White House chef returns to MLH

What's the best place for a Rose Garden style BBQ and a White House State Dinner? All these unique culinary creations will be served at Sri Lanka's very own White House on July 9 and 10 at the Mount Lavinia Hotel.

"For the last eleven years, I have had the honour of doing daily, what most chefs would be lucky to do once in their life time. That honour was serving the First Family of the United States," Chef Walter Scheib whose forte lies in serving up a taste in stories and recipes of his eleven years as the White House chef under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush from a unique vantage point: The kitchen says.

"I had to cook everything from food for the first family to state dinners for 900 and picnics for 600," recalled Scheib and continued to state that his job involved travelling all over the world with the President and First Lady.

Scheib's White House achievement was his creation of a distinctly American repertoire for the nation's First House. The evenings will be totally focused on all the White House remembrances that ranged from State Dinner Secrets to throwing the White House Birthday Party. He will touch on concepts such as White House style cocktail reception, First Lady Luncheons, State Dinners and Outdoor "South Lawn" and Rose Garden barbecues and picnics and most of all the fascinating White House insider's anecdotes, culinary insights, team building and bonding, as well as, exercises with a culinary twist; hands-on cooking demonstration and interaction.

Yes, indeed, the evening will be comprised of revealing anecdotes, photographs, menus and special White House recipes - and it will be a treat for everyone who loves food, politics or both. Why not find out what the "Rose Garden strategy" meant?

When asked about his memorable times at Sri Lanka's White House: Mount Lavinia Hotel and The White House in the USA, he said: "A country is represented by its people. And the hotel along with the country exceeded my dreams." He added that just before when Chelsea Clinton left for college she spent six weeks with him and after she had finished her course, they awarded her a certificate and the one and only graduate from the Walter Scheib White House Cooking School.

The two nights at MLH will be scheduled for July 9 and 10. Saturday July 9 - A Rose Garden style all American BBQ from 8 pm onwards on the Paradise Beach. Sunday July 10 - White House State Dinner from 7.30 pm onwards at the Empire Ballroom. "Scheib has proved that he can pretty satisfy any palette, and I had the privilege of working with him in an occasion in the US, which was an experience of a lifetime," GM Anura Dewapura said.