Chefs give a taste of world leaders' choice
Source: Agencies |
July 25, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A handful of people in the world know that German Chancellor Angela Merkel loves popping over to Paris because of her penchant for French cuisine, while it's best to avoid serving artichokes to French President Francois Hollande.
They are the top chefs from the kitchens of the world's leaders, masters of the art of sweetening international relations with a sumptuous meal, who gather in Paris this week to swap recipes and tips on dinner-party diplomacy.
If Winston Churchill was right when he said a century ago that "the stomach governs the world," then this club of 27 culinary maestros have an unseen influence on leaders' moods as they seal decisions on everything from the crisis in Syria to the eurozone's debt woes.
"Presidents come and go, but chefs stay," said Gilles Bragard, the French businessman who started the club of chefs to the world's presidents and monarchs in 1977.
"I often say that if politics divides, then the table brings people together," he told a news conference in Paris at their latest annual get-together.
In a wink at the cooks' importance, the club's name - "Le Club des Chefs des Chefs" - plays on the fact the French word for chef and leader is the same. It could translate as "The Club of Chefs of the Chiefs" or "The Club of Chiefs of the Chiefs."
"I think what I cook can really make a difference to how discussions happen," Daryl Schembeck, head chef from the kitchens of the United Nations who recently cooked for a party of 200 world leaders, said.
"If it's easy to eat and people are enjoying it, it's something they can talk about and that can start another conversation. I think I can impact that."
Attending the gathering from the White House kitchen is Cristeta Comerford, chef to presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and now Barack Obama. From Paris comes veteran Bernard Vaussion, chef to French leaders for nearly 40 years.
The chefs, from as far afield as China, Sri Lanka and Israel, met in Berlin last week as part of a week-long annual get-together. They arrived in Paris on Monday for a three-day tour of the French capital, to sample ingredients and share recipes.
The chefs, some of the few people who have daily access to the world's power brokers, have the utmost trust of their employers.
Only the Kremlin still has an official taster on hand to sample the Russian president's food and make sure it hasn't been tampered with. Other world leaders put their stomachs entirely in the hands of their cooks. But the chefs are firmly discreet regarding any secrets they pick up from the world of diplomacy.
They are the top chefs from the kitchens of the world's leaders, masters of the art of sweetening international relations with a sumptuous meal, who gather in Paris this week to swap recipes and tips on dinner-party diplomacy.
If Winston Churchill was right when he said a century ago that "the stomach governs the world," then this club of 27 culinary maestros have an unseen influence on leaders' moods as they seal decisions on everything from the crisis in Syria to the eurozone's debt woes.
"Presidents come and go, but chefs stay," said Gilles Bragard, the French businessman who started the club of chefs to the world's presidents and monarchs in 1977.
"I often say that if politics divides, then the table brings people together," he told a news conference in Paris at their latest annual get-together.
In a wink at the cooks' importance, the club's name - "Le Club des Chefs des Chefs" - plays on the fact the French word for chef and leader is the same. It could translate as "The Club of Chefs of the Chiefs" or "The Club of Chiefs of the Chiefs."
"I think what I cook can really make a difference to how discussions happen," Daryl Schembeck, head chef from the kitchens of the United Nations who recently cooked for a party of 200 world leaders, said.
"If it's easy to eat and people are enjoying it, it's something they can talk about and that can start another conversation. I think I can impact that."
Attending the gathering from the White House kitchen is Cristeta Comerford, chef to presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and now Barack Obama. From Paris comes veteran Bernard Vaussion, chef to French leaders for nearly 40 years.
The chefs, from as far afield as China, Sri Lanka and Israel, met in Berlin last week as part of a week-long annual get-together. They arrived in Paris on Monday for a three-day tour of the French capital, to sample ingredients and share recipes.
The chefs, some of the few people who have daily access to the world's power brokers, have the utmost trust of their employers.
Only the Kremlin still has an official taster on hand to sample the Russian president's food and make sure it hasn't been tampered with. Other world leaders put their stomachs entirely in the hands of their cooks. But the chefs are firmly discreet regarding any secrets they pick up from the world of diplomacy.
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