Chicken parmesan, pumpkin soup, and hot peppers: Here are 10 US first ladies' favorite foods
Talia Lakritz
- Melania Trump's favorite meal is the chicken parmesan from Jean-Georges, a New York City restaurant.
- Barbara Bush loved pizza so much she had a pie named after her at a Texas pizza shop.
- Pat Nixon enjoyed eating roast turkey all year long.
In the White House, presidential families have a staff of chefs to cater to their every craving. First ladies are in charge of planning the menus for state dinners, and they have influenced American food trends with their tastes.
Here are the favorite foods of the 10 most recent first ladies of the US.
Lady Bird Johnson served peach preserves at every meal.
According to the White House Family Cookbook, she grew lots of her own food at their Texas ranch.
Pat Nixon enjoyed eating roast turkey all year, not just on Thanksgiving.
According to the National First Ladies Library, White House executive chef Henry Haller prepared roast turkey year-round.
Betty Ford favored low-cost American cuisine like tuna casserole.
Ford was known for cutting food costs and reducing waste in the White House.
Rosalynn Carter was known for her cheese ring recipe.
The recipe contains cheddar cheese, grated nuts, mayonnaise, and pepper chilled into a ring and filled with strawberry preserves.
Nancy Reagan's regular order from the Hotel Bel-Air was chilled tomato soup and a salad.
In The National, screenwriter Rob Long recounted a lunch meeting with the former first lady where he was informed that he'd be seated at her usual table and served her go-to lunch order.
Barbara Bush loved pizza so much she had a pie named after her at Fuzzy's Pizza in Houston, Texas.
After the first lady mentioned Fuzzy's Pizza on The Late Show with David Letterman in 1994, their business boomed.
Hillary Clinton is a fan of spicy food, and she ate a hot pepper every day on the campaign trail.
She told NPR she credits her daily hot pepper with boosting her immune system and keeping her stamina up while campaigning. In an interview with the radio station Power 105.1, she also said that she keeps a bottle of hot sauce in her purse.
One of Laura Bush's favorite foods from the White House kitchen was roasted pumpkin squash soup, according to executive chef Cris Comerford.
Comerford prepared the blended soup, topped with candied pumpkin seeds and pumpkin oil, for the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2006.
Michelle Obama loves Spanish food, especially jamón, a Spanish dry-cured ham.
"I like anything with jamón, cheese, olives, bread and olive oil," she told Food & Wine. "I could eat that forever."
Melania Trump's favorite meal is the chicken parmesan from Jean-Georges, located inside Trump Tower in New York City.
Trump told New York Magazine in 2010 that the chicken parm is the best meal she's eaten in New York.
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