PrintWhite House pastry chef quits
The Executive Pastry Chef at the White House, Bill Yosses, announced that he would be leaving his position in June in order to spend time teaching people to eat healthier.
Yosses announcement didn't burn any bridges. But it was also clear that he was unhappy about being placed in the positioin of having to "demonize" certain foods.
Washington Times:
Michelle Obama may have pushed the White House pastry chef a bit too far with her constant requests to replace fatty foods like cream and butter with lower-calorie options: He’s quit, calling the decision “bittersweet,” various media reported.
Bill Yosses, who was hired in 2007 under the George Bush administration, has announced he’s leaving his position in June and heading to the private sector in New York to teach people some healthy eating tactics, The New York Times reported.
While he admits part of his healthy eating influence came right from Mrs. Obama — who’s known for pushing her “Let’s Move” exercise and nutrition program around the nation — he also said that he’s not fully prepared to give up old-timey type ingredients that she’s deemed a threat, the New York Post reported.
“[She’s] definitely an inspiring boss,” he said, to The New York Times. “She has done [her campaign] with humor and good will, without preaching, just the way you would hope.”
But, he added, to the paper: “I don’t want to demonize cream, butter, sugar and eggs.”
Mr. Yosses, 60, said he was forced by Mrs. Obama and her healthy eating cohorts to replace “the usual blitzkrieg” of butter, cream and other like ingredients with fruit purees, honey or agave, the New York Post reported.
Nutrition and good eating habits is not rocket science. The key, of course, is moderation. Fatty foods, sugar, eggs, cream, etc. can be enjoyed by most people in reasonable portions every once and a while. The drive to eliminate these things from our diets is overkill, and smacks of government control - which is the next logical step in Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative.
It would be so much easier to teach Americans the value of moderation in eating and drinking rather than punish them for being fat by shaming them into not eating their favorite foods. This goes double for children.
The White House pastry chef was quite diplomatic in his resignation statement. But it's clear that when he goes out on his own to teach healthy eating, he will be somewhat at odds with Michelle Obama about what constitutes healthy eating.
Eating tasty food is one of the few joys shared by the entire human race. Why turn it into bland drudgery?
