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Susan Lim with Roland Mesnier
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"The first day I went to work at the White House, feeling anxious, I saw somebody walking along who I thought I'd seen before. When he looked over to us chefs, he waved and said hello, and I realized it was President Clinton. I completely froze up. The head pastry chef, Roland Mesnier, who was standing next to me, joked that I shouldn't forget to breathe."
Susan Lim has been a pastry chef at the White House since May 1998. The only ethnic Korean working in the White House kitchen, she was a social science student at Georgetown University. Her areas of interest in university were political and social, not culinary. Then one day she met head pastry chef Roland Mesnier.
"My hobby was making bread and desserts, so I studied nine months in a Washington area cooking school. At the time, Mesnier would teach occasional classes at the school, and by chance I had the opportunity to assist him once. After class, he unexpectedly asked whether I'd like to work at the White House. I hesitated briefly because it seemed so surreal, so he said, 'You get paid, of course.' I felt I would have even done it for free, so I said OK."
When the Georgetown student said she was going to work in the White House kitchen, no one was more pleased or supportive than her parents. For budgetary and security reasons, the White House tends to avoid hiring people formally. Instead, it employs them whenever possible as special consultants. And that is what Lim is -- a special consultant. Currently, there are only two people working as formal staff in the White House's pastry kitchen, with five special consultants working as pastry chefs, and 10 cooking meals. Since working hours are determined by the schedule of events, there are times when she leaves for work at daybreak or works until midnight.
"One day, I prepared desserts for 40 people who were attending a party for Nancy Reagan. I made the desserts using California fruits, which Mrs. Reagan enjoys,Ħħ she recalls.
The size of White House parties depends on the kind of get-together, but President Clinton once threw an evening garden party for 2,000. To prepare desserts for 2,000 people, the kitchen needed to start work a week prior to the event. "With desserts, the head chef plays the same role as a blueprint designer who draws the big picture. The head chef determines the ingredients and the taste and designs of the desserts. Our results depend on how concretely the head chef presents the images he imagines.
Susan has work to do for breakfast meetings as well. For simple breakfasts of fruit and bread, she works from 5:00 a.m. White House pastries are characterized by their use of the freshest and most expensive ingredients. It's natural that food fit for the president requires much care.
Susan, who immigrated to the United States when she was two years old, plans to open her own restaurant in the Washington suburb of Bethesda in August. Her plan for this year is to become one of Washington's top chefs through her restaurant/bakery. "My biggest dream is to open a restaurant and pastry shop of my own in Korea. I've been to Korea often since I was young. I hope I can serve the deserts and breads I've made in my mother country one day."
(Pacific 21 Director Yu Min-ho, silkroad100@hotmail.com )
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