25 Facts About Walter Scheib

Walter Stanley Scheib III was an American chef who was White House Executive Chef from 1994 until 2005.

Walter Scheib's father worked for the Atomic Energy Commission, and his mother was an accountant.

The Scheibs moved to Bethesda, Maryland, when Walter was a young boy.

Walter Scheib cooked Spanish cuisine, and taught Walter to appreciate unusual flavor combinations.

Walter Scheib asked his mother to allow him to chop vegetables or prepare food so often, that in time he became extremely proficient at cooking and was allowed to prepare all the family's meals.

Walter Scheib enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park, but quit and enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, where he graduated in 1979.

Walter Scheib moved to the Boca Raton Resort and Club in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1986, where he served four years as the executive chef.

At The Greenbrier, Walter Scheib directed a staff of 200, and often prepared as many as 1,000 meals a night.

Walter Scheib's successor, Jon Hill, lasted just five months before being replaced by long-time sous-chef Hans Raffert, but Raffert retired in October 1992, and French-born and trained chef Pierre Chambrin, who succeeded Raffert, was asked to resign in March 1994 after refusing to cook the low-fat American cuisine favored by President Bill and First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Walter Scheib's mother had just died, and Walter Scheib did not want to take on a new job.

Walter Scheib was among 4,000 applicants for the position, and one of just five asked to audition for the First Lady.

Walter Scheib wanted the White House to feature more distinctively American cooking techniques, dishes, and presentation, something she believed Scheib could bring to the White House.

Walter Scheib wanted to get away from the cream- and fat-heavy dishes of French cooking.

Walter Scheib was competing against some of the best chefs in the United States, including Nora Pouillon and Patrick Clark.

Walter Scheib auditioned before the First Lady and several other women by presenting pecan-encrusted lamb, red-curried sweet potatoes, and morel sauce.

An anonymous White House staffer later claimed that Walter Scheib kept serving the Bushes scallops, even though they disliked them.

The differences became too great, and Walter Scheib was fired by the Bushes in February 2005.

Walter Scheib was succeeded in August 2005 by Cristeta Comerford, a White House sous-chef whom Scheib had hired in 1995.

Walter Scheib often worked long hours each day, and as many as six days a week.

In 2007, Walter Scheib authored a memoir, The White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen.

Walter Scheib subsequently formed a corporation, The American Chef, which provided his services as a consultant and lecturer, and assisted in planning, preparing, and presenting Scheib-cooked meals for large groups.

Walter Scheib appeared on the television series Iron Chef America, which aired on the Food Network, in 2006.

Walter Scheib went hiking in Taos, New Mexico, and went missing on June 13,2015.

Walter Scheib met his first wife, Jean Prince, at the Capital Hilton, where she was working as a chef.

Walter Scheib then married Yvonne Swartz; their marriage ended in divorce.