity than whites. Mo’Nique is highly relatable.

The foodiest Oscar-nominated movie screened at the White House in 2009 was Food, Inc. (nomm’d for Best Documentary Feature), directed by Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein, which takes a hard, frightening look at America’s industrial food system and food safety. The much happier dramedy, Julie & Julia, about legendary American chef Julia Child and the industrious blogger who tried to recreate all her recipes in a single year, was reportedly a White House fave. Meryl Streep is nomm’d as Best Actress for playing Child, and she’s competing against Gabourey Sidibe of Precious. (Above: President and Mrs. Obama in the White House movie miniplex, wearing 3-D glasses)

One Oscar nominated movie the Obamas didn’t watch at the White House: The multiply-nomm’d Avatar, directed by James Cameron. The First Family attended a private screening on New Year’s Eve while on winter vacation in Hawaii, when a local movie theater was shut down to accommodate them.

Oscar winners and nominees at the White House
Neither President Obama nor Mrs. Obama have actually gone on the record with their popcorn picks for Oscar-nominated actors, movies, or songs. Last Friday’s regular afternoon White House press briefing–the most likely time when an industrious reporter could pose an Obama Oscar question to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs–was cancelled at the last minute. Gibbs will no doubt fill America in on if the Obamas watched the award presentation, and for whom they were rooting on Monday.

The Obamas know most of the people who will be at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood this evening for the award ceremony, because there was big Hollywood support for Candidate Obama during campaign season. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson (Best Supporting Actress for Dreamgirls) has lately replaced Earth,Wind & Fire as the (White) House Band, and this week, Beyonce, Hudson’s co-star in Dreamgirls (which garnered the most Oscar noms of any film in 2007), caused something of a scandal here in DC when a photo of her sitting in the Situation Room at the White House (with Jay Z) surfaced on the Internet (above).

And of course Mrs. Obama is the honorary chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The Academy Award associated actors on the committee include:

*Sarah Jessica Parker: The actress best known for Sex and The City is a presenter this evening at the Academy Awards, but Parker has never received a nod from the Academy. She was at the White House on Feb. 25, however, for the reception for the Presidential Medal of the Arts, which took place in an East Room ceremony. Multiple Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood was an honoree, but he wasn’t at the ceremony, as was Bob Dylan, a 1999 Oscar winner for his song Things Have Changed, but he wasn’t at the ceremony either. But he’d just been at the White House on Feb. 9, for at the latest installment of the White House Music Series, In Performance At the White House, which was devoted to songs from the Civil Rights era. (Above: Parker at the White House; large photo is Dylan after his performance, shaking hands with the President as the First Lady looks on)

*Forest Whitaker: Oscar winner, Best Actor 2006, for The Last King of Scotland. Whitaker visited the President at the White House in April of 2009, on World Malaria Day, to discuss global response to the disease. This year, Whitaker was also the voice of one of the Wild Things in Where The Wild Things Are, which was screened at the White House, and which President Obama chatted about to a gang of kids during a lunchtime school visit to Vier Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland.

*Kerry Washington: Never nomm’d for an Oscar, Washington starred alongside Whitaker in his Oscar-winning role. She’ll be at the White House on Monday, to emcee a reception hosted by President and Mrs. Obama for International Womens’ Day.

*Alfre Woodard: Best Actress nominee, for Cross Creek in 1983. Woodard was a guest at the State Dinner for India, along with multiple Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg. David Geffen, a movie exec and music mogul who has had many Oscar-winners in his various projects, was also at the dinner, and sat at Mrs. Obama’s table. (Above: Woodard and Spielberg, with actor Blair Underwood at the State Dinner)

*Edward Norton: Two-time Oscar nominee for Primal Fear (Best supporting Actor) and American History X (Best Actor nominee). Norton is also a producer of and the narrator for the documentary By The People: The Election of Barack Obama, directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sams (which did not get nomm’d for any Oscars). Norton was last at the White House for the White House Music Series, during the classical music concert in November.

Read about Hollywood money and politics here, at OpenSecrets.org, which just handed out its Money-in-Politics Oscars. The Academy Awards air on ABC tonight, starting at 8:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM PT. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin host.

*Photos: President Obama Oscar photo was created by Time magazine; White House theatre and Bob Dylan photos by Pete Souza/White House; other photos via Reuters.

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