白宮“第一御廚”人選敲定 菲律賓裔女廚師脫穎而出

First woman White House head chef hired In this photograph provided by the White House, Chef Cristeta 'Cris' Comerford prepares a meal inside the White House kitchen in this July 17, 2002, photo. Kitchen duties may have traditionally been viewed as women's work, but not at the White House. Until now: Cristeta Comerford has been named executive chef.

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After an extensive six-month search, first lady Laura Bush announced Sunday that Comerford was chosen from hundreds of applicants to head the executive kitchen. A naturalized U.S. citizen from the Philippines, she will be the first woman and first minority to hold the post.

The 42-year-old Comerford has been an assistant chef at the White House for 10 years. She worked under former executive chef Walter Scheib III, who resigned in February.

Scheib said Sunday that Comerford was hands down（毫無疑問地） the best assistant he had in his 30-year career and is a wonderful choice to take over. He said she is a great cook with an artistic eye and a calm demeanor that can handle the pressure cooker（壓力重重充滿困難） that is the White House kitchen.

While being executive chef at the White House is prestigious, the job also can be grueling. Comerford will be in charge of whipping up（迅速計劃，很快搞出） everything from state dinners for world leaders to munchies for the commander in chief, his family and guests.

As many as 2,000 guests per month are fed at the White House. Mrs. Bush has signaled her intent to do more entertaining than in the first term, when festivities were taboo after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Mrs. Bush has been trying out finalists for the job, asking them to prepare test meals at special functions and private meals at the residence.

Comerford has a bachelor's degree in Food Technology from the University of the Philippines. She has worked at Le Ciel in Vienna, Austria and at restaurants in two Washington hotels.

The head chef is responsible for designing and executing menus for state dinners, social events, holiday functions, receptions and official luncheons hosted by the president and first lady. The job pays around $80,000-$100,000 a year.

下廚房通常被視爲女性的份內事，但在白宮卻是一個例外。直到最近克里斯蒂娜·科默福德成爲白宮“第一御廚”，纔打破了長期以來男性統治該職位的慣例。

經過長達六個月的撒網尋覓，上週日（8月14日），美國第一夫人勞拉宣佈科默福德從幾百名候選者中脫穎而出，成爲白宮新一任“第一御廚”。這位菲律賓裔美國人將成爲第一位出任該職位的少數族裔女性。

現年42歲的科默福德在白宮做助理廚師已有10年之久，曾在前任御廚沃爾特·斯蓋布的手下工作。後者已於今年2月辭職。

上週日，斯蓋布說，科默福德無疑是他30年廚師生涯中遇到的最好的幫手，也是接替這一職位的最佳人選。在斯蓋布看來，她是一位非常出色的廚師，她有藝術家的眼光，遇事沉着冷靜，完全能夠應對白宮廚房工作的巨大壓力。

身爲白宮“第一御廚”無疑會享有很高的聲望和威信，但這份工作也很折磨人。科默福德將負責處理各種大小事務，從爲世界各國領導人準備國宴到爲總統及其家人、朋友準備快餐。

白宮每月平均要宴請2000位賓客，布什夫人已經放出風聲說，與第一個任期相比，她將會在白宮招待更多客人。布什第一個任期的時候，受2001年9·11恐怖襲擊事件的影響，在白宮中忌諱舉行宴請活動。

布什夫人親自考察了最後入圍的大廚們，並讓他們分別準備用於特殊場合的菜餚和家常菜作爲考察的內容。

科默福德擁有菲律賓大學食品工藝學的學士學位，她曾經在奧地利維也納的Le Ciel餐廳和華盛頓兩家酒店的餐廳工作過。

白宮的“第一御廚”負責美國總統和第一夫人舉辦的所有國宴、社交活動、節日慶典、招待會和正式午餐會菜單的設計和烹飪工作。這份工作的年薪約爲8萬到10萬美元。