FRAN: In his book, “White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen”, former Executive Chef Walter Scheib quotes White House Social Secretary Ann Stock jokingly calling picnics and outdoor dinners “Kill the Grass” events. Chef, what were these events?

 

WALLY: Some were one time, for example, an outdoor dinner for Ireland, but a few key events included the Easter Egg Roll (we produced 12,000 eggs), the congressional picnic, press picnic, and, of course, the Fourth of July with those fantastic fireworks.

In the past, most of the food, burgers, hot dogs and such, was prepared by an outside catering company. Because I had dealt with food for large numbers of people at the Boca Raton Resort and Club and the Greenbrier I asked that my team do all the cooking and essentially upgrade the menus.

FRAN: What were these new menus?

WALLY: We wouldn’t change the traditional picnic - hot dogs and all for the Fourth of July, but we did change most of the rest. I had to find common ground between inspiration and practicality – food that could be prepared in advance and wouldn’t wilt or spoil in Washington during July and August. I began to look at warm locales and their food -- California, the Caribbean, North Africa. Here’s an example of what I devised based on that research - grilled swordfish with papaya and garlic mojo, honey and tamarind glazed pork and firecracker chicken with pineapple salsa.
FRAN: Sounds wonderful. What about the basic logistics in getting everything outside? How many guests are we talking about at these affairs?
WALLY: A couple of thousand people, sometimes more. The Clintons had a staff picnic for four thousand. The events took place on the south lawn. People had drinks on the west side and moved to my team’s place on the east lawn to go through food lines. My plan was to set up equipment on the closed-off roadway. They put plywood over the President’s running track and rolling mats over the ground under the tents where most people congregated. Still nothing really saved the grass.
A big problem was keeping things cool. For the first few years, we rented various refrigerated trucks, but later I bought three units of our own, storing them in a support facility when the “kill the grass” season was over.
We would set up huge grills, which ended up with the staff sweltering, but it worked.
Then, after three summers, I got an idea. To be brief, we asked for help from the military, who had total expertise about feeding troops in the field. They had those portable kitchens that would be perfect for my needs at the White House. The personnel at Fort McNair and Fort Meyer couldn’t have been more helpful. We were given use of whatever we wanted. Some military personnel came with them to help. These men proved invaluable and, of course, they got a “You’ll never guess where I’m working, Folks” experience.
FRAN: I have to quote a partial shopping list in your book for a typical event. It really gives us an idea of the huge amounts of foods you dealt with --- 4,500 hot dogs, 5,500 chicken breasts, 5,500 hamburgers, 3,200 ears of corn, 15 gallons peeled garlic, 30 cases miniature lettuce, 160 pounds dry white beans.
Now, any party giver would think of this - what happened if it rained or stormed?
WALLY: Well, naturally rain was a problem, but wind was almost as bad. We prayed for it to blow from north to south, but when it was east to west, the wind could send embers from the grills over to the guests. We had to pay close attention to all the grills if that happened.
Besides the problem of shuttling people inside, rain didn’t totally put out the extremely hot grills, but we could no longer cook on them. One time, we had everything set up on the south lawn when it began to rain. In 45 minutes, we got all the buffet tables inside and the picnic took place on the State Floor of the White House.
Perhaps the most unusual thing had nothing to do with the weather. We had a morning event scheduled for 2,800 Americorps volunteers when a small plane flew onto the south lawn, making it a crime scene. We weren’t set up for lunch, so in desperation, the Secret Service ordered McDonald’s. So Big Macs made it to the White House after all.
FRAN: Any fringe benefits? I know you saw numbers of famous people from all over the world in your career there, but what about “kill the grass” time.
WALLY: Yes, there were some. When entertainment was part of the event, people like Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder came to perform. My staff and I would take a break and listen to their sound checks. It was like a private concert.

Question for the Chef: What are some memorable White House July 4ths?
Wally: President George W. Bush’s birthday is July 6, but he always celebrated the 4th at the White House with a barbecue with lots of family and friends and of course the fireworks. Chelsea Clinton enjoyed having a rooftop 4th with her friends. We prepared the food, and the staff brought their families to see the fireworks from one of the most famous viewpoints in the world
Walter Scheib is “The American Chef”. Walter just returned from Sri Lanka, a trip you can read about by checking his blog at TheAmericanChef.com.

Summertime BBQ Recipe from the Chef
BIG Jim’s BBQ Chicken
4 portions

For the Spice Rub – yields 1/3 cup
¼ c. allspice berries – toasted and ground
2 T. chopped garlic
1 T. jalapeño, chopped
2 t. thyme
1 t. dry basil
1 t. dry mustard
2 t. ground coriander
½ t. ground clove
1 t. dry ginger
¼ t. cinnamon

1. Combine and mix well. Can be stored 3 – 5 days refrigerated.

For Baste/Sauce – makes 2 cups

1 T. olive oil
¼ c diced onion
2 T. chopped garlic
1 T. jalapeño, chopped
2 T. spice mix, from above
½ c. mango nectar
¾ c. ketchup
2 t. Molasses
2 t. cider vinegar & 2 t. lemon juice
2 t. Creole mustard

1. In 1 qt. sauce pot, sauté in oil over medium heat onion, garlic and jalapeño until tender,
3 – 4 minutes.
2. Add spice mix, stir well for 30 seconds.
3. Add remaining ingredients, simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Hold for use or refrigerate for 1 week.

For Chicken
4 each chicken breasts, legs, thighs and spice rub from above.
1. Wash and dry chicken well.
2. Rub liberally with spice rub.
3. Let stand 2 – 3 hrs. or overnight in the refrigerator
4. Preheat charcoal grill to medium.
5. Cook chicken on lightly oiled grill, starting bone-side down. Turn frequently, cook for a total of 20 – 25 minutes until cooked through.
6. Baste chicken with BBQ. Sauce and cook 5 minutes more, turning (don’t burn)!
7. Serve with any remaining sauce on side.

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