RACHEL BELLE

Republican and Democrat presidents can agree on one thing: cheeseburgers!

Nov 9, 2020, 11:45 AM

cheeseburgers...

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev (L) eat cheeseburgers at Ray's Hell Burger June 24, 2010, in Arlington, Virgina. (Photo by Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images)

(Photo by Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images)

Before he went vegan, President Bill Clinton was famous for his love of jalapeno cheeseburgers. President Barack Obama was photographed enjoying a burger so many times, the Washington Post published an article in 2014 titled, “President Obama and Cheeseburgers: A Love Story.” And fast food loving President Donald Trump has been photographed eating a McDonald’s burger on Air Force One.

New restaurants are opening in the middle of the pandemic — but why?

The White House Historical Association recently published a new cookbook, Recipes From the President’s Ranch, written by Matthew Wendel, the chef who cooked for President George W. Bush and his family at Camp David, and at their Crawford Texas ranch for more than his eight years in office. Wendel says one of the meals he made most, at the family’s request, was cheeseburgers.

“Mrs. Bush had a very specific way she liked them,” Wendel said. “She liked the patty very thin and cooked medium with very sharp cheddar cheese on top. A whole wheat bun that is toasted — spread the butter on the bun and toast it. And all your lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles.”

But the secret ingredient, the thing that gave the burgers their signature Texas touch, was barbecue sauce.

“She liked a smoky cheeseburger,” Wendel said. “But instead of putting the barbecue sauce on the burger, and making it messy to eat, I decided to try the barbecue sauce mixed into the meat. That way you could get that good, smoky, barbecue flavor without having the mess of the barbecue sauce running down your fingers. That’s important, especially if you’re a world leader and you don’t want to seem messy when you eat and you’re discussing world problems with the other leaders.”

These burgers weren’t just served at family meals. President Bush insisted they be served at lunches with foreign dignitaries and world leaders to create a casual, homey atmosphere.

“I served them a lot at Camp David because they just meant home to them, and we started serving them to world leaders who would visit for lunch,” Wendel said. “Back during the administration, [Japan’s] President Abe came to visit the president at the White House and they bonded over cheeseburgers. There was an AP reporter in Tokyo who wrote this article called ‘Cheeseburger Diplomacy’ and he talked about how the two men bonded over a meal of American cheeseburgers. Prime Minister Abe was impressed that such a simple meal could bring them together. So we started having them for lunch for all our visitors because, in some way, they expected to have a cheeseburger. We can have our feet under the same table, enjoy the same meal, and get some diplomacy done.”

An Eater article reported that during diplomacy visits to Japan, Prime Minister Abe and President Trump also ate cheeseburgers together, once in 2017, and again in 2019 after playing golf.

This is an excerpt from Rachel Belle’s James Beard Award nominated podcast Your Last Meal. Click here to listen to the whole episode and follow along on Instagram.

Rachel Belle

Rachel Belle...

Rachel Belle

Belle: This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later

After 20 years in news radio, I'm leaving my post at KIRO Newsradio to focus on making my podcast "Your Last Meal" full-time!

1 year ago

emily post etiquette...

Rachel Belle

Emily Post’s “Etiquette” goes modern: Advice on pronouns, hugging

In 1922, Emily Post published her very first etiquette book. Since then, 18 editions have been published by five generations of Posts.

1 year ago

Friluftsliv...

Rachel Belle

Combat winter blues with friluftsliv, the Nordic tradition of being outside

Friluftsliv is part of the culture in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark, places that are darker and colder than Seattle in winter.

1 year ago

small talk...

Rachel Belle

Most Americans hate small talk, but Seattleites continue talking about weather

Out of 1,000 people surveyed, 71% said they prefer silence to small talk and 89% of Gen Z use their phones to avoid making small talk.

1 year ago

(Igordoon Primus/Unsplash)...

Rachel Belle

Seattle sperm bank in desperate need of Black donors

Only 2% of American sperm donors are Black men, which is causing a lot of heartache for women specifically looking for a Black donor. 

1 year ago

Photo courtesy of Rosie Grant...

Rachel Belle

Woman cooking recipes engraved on gravestones says they’re all ‘to die for’

You know that recipe your family requests at every holiday, potluck and birthday party? What if you had it engraved on your tombstone?

1 year ago

Republican and Democrat presidents can agree on one thing: cheeseburgers!