About this Event
The White House Historical Association will be hosting a week long lunchtime Holiday Book Festival with different authors featured each day!
Signing Daily: Marcia Anderson and Kristen Mason authors of The Official White House Ornament: Collected Stories of A Holiday Tradition.
Enter a raffle to win an original drawing by artist John Hutton!
Featured Authors for Thursday, December 2:
Matthew Wendel will be signing Recipes from the President's Ranch: Food People Like to Eat.
Roland Mesnier with join by Zoom to meet to customers. Pre-signed copies of his books Creating the Sweet World of White House Desserts and The White House in Gingerbread will be available.
A limited number of The White House Kids' "State Dinner" Cookbook pre-signed by Michelle Obama will be available.
Wine and the White House: A History will be pre-signed by Frederick J. Ryan, Jr.
Official White House China will be pre-signed by William Allman.
Issued annually by the White House Historical Association, Official White House Christmas Ornaments are hung on millions of Christmas trees each December. But the ornament program did not begin as a series. When the Angel Gabriel ornament was issued by the Association in 1981, it was an immediate success and the phenomenon began. Today the ornaments are a popular collector’s item and a long-standing and beloved tradition. This book includes the collected stories behind the design of each of the forty-one ornaments issued from 1981 to 2021. The forty-first ornament, made for 2021, honors President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Chef Matthew Wendel provides a first-hand account of his years working for President George W. Bush and his family at Camp David and at their Texas home on Prairie Chapel Ranch. He offers a collection of recipes, photographs, stories, and memories of daily life as senior advance representative in the Office of Presidential Advance and as the personal chef and personal assistant to the president. Included with recipes of the author's signature hot cinnamon rolls and fried chicken are the Bush family’s favorite dishes, meals that world leaders were served, and a behind-the-scenes look at how he prepared for head of state visits and shopped for the first family.
In this memoir, Roland Mesnier, pastry chef to five presidents, recalls the stunning desserts he created for White House State Dinners, formal events, and family celebrations. This volume includes commentary and illustrations of Chef Mesnier's most splendid desserts. But, for the first time, he reveals the secrets of mold making and sugar work and shares recipes, all adapted for home kitchens. Of special interest are descriptions and illustrations of the dozens of molds now in the chef's collection. With Creating a Sweet World of White House Desserts, Roland Mesnier and his assistant Mark Ramsdell help make professional desserts possible for cooks of all abilities and offer insights into the concerns and accomplishments of the White House pastry kitchen.
In this memoir and cookbook, Roland Mesnier, executive pastry chef to five presidents, tells the story behind each of the holiday gingerbread houses he created for display in the White House State Dining Room. Chef Mesnier also provides step-by-step instructions and templates for constructing and decorating a gingerbread house in the home kitchen. During the holidays, thousands of guests are served freshly made cookies and desserts at buffet events and private receptions. More than thirty of Chef Mesnier's White House favorite holiday recipes are featured including such cookies as coconut chocolate squares and linzer stars and trees; traditional holiday recipes such as buche de Noel, fruit cake, and egg nog; cakes and soufflés such orange sabayon, spice cake, and gingerbread soufflé; and lastly, meringues, mousses, fillings, frozen desserts, and fresh fruit.
For five years, the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, invited 8 to 12-year-olds across the nation to create a healthy, affordable, original, and delicious lunch recipe. Winners representing all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia were selected each year to attend a Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House hosted by Mrs. Obama and more than 270 of their winning appealing and creative recipes are compiled here and represent the “farm to table” ideal of health conscious America taken one step farther: “From farm to State Dining Room table.” Introduced with a letter from First Lady Michelle Obama.
Whether you’re a devotee of presidential history, a lover of wine, or both, Wine and the White House: A History is sure to prove informative and entertaining. The first book of its kind, it is a comprehensive journey through the history of White House hospitality that explores every president’s experience of wine. The fully illustrated pages also feature memorable presidential toasts, menus from historic White House gatherings, a catalog of vintages served, and spectacular new photography of the White House glassware collection.
For the presidents, a basic component of official entertaining has always been the dinner table. To enhance each White House event, table settings—china, silver, linens, and flowers—are elegantly designed to convey the ultimate in diplomacy, national pride, and hospitality. Documenting more than two centuries, this book features the elegant china used for official White House entertaining and private dining that survives as a touchstone of the American presidency.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
White House History Shop, 1610 H Street Northwest, Washington, United States
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