Filipino American head chef leaves the White House

After 24 years, Chris Comerford is leaving the White House kitchen where she ruled for 19 years

Chris Comerford, executive chef for five US Presidents has packed up her knives and left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Comerford's departure marks the end of an era.  The Filipino American chef made history as the first executive chef of color, first woman and the first Asian American to hold the position of White House head chef, in charge of intimate family meals for the White House occupants, as ell as banquets for visiting dignitaries.

“I always say, food is love. Through her barrier-breaking career, Chef Cris has led her team with warmth and creativity, and nourished our souls along the way,” First Lady Jill Biden said in a statement. “With all our hearts, Joe and I are filled with gratitude for her dedication and years of service.”

Chef and humanitarian José Andrés broke the news aweek ago with a social media post congratulating the Comerford. “You are a national treasure, a culinary diplomat who has shown the world how an immigrant can celebrate American food & share it with the world’s leaders,” he wrote. “Congrats on retiring, we love you Cris.”

Born and raised in Manila, Comerford, who turned 61 last week, a naturalized citizen of the US, studied food technology at the University of the Philippines and also studied classic French cooking and worked in Austria for a time. She moved to the US when she was 23 and went on to work as a chef at two Washington hotels.

Comerford got her big break in 1995 when White House Executive Chef Walter Scheib III recruited her to work in the White House kitchen as assistant chef.

When Scheib retired 10 years later, first lady Laura Bush promoted Comerford to White House executive chef. The move made Comerford the first woman and the first person of color ever to hold the post since the Kennedys created it in 1961.

Comerford’s duties as executive chef include overseeing a staff of five full-time chefs, among other kitchen staff members, while planning and executing meals for the President and his many visitors.

"My primary job is to take care of the First Family: the President, First Lady and their two daughters. And if they do have guests, we take care of them as well. But at the same time, the White House is a living museum and we do hold events that are either social or official," said Comerford.

She has cooked for the kings and queens, prime ministers and rulers of other countries and even prepared the Filipino dishes of adobo and lumpia for the Hawaii-raised President Obama and his family.

“She is one of the most revered Filipino chefs in the world,” said Jacqueline Chio-Lauri, editor of the recently released The New Filipino Kitchen: Stories and Recipes from Around the Globe. Comerford contributed to the cookbook and included a recipe from her late mother, Erlinda Pasia.

So what does the future hold for her? 

"People have told me, 'You've reached the pinnacle of your career. You've broken the glass ceiling. Where do you go from here?' I honestly don't know, but once you've accepted the fact that this is the pinnacle...what is the next step? You go down right?" she answers herself.

"So I think in life, you should never take anything to be the pinnacle. Everything you just be a stepping stone to a better thing," continues Comerford, "From being a White House chef, my next step could be a volunteer position somewhere, but that does not make it a lesser thing. Any task at hand, no matter how menial or grand, should be given the best of your God-given ability."

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