Cristeta Comerford: Cooking for the chief in the White House

WASHINGTON D.C. --- Cristeta Pasia Comerford, White House Executive Chef, was probably born to rule the kitchen. In an exclusive interview with Philippine News, we found the 47-year-old Sampaloc, Manila-born Filipina to be smart, confident, eloquent, and mild-mannered. She had an unflappable demeanor, which is an important quality in her stressful, high-profile job as Executive Chef to the Commander-in-Chief. For somebody who has been working in the White House since 1995, Cristeta -- who has served the Clintons, Bushes and now the Obamas -- remains humble and self-effacing. Welcoming us to the White House and conducting the interview in the Old Family Dining Room, Cris, as she is fondly known in the White House, was dressed in her chef outfit with her name embroidered on it. After the interview, she graciously gave us a tour of the White House. Who would happen to walk by, smile and wave at us but First Lady Michelle Obama? "I never dreamt I would be working one day here in the White House," the charming and petite Cris admitted. When the First Lady chose to keep Cris instead of hiring a celebrity chef, Michelle Obama explained Cris is also a working mom who understood the importance of providing children with nutritious meals. The second to the youngest of the 11 kids, Cris -- affectionately called Teta by her family -- recalled, “My mom was my first instructor in cooking. I remember being on the second grade, getting up early to help her cook. I was always in the sideline, with all the other women in our family, helping her prepare food. I said to myself, ‘This is what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a cook.’ " Cris’s late father, Honesto, a school principal, came from Cuenca, Batangas and her mother, Erlinda, a former dress and uniform shop owner, hailed from San Rafael, Bulacan. "Since I grew up in a big family, there’s always food in the house," she said. "Cooking at home was like cooking for banquets. It just never stops. Then with my parents coming from two different regions of the Philippines, we were exposed to different cuisines indicative of the two regions. We became a family of cooks." For her education, Cris went to Manila Science High School and UP Diliman where she took up Food Technology. Her sister, Opel Pasia Aguila, a former schoolmate of mine at the University of Santo Tomas (where we worked together in the school paper, The Varsitarian) gave us some insights on Cris. "She is a loving and caring sister; always looking out for everybody's best interest," Opel said. “She is a joy to have around and her sense of humor and fun is so typical of everybody in our clan. She is highly creative, very resourceful and very smart." As to her younger sister Cris, Opel proudly disclosed, “For somebody who has achieved so much and has met and served many of the most powerful leaders in the world, Cris is so humble. She has remained the approachable and sweet person that she is. She is strongly rooted in her faith and serves with a pure heart. My family and I are so proud of her." Below are excerpts of our exclusive interview with Cris, the first female, the first minority, the first Asian, the first Filipina working as the White House Executive Chef: What exactly do you do as Executive Chef? First and foremost, my responsibilities are to take care of the family; their daily meals from breakfast, lunch and dinner, and of course, taking care of their guests. Beyond that, it also involves taking care of social events, which could be a state dinner or just the daily family meals. What’s the favorite food of the Obama family? Imagine yourself being at home – you like simple food as long as they are well-cooked. And of course, we are stressing the fact that we are doing nutritious food, healthy food. Our garden outside helps us a lot in using fresh produce and vegetables. It is spring time right now so we are at the forefront of harvesting spring radishes and lettuces, too. It is really cool. What is President Obama’s favorite dish? He likes simple meals like fish, steamed vegetables and brown rice. Can you talk about your remarkable journey and how you got to where you are now? Just to be a woman is number one, that is a big thing. I went to Vienna, Austria where I worked for six months. One of the apprentices there approached me and said that I was the first female sous chef she has ever met. She was impressed to meet a woman sous chef, which she wanted to be. But of course, there’s Julia Child, who is one of the women chef predecessors that I look up to. It is great feeling. How does it feel to be the first Filipina White House Executive Chef? It is a great honor to be bestowed on me and to set a good example, be looked upon as a good model. It is something that I take very seriously on a day by day basis. You want to make sure that you are up there being the best that you can be all the time. Have you served Filipino dishes or Filipino-inspired dishes in formal or state dinners here at the White House? Actually, it is more Filipino-inspired dishes because I am Filipino and that is number one. But it is also who I am as a chef. So just a simple seasoning, or a simple herb…what makes it Filipino is because I am Filipino. But in terms of essence or what have you, it is more really because I am Filipino. What would you advice aspiring chefs who want to work in the White House or succeed in being a chef? It is really just taking the responsibility seriously, that anything given to you is a chance to be good. It could be the simplest task, like chopping onions or something like that, but as long as you really give all your heart in whatever you do and whatever you cook (that could go a long way). Did growing