A pint-sized Filipino has beaten a Texan for the coveted role as Chief Chef at the White House.

LAURA BUSH yesterday put the Philippines-born Cristeta Comerford in charge of White House cooking, the first time a woman has held the post.

The salary is $80,000 (£44,000) to $100,000 and the executive chef is barred from book contracts, making television appearances and giving endorsements. As a result a number of other successful chefs turned down the role.

The First Lady’s announcement ended more than six months of frantic speculation. “I am delighted that Cris Comerford has accepted the position of White House executive chef,” Mrs Bush said in a brief statement.

“Her passion for cooking can be tasted in every bite of her delicious creations.”

The announcement will come as a crushing blow to Chris Ward, of the Mercury Grill in Dallas, who had been named as a front-runner.White House Family Cookbook – buy it from Amazon US

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In April he cooked a four-course dinner for the Bushes of pan-seared shrimp, “beef three-ways”, ricotta and garlic bruschetta and a raspberry crème brûlée.

This “very conservative Republican” was quoted yesterday by The New York Times saying: “I look upon this as a honour to be nominated and then a duty to serve.”

He was said to be worried that publicity about his audition might hurt his chances. Insiders speculated that it was in fact the Bushes who were worried — that their meals would be constantly interrupted by flattery from the brown-nosing Ward.

Ms Comerford succeeds Walter Scheib III, who left in February, apparently after disagreements with Mrs Bush.

In the months that followed, top chefs including Patrick O’Connell, of the Inn at Little Washington, and Eric Ziebold, of CityZen at the capital’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel, are said to have spurned the White House’s overtures.

They may well have decided that they can get more money, publicity and independence staying put.

Mr Scheib, who held the post for 11 years, has hinted that he had a personality clash with Mrs Bush, saying after his departure that he had been unable to meet her “stylistic requirements”.

The chef was hired by Hillary Clinton in 1994 to replace Pierre Chambrin, who was himself rumoured to have been unwilling to adapt his heavy French cooking for the Clintons.

Mr Scheib wanted to showcase a “lighter, healthier, American style” of cooking.

But he told the Nation’s Restaurant News in March that the First Lady wanted her own chef, possibly one untainted by past political associations.

He has disclosed that Mrs Bush swiftly reversed one of his innovations at official state dinners, where Mr Scheib had introduced a “contemporary, plated style” of individual portions because he felt that many guests felt uncomfortable about “skooching the food off the platter” presented to them by waiters.

The First Lady has returned to the traditional practice of letting guests help themselves.

Not that there have been many such occasions since the Bushes arrived at the White House in 2001.

The President is said to dislike tuxedo-clad formal entertaining and prefers to be in bed by 9.30pm.

His father — George “H. W.” Bush — by contrast, played host at twenty state dinners in the first six months of his presidency, while his son has held just five in as many years.
The importance of food in politics has long been recognised, not least when President Franklin D. Roosevelt served up hot dogs and beer to George IV in 1939.

But in the current White House, it would appear that the most important part of the executive chef’s job is cooking for the Bushes on their regular nights at home.

This could be making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the President or preparing the Texan food that the first family enjoy.

“We like spicy food of all kinds,” Mrs Bush said in a recent interview. “We like, obviously, Tex-Mex and barbecue — George is a very good eater.”

Ms Comerford, who was described by Roland Mesnier in The New York Times yesterday as a “tiny woman (who) carries a big club”, is said to specialise in ethnic and American cuisine. She has worked in the White House since 1995.