Chefs dream up fantasy inaugural dinners for Obama

updated 2:38 p.m. ET Nov. 21, 2008

While President-elect Barack Obama fills his Cabinet, many foodies are wondering who will fill the ones in his kitchen.

Might the White House serve health-conscious fare from Chicago chef Charlie Trotter? Or could the Obamas embrace Mexican flavors of one of their favorite chefs, Rick Bayless?

“That's what people keep saying,” Bayless says, though he adds that he has not been contacted by the Obamas.

Obama's transition team says it's much too soon to speculate about culinary changes at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And if history is any indication, the Obamas probably don't need to rush. The Clintons' chef, Walter Scheib, remained in the job into the current Bush administration. When he resigned in 2005, Laura Bush hired Cristeta Comerford, his deputy.

Still, it can be fun to dream, which is what eight chefs — some with ties to the Obamas — did when asked to cater a fictional inaugural dinner for the soon-to-be president and his wife.

Rick Bayless
The Obamas have described Bayless' award-winning Topolobampo restaurant in Chicago as their favorite, and he's already cleared his schedule for inauguration week, just in case.

Bayless says the Obamas always start with tortilla soup and guacamole when dining at his restaurant, so he would would put both on his menu.

He also would offer a green ceviche with Kona kampachi, a premium-farmed yellowtail fish from Kona, Hawaii, as a nod to Obama's childhood on the islands.

The main course would reflect Obama's mother's Kansas roots — roast ribeye from grass-fed beef served with red chili sauce with corn tamales, a preparation similar to one he knows they've enjoyed at the restaurant.

Dessert would be "something as American as apple pie," Bayless says, infused with goat-milk caramel. The meal then would be capped with a blend of Kenyan, Indonesian and Mexican coffee.

Charlie Palmer
Healthy eating would guide Charlie Palmer, a chef whose Charlie Palmer Steak restaurant is a 7-minute walk from Capitol Hill. Obama has been seen dining there with people such as former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.

Palmer says he loves the idea that Obama could be an advocate for healthy eating, especially for young people.

His inaugural menu would include bison steak, which is lighter than beef; a side dish of a nutty risotto; and an exceptional wine, such as a Rochioli pinot noir.

Rachael Ray
The queen of 30-minute meals says that with the way the economy is hurting, she'd want to keep things casual.

She'd start by ditching the traditional formal dinner and serving party food, instead. “I'd have sliders,” she says. “What's more American than a hamburger?”

Ray would make miniature versions of burgers topped with things like blue cheese and arugula or honey-mustard cream sauce. She'd also make little Chicago-style hot dogs, deviled eggs and all kinds of things you can eat in two bites.

“Casual food makes you smile and puts you at ease,” and that, she says, is what this country needs.

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