Q & A: ROLAND MESNIER

Sweet Perspective On First Families

Roland Mesnier says that Reagan would eat chocolate mousse behind Nancy's back and that Clinton loved cherry pie. (By Rich Lipski -- The Washington Post)

A topiary made of lemon, lime and orange sorbet, sauced with glazed kumquats. Chocolate truffle turbans with raspberries and lime coulis. While international diplomacy may never have rested on a petit four or a souffle, in more than two decades as the White House pastry chef, Roland Mesnier says, he approached each confection as though world affairs depended on it.

"When things were rough between two heads of state, I think dessert may have softened up the spot a little bit," he says.

Though Mesnier worked on a grand scale -- serving as many as 800 guests -- he planned his creations down to the last detail in hopes of reflecting the culture and tastes of a particular dignitary: for the Chinese president, an elaborate sugar-coated junk filled with handmade pomegranate sorbet; for Boris Yeltsin, nougatine baskets decorated with sugar ribbons the colors of the Russian Federation flag and filled with lime ice cream and vodka mousse.

Before retiring in 2004, Mesnier wore his White House toque under five presidents, from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush. He returned briefly last year at Laura Bush's request before making way for new pastry chef Bill Yosses.

Mesnier, 62, writes about his experiences in "All the Presidents' Pastries: Twenty-Five Years in the White House, a Memoir" (Flammarion, $24.95). In a recent conversation, he dished up the first families' predilections.

Which president had the sweetest tooth?

Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Look at this picture of President Reagan with a spoon and fork, ready to dig into dessert. President Clinton was allergic to dairy, chocolate and [wheat] flour, but he loved sweets. When most families get to the White House, they tell you they don't really care for dessert. That lasts about two weeks.

Ronald Reagan sneaked dessert behind his wife's back. Did she ever find out?

I don't believe so. Mrs. Reagan said, "Please, no chocolate desserts for my husband." But when she would go away, we would fix the biggest bowl of chocolate mousse you've ever seen. The rest of the meal had to be a nice, big, thick steak and macaroni and cheese. He was a very happy man after that.

Was there much dieting among the first families?

Sometimes we would be told, "For the next two weeks, we only want fresh fruit." So we did beautiful trays of fresh fruit, and the president would say, "Don't you have a piece of pie somewhere?"

On stressful days, did the first families request comfort food?