Adobo and lumpia in the White House

Christeta Comerford shares a laugh with First Lady Michele Obama in the White House kitchen.

FILIPINO CUISINE has always had a tough time breaking into America's food consciousness like the cuisines of China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. For unknown reasons, the food of the Philippines has not caught on despite praise from food critics and foodies who have tried it. It is not for lack of trying and it is not because Filipino chef's aren't any good. For anyone who watches the food scene closely, there can be no doubt that Filipinos can just plain-out cook.

My father-in-law, Francisco Arias, was a chef on board various vessels during his 20-year stint with the U.S. Navy. His Filipino friends were Navy cooks also, including my wife's godfather, Anatalio Santiago, who had a stint cooking for President Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace, both of whom loved Asian food.

On the TV show Top Chef, Filipinos and Filipinas have been among the finalists more than a half-dozen times, including season 8 winner Paul Qui.

 Christeta Comerford as a young child, front right.

Perhaps the most famous Filipino/ American chef is Christeta Comerford, who has been in charge of feeding the First Family and all the visiting foreign dignitaries visiting the White House. She has been the White House chef through three administrations.

CNN dedicated a major portion of its air time last Tuesday, Sept. 22, on "Leading Women" to Comerford. Lots of stories have been written about Comerford and her heritage. She even won the Iron Chef competition when teamed with Bobby Flay. 

As White House executive chef, she's pretty tight-lipped about the First Family's, particularly the President's, favorite dishes. In other interviews, however, she said adobo and lumpia are among the Obama favorites.

President Obama, who was born and raised in Hawaii where he most certainly was exposed to Asian cuisines - minus a few years in Indonesia - has sometimes been hailed as the first Asian/Amereican president because of his close personal and family ties with Asian/Americans and his openness towards developing closer political and economic ties to the Pacific Rim countries. 

Here's a portion of the article from the CNN website about her youth in Manila where she grew up with her 10 brothers and sisters.

Growing up as one of 11 children in Manila, Comerford remembers "everything pretty much revolved around the kitchen and kitchen table. There was always the smell of food, always the sound of food.

"As a third grader we were asked to start wrapping our first spring rolls."

The daughter of a school principal father and dressmaker mother ("she made my wedding gown"), she remembers visiting her grandparents' farm where everything from fresh meat to vegetables was sourced from the backyard.

For the entire article and the TV interview, click here.

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