Tom Douglas

A Visit to the White House Vegetable Garden/ by Shelley Lance, Blog Editor

The highlight of my recent visit to Washington DC (which was a vacation for me and the opportunity to attend a legal conference for my husband, Frank) was a personal tour of the White House graciously conducted by Frank’s cousin, Sam Kass (photo below, Sam is to the left- Frank is on the right), who is the personal chef to the Obama family and also the administration’s Food Initiatives Coordinator.

The garden of course is meticulously tended and beautifully laid out.  Sam told us that they had recently dug out the spring garden and replaced it with a summer planting.  With all the hot sunny days DC has been getting- things seemed to be in full swing even if recently planted, including many flowering eggplants and tomatoes, plus a row of cauliflowers starting to head up.  There were also okra plants, all kinds of squashes and cucumbers, and many herbs (which Sam and I are tasting and sniffing in the photo below).

There’s an entire bed planted with the same varieties of vegetables grown by Thomas Jefferson, (possibly our most intellectually brilliant President, with agricultural experimentation among his many pursuits) .  When the abundant garden, which produces hundreds of pounds of produce, is harvested, the vegetables go into meals prepared by the White House kitchen.  Sam told me he still cooks dinner for the Obama family 5 nights a week.  I asked him what he was preparing for them that evening, and all he said was: “a little steak.”  (By the way, Sam is the Obama family’s  personal chef, not the “White House Chef.”  That position is held by Cristeta Comeford.)

One of my favorite things about the garden is the exquisite setting against the White House South lawn, near a shimmering fountain.  From the right perspective (though not in this photo), you can see the Washington Monument in the distance.

There’s also a beehive adjacent to the garden, which Sam told us is the first ever beehive at the White House. The colony of about 70,000 bees pollinates the kitchen garden (and probably everything else in the general area) and provides a flood of honey.

Like any good working garden, there’s a compost bin of course!

Thanks a million, Sam, for a garden tour we will never forget!!

June 20th, 2011