Why Chefs At The White House Are Obligated To Be Members Of The Military

Hundreds and even thousands of years ago, people in positions of high power, like royalty, would have food tasters on hand, or people who would take a bite of said person's dishes to test them for poison. Royals and national presidents still need to take precaution, as they are targets for harm. The White House is no exception. Instead of employing food tasters, members of the kitchen staff must be an executive culinary specialist through the Navy, and therefore, must have obtained a top-security clearance. With this clearance, it's nearly certain that the kitchen staff won't deliberately harm the President and his family with poison.

It is, essentially, the security clearance that clears prospective chefs to work at the White House. Acquiring a top security clearance requires intense questioning and tests about their allegiance to the United States, personal psychology, foreign influence and preference, financial history, alcohol and drug use, hobbies, and much more. Family and close contacts are often even interviewed. The process can take months or up to a year to complete and pass. Additionally, to go from a Navy Culinary Specialist (you'll find many on aircraft carriers that stock a staggering amount of food) to an Executive Culinary Specialist, you must have a pristine performance record, including advanced cooking skills and even excellent grooming standards.

Once the culinary team for the White House is cleared and hired, the work doesn't stop there in ensuring the President's meals are safe for consumption. All individual ingredients need to be inspected as well. While the White House Executive Chef (who reports to the Head Usher and First Lady) inspects everything for quality, the items are first purchased by the Presidential Food Service, a department of the Navy who does all of the White House grocery shopping under the close monitoring of the Secret Service.

Of course, POTUS doesn't spend all of his time at the White House; his duties require extensive traveling, and his food security goes with him. Whether he wants to go out for dinner in Washington, D.C. or is a guest in a country across the globe, a team of culinary specialists pre-screen kitchens and chefs, and watch the food preparation as it happens. In some cases, there actually has been a presidential food taster on hand; in 2001, a New York Times article disclosed that tasters traveled with then President George W. Bush when he left the country. And in 2013, President Barack Obama couldn't enjoy a lobster salad and blueberry pie-filled lunch because the food had not been monitored properly beforehand and there was no taster on hand.