to me like a cross between a menu and an autobiography, The author either has a phenomenal memory on the desserts he prepared during the time range of his account, or he keeps very detailed records, A rags to riches story of sorts, although the author achieved fame more than wealth, An interesting European perspective on the Presidents from Jimmy Carter to George W, Bush, as seen through the eyes of the White House pastry chef, Includes a few recipes at the end, This book has been on my list for years, but it is not available at the library systems I frequent most, It has everything I love in a memoir travels, rags to riches, anecdotes and name dropping, After about the first half of the book though, it felt like the book was on repeat, 'This person came to dinner, I made this dessert and they loved it.
' Throughout the book I couldn't help but think of the family he left alone at home a wife and son when he was busy following presidents to Camp David, and as if being the Head Pastry Chef at the White House was not enough of a career, he also taught night classes.
I don't think his family ever saw him, I know that's not the point,
I wish I had stopped reading after he reached the White House, and simply skimmed for interesting tidbits about the Presidents and their families, He spoke respectfully of all he served from Carter to George W, Bushbut clearly Nancy Reagan was his most difficult, I would say the most interesting bit was his experience in the White House onwhere the staff were rushed out with such haste staff was not permitted to grab their wallets, purses, car keys, phones, etc.
They were left waiting outside with little to no information until afterhours a colleague said, "Let's walk to my house" so dozens of staff walked four miles and found their own way home on that horrific day.
It's a bit disheartening that the White House a presumed top terrorist target, didn't have a better emergency plan in place, I'm sure they do now, Again I digress, Mesnier's arrogance got under my skin although he kept asserting he is humble, maybe something was lost in translation, I would have liked to learn more of the nitty gritty of how his job worked, for example how much time did he have to prepare, did he do the shopping himself, how much help did he have, did he have a budget Over all not a total waste of
time, but didn't quite live up to my years of anticipation.
This was a delightful book, Mesnier has an inspiring life story and he tells great stories about the presidents he worked for Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush, Of course he didn't reveal too much which of course is appropriate, After a while his descriptions of the incredible desserts he made very creatively depending on the guest or event blurred together, I'd say this book is/food to history, All the Presidents Pastries starts off slow with Roland Messnier's humble beginnings and his entry into the pastry world bouncing back and forth between kitchens which was demonstrating his rise to stardom.
I started to skim. What I found most interesting about this book was when Mesnier told stories about thePresidents and how they and their families lived at the White House, It was like getting a private peek of the goings on inside, He seemed fair in his descriptions and remained fairly neutral politically which was refreshing, I was surprised when Mesnier wrote about Thomas Jeffersons purchase of the state of Louisiana, His editors obviously need to brush up on American History, A dumb comment he made that blew my mind no pun intended was calling the Monica Lewinsky scandal “minor, ” Must be the French in him,
There were times when he could have embellished on a story but dropped it like a lead balloon, For instance, when Mrs. Clinton sent him a Sachertorte asking him his opinion of it, Instead of sharing his response, he goes into a diatribe about good and bad hotels, Sharing the discussion of the cake would have been delightful, My guess is he didnt want to share his negative opinion of the cake with the public,
This book was a huge Horn Toot but I guess he has that right due to his hard work and successes but, I heard myself utter “blowhard” under my breath a few times while reading it.
With the thousands of desserts he baked, you would think there would have been more photos of them, After a while, I caught myself skimming dessert descriptions, He never used names but I think he was also using this book as an opportunity to call people he didnt enjoy dealing with, aholes, This was an okay book but I am so glad it is over, A fun memoir by the White House pastry chef, I loved the stories about the five presidents for whom he served and would have preferred less background about his career prior to the White House, Just what I wanted in a book like this: splashy, a little gossipy, and an unusual slice of life, Also makes me want to explore more fruitbased desserts, The least political "political memoir" ever, Roland served underdifferent presidents, republicans and democrats, and doesn't take any side, He just tell it like he saw it from the kitchen and mostly focuses about the food, I kinda loved it. An entertaining memoir from Roland Mesnier, who was the pastry chef at the White House foryears, I enjoyed the anectodes about the different presidents from Jimmy Carter to W, I was impressed how Mesnier tactfully told you a great deal about the personalities of the different First Ladies,
It got a bit long, but his retelling of the Sept,period and the Iranian hostage crisis were especially poignant,
A enlightening focus on the First Ladies, even more than the presidents, Mr. Mesnier was the head White House pastry chef foryears, from Carter to George
W, Bush. This is his memoir. Looots of food descriptions and some interesting behind
the scenes information on presidents and working in the White House, Good!
This was a fun book, although it began to read like a grocery list toward the middle, I enjoyed learning about Mesnier's training and the "behind the scenes" workings of major hotels like the Savoy, As for Washington, this is no "tell all" book about Mesnier's experiences at the White House, but a serious description of his most successful dessert menus and events.
Yet I wish for more personal context, more warm anecdotesI still don't have a sense of Mesnier's life, just a taste of his work ethic and the culinary culture of the White HouseI don't want gossip or sassy stories, just more honest context about his working life as head pastry chef.
This extraordinary successstorytold by the hero himselfof a young French pastry chef who climbed his way to the top, embodies the great American dream, After working at the Savoy in London, the George V in Paris, the Princess in Bermuda, and the Homestead in Virginia, Roland Mesnier took on the job of a lifetime as pastry chef to the White House.
He provides behindthescenes insight into the characters, tastes, and obsessions of the five presidents and first ladies he served during hisyears in Washington, Having witnessed major world events from the hub of the world's superpower, Mesnier has unique perspective on both crises and celebrations, He recounts stories such as Carter's incessant battle for the return of American hostages in Tehran, the aftermath of the attempt to assassinate Reagan, Bush senior's doubts after the war in Kuwait, and the shock of September.
He uncovers intimate details such as Mrs, Reagan's bad moods and Prince Charles's embarrassment at not knowing how to use a tea bag, Fiercely loyal to each of the first families, Mesnier's bipartisan message is positive and inspirational, Twelve easytofollow recipes include the favorite desserts of presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W, Bush. .