up in a big family prepare you for this kind of a job? Yes, definitely. Even growing up in my grandparents’ home, everything was sustainable and agricultural. They had a fishing pond. They had a farm. Everything was in the backyard – chickens and others. It is almost like a homecoming, seeing this vegetable garden and being able to grab things that you need right here in the White House. It reminds me of my grandma’s and grandpa’s homes in San Rafael, Bulacan and Cuenca, Batangas. [Next: 'Just to be part of history is great']Among the personalities, celebrities and dignitaries whom you have met in your work, who inspired you to be in awe? I think it is just day by day, you meet the President and his family. Just to be part of history and to see all the people who have gone through this hall, a part of history itself. Nothing that really stands out but just the massive number of people going through the tour or those who are just dining. Oh my God, it is really everybody who has gone through this house. You’ve had the privilege of cooking in the White House under the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations. Can you talk about the highlights and the different experiences you’ve had under each administration? Different families have different likes and dislikes. Like with the Clintons, Chelsea was a little older and whatever they prefer for their daily meal is different from the Bushes. The similarity for all of them is they like good, healthy foods. Like with the Obamas, they stress the fact that we are utilizing produce from our vegetable garden. We use items that we have. We use natural-fed and grass-fed beef and chickens that are available. We are really focusing on health issues more than anything else. It is important to understand how to help the environment. It is a growing process but it really helps the chef know these things. Describe a typical day. There is no such thing as a typical day because every day is really different. Like one day we would prepare lunch for the First Lady or just snacks in between. One day, we would prepare food for artists when we have the poetry reading or an artist playing music. The beauty of working in the White House is that you kind of look forward to what you are going to do tomorrow and just be a part of history. It is really great. What did you serve during the state dinner for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo? Oh gosh, that was way back but I still do remember. Her favorite was lamb, so we did a rack of lamb. I think it was Colorado lamb. We also did scallops with an infusion of Spanish influence because we have a lot of Spanish influence in the Philippine cuisine. What was the most challenging event you handled? Every event has its own different challenges. If you have an event outdoors, logistics-wise, you need to have enough refrigeration, you have enough freezers. The weather itself is a challenge. You should be ready for the unexpected and the beauty of this place is that everybody is ready and prepared for the unexpected all the time. What was the biggest event you have handled? We have the congressional picnic outside and of course, we have the yearly event that we do like the Christmas event which spans like 25 days of continuous entertainment. If you sum it up, it would be like having 20,000 people that we entertain in December. What was the most memorable? The most memorable is what we do for the First Family upstairs because it is an insight that nobody else has seen. Anything that we do for the family, that is so cool. For example, it could be a dinner for just the two of them. Just seeing the two of them eat is cool. For me, that is more memorable. Do you still cook when you come home or does your husband John take over? My husband is also a chef so that makes it very easy for me with him taking that leadership at home and being the home chef. Is your daughter Danielle already showing interest in culinary arts? Yes. On Mother’s Day, I took a nap. When I woke up, the table was set up and she already did a four-course meal. She just used whatever stuff we had at home and she is only 8 years old. It is very cool. What do you cook at home? What dishes do you like to do? With this economy, we just look at the refrigerator and use whatever is in there. Of course, we have our favorites but there is nothing wrong with using or combining leftovers. We can do a vegetable or pasta dish or something very straightforward. Anything that will take more than 20 minutes or more to do is a lot of work for us. What kind of food do you usually like to order when you go out? When I go out, I love ordering what my mom used to cook like milkfish or bangus and kare kare. These are pretty much our two favorites. Coming from Manila Science High School and winning an award for a special science project in high school, how does that background impact your cooking? Actually, science and cooking are very much related. If you are familiar with the scientific process, the more you understand the food reactions while cooking. It actually helps you. I really believe that my science background helps me a lot understand all the food reactions during the cooking process. If you were not a chef, what do you think would you have been? I don’t know because I really love what I am doing right now. What are your dream projects? My husband and I want to put up a bed-and-breakfast when we retire. I would also like to help the underprivileged kids in the community. For example, in Europe, kids start at a very early age like 16 to learn how to cook. So maybe I would like to help in the community and help underprivileged kids and train them in cooking. - Philippine News E-mail the writer at jrnepales_624@yahoo.com for your comments.