Former White House Chef to speak at the Scranton Cultural Center

October 1
Former White House Chef to speak at the Scranton Cultural Center

Free tickets available at Abington and Dalton Community Libraries

Tickets are available to anyone with a library card at the Abington and Dalton Community Libraries for a lecture by former White House chef Walter Scheib at the Scranton Cultural Center on Thursday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m.

For 11 years, Scheib was commander-in-chief of the White House kitchen. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, he continued at his post through the first term of the Bush administration.

Scheib was discovered by First Lady Hillary Clinton at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia where he was the executive chef. He accepted the head chef position at the White House and the Clinton’s charge to showcase American cuisine.

During his tenure, he prepared state dinners for world leaders including South African president Nelson Mandela, Emperor Aikihito of Japan, French president Jacques Chirac, Russian president Boris Yeltsin, Czech leader Vaclav Havel, British prime minister Tony Blair, Mexican president Vicente Fox and Lady Diana Spencer. His kitchen also turned out home-cooked meals for the first families he served.

Born in Oakland California, he was raised in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Bethesda, Maryland. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. His resume includes service in the kitchens of Capitol Hilton in Washington, the Boca Raton Club and Resort in Florida.

Since leaving the White House, he has co-authored a book about his experience in the highest kitchen in the land, “White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen.”

“There is a great deal of interest in the White House and its occupants, especially during an election year,” said Mary Garm, library system administrator. “We are really excited to have Walter Scheib speak on what is, for most people, an unknown area of White House life.”

The lecture series is supported by the Lackawanna County Office of Arts and Culture and is part of the art, literature and performance collaboration of the Lackawanna County Library System, the Scranton Cultural Center and the Everhart Museum.