Henry Haller
Henry Haller | |
---|---|
Born | January 10, 1923 Altdorf, Switzerland |
Died | November 7, 2020 (aged 97) Rockville, Maryland, U.S. |
Education | Apprenticed at Park Hotel, Davos; Hotel Training School, Lucerne; trained at Hotel Des Balances, Lucerne; trained at Hotel Belle-Vue-Palace, Bern; trained at Grand Hotel, Bürgenstock |
Spouse | Carole Itjen Haller |
Culinary career | |
Cooking style | French |
Henry Haller (January 10, 1923 – November 7, 2020) was a Swiss-American chef who served as Executive Chef of the White House from 1966 to 1987. Haller's death was announced on November 9, 2020.[1][2]
Early life
Haller was born in
Haller enrolled in an apprenticeship when he was 16 years old,
Move to America
Haller had longed to follow other European chefs and live in the United States,[5] but he first emigrated at the age of 25[7] to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1948,[3] where he practiced his skills as the chef entremetier at the exclusive Ritz-Carlton Montreal, preparing appetizers, soups, vegetables, pastas, potatoes, and eggs.[5]
Haller emigrated to the United States in 1953, where he worked as the chef saucier at the Royal Palms Inn in Phoenix, Arizona.[8] After a year, he took a position as the chef de cuisine (executive chef) at the Dellwood Country Club in Rockland County, New York (near New York City). He worked there for four years before becoming chef de cuisine at the Ambassador Hotel (later known as the Sheraton-East Hotel) in New York City.[3][8] After three years,[8] Haller moved to the Hotel Hampshire House in Manhattan.[9]
White House
Lyndon B. Johnson had stayed at the Ambassador Hotel when he was Vice President of the United States, and enjoyed Haller's cooking.[3] Johnson became President of the United States in November 1963 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The White House Executive Chef at that time was René Verdon, who had been hired by the Kennedys. Verdon resigned at the end of 1965 in a dispute with President Lyndon B. Johnson over the cuisine being offered at the White House.[10] Haller applied for the position, and was interviewed on January 1, 1966, in the White House by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.[4]
Haller's appointment was announced on January 20, 1966. His first day on the job was February 1, at which time he made $10,000 a year.[9] Haller was a probationary chef for the first six months of his tenure at the White House.[5] During this time he lived on the third floor of the White House.[11] Haller had oversight over three White House kitchens: The main kitchen on the ground floor, the family kitchen on the second floor, and a sous-kitchen on the mezzanine level of the sub-basement. (A stove existed in what used to be a former kitchen on the Third Floor as well, although it was rarely used.) He had a staff of seven or eight, two of which worked in the sous-kitchen.[4]
During his tenure at the White House, Haller oversaw the planning, preparation, and cooking for three First Family weddings: The marriage of Luci Baines Johnson to Patrick Nugent in August 1966, the marriage of Lynda Bird Johnson to Chuck Robb in December 1967, and the marriage of Tricia Nixon to Edward F. Cox in June 1971. He oversaw the design and preparation of wedding cakes for all three events.[12]
In 1976, Haller oversaw food preparation for White House events in honor of the
One of Haller's more difficult events was the dinner in September 1978 on the South Lawn to celebrate the signing of the
Retirement
By 1987, Haller was making $58,000 a year. He announced his retirement on June 6, 1987, effective October 1, just in time for his 65th birthday.[3]
In retirement, Haller developed recipes for the liquor company Cointreau, and briefly advised the Grand Union supermarket chain regarding the development of fresh and frozen store-brand gourmet meals.[3]
Personal life
While working at the Dellwood Country Club, Haller met Carole Itjen, a dining room worker at a hotel on Martha's Vineyard. The couple married, and had four children.[3]
Haller died on November 7, 2020, in Gaithersburg, Maryland.[13]
References
- ^ Obituaries, Telegraph (November 12, 2020). "Henry Haller, unflappable White House chef who cooked for five presidents from LBJ onwards – obituary". www.telegraph.co.uk. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ Dahinden, Martin (November 9, 2020). "Henry Haller, unflappable White House chef who cooked for five presidents from LBJ onwards – obituary". www.nzz.ch (in Swiss German). Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Burros, Marian (June 7, 1987). "White House Chef to Leave in Fall". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Henry Haller". Gerald R. Ford Foundation. March 31, 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Langdon, Dolly (March 27, 1978). "From Nixon's Fish to Tito's Rack of Lamb and Amy's Cookies, White House Chef Henry Haller Tries 'to Keep Everyone Happy'". People. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
- ^ Radcliffe, Donnie (November 17, 1987). "Laying the Gorbachev Groundwork". The Washington Post. p. D2.
- ^ a b c d Haller & Aronson 1987, p. vii.
- ^ a b c Haller & Aronson 1987, p. viii.
- ^ a b "Versatile Swiss Chef Joins LBJ". Sarasota Journal. January 20, 1966. p. 12. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
- ^ Henderson & Ganeshram 2011, p. 76.
- ^ Haller & Aronson 1987, pp. viii–ix.
- ^ a b Marter, Marilynn (August 28, 1996). "Serving His Country". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
- ^ Thrush, Glenn (December 18, 2020). "Henry Haller, Chef for Five Presidents, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
Bibliography
- Haller, Henry; Aronson, Virginia (1987). The White House Family Cookbook. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780394556574.
- Henderson, Jeff; Ganeshram, Ramin (2011). America I Am: Pass It Down Cookbook. New York: Smiley Books. ISBN 9781401931353.