WASHINGTON — Roland Mesnier, who created often-magical desserts for five presidents and their friends as White House govt pastry chef, has died at age 78.
His demise was confirmed Saturday by the White House Historical Association, which mentioned he died Friday following a brief sickness.
One of the longest-serving White House cooks, Mesnier was employed in 1979 by first woman Rosalynn Carter and retired in the course of the (*78*) W. Bush administration.
Answering questions in an internet “Ask the White House” discussion board in 2004, he defined that in making ready desserts not simply for the primary household however for events, receptions and dinners, he was usually referred to as on to organize hundreds of pastries. He mentioned he deliberate the variety of pastries in keeping with who could be in attendance.
“Over the 25 years I’ve been here, I’ve noticed that Democrats usually eat more than Republicans,” Mesnier mentioned. “I’ve also observed that if the guests are mostly ladies, they will usually eat more pastries than men.”
At Christmas time, he was identified for the flowery gingerbread homes he made to assist embellish the White House. He mentioned he additionally wanted to make extra pastries than normal for vacation events as a result of some tended to “disappear into pocketbooks or pockets” and infrequently ended up as Christmas tree ornaments in individuals’s houses.
Mesnier grew up in Bonnay, a village in japanese France, in a household of 9 youngsters and commenced his profession as an apprentice at age 14. White House archives describe him leaving residence with a cardboard suitcase and five francs to start his apprenticeship at the Patisserie Maurivard in Besançon, France. He later labored in Paris and the German cities of Hanover and Hamburg earlier than touchdown a job at the Savoy lodge in London.
In 1967, he turned a pastry chef at a lodge in Bermuda and whereas dwelling on the island met his future spouse, a vacationing schoolteacher from West Virginia. A decade later, he was working at The Homestead resort in Virginia when he heard that the White House was wanting for a brand new pastry chef.
When requested in 2004 about working at the White House, he mentioned: “You don’t think about free time, spare time, etc. Because your time is at the White House. Any time you are needed you have to be there.”
“It could be Christmas day, Easter, your birthday, your mother’s birthday, your child’s birthday — you are going to be at the White House if you are needed,” he mentioned.
“The White House always comes first.”
He is survived by his son, (*78*) Mesnier.