Francois Rysavy
Cite this Page
"Francois Rysavy," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1055.
- Position
- Chef
- Years in President's House
- 1955 – 1957
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Biography
- “I, Francois Rysavy, the orphan, the pasty apprentice, the refugee, was shaking hands with Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States!” So said Francois Rysavy shortly after retirement, when looking back on his time as head chef at the White House. (1) Born in Czechoslovakia on January 27, 1904, he was orphaned at two years old, after which he apprenticed in a pastry shop and worked part-time as a “cookie-peddler,” selling cookies and pastries at train stations, soccer stadiums, and other public places. As an adult, Rysavy left Czechoslovakia and worked as a chef at several high-end hotel restaurants throughout Western Europe and North Africa. In 1948, he was working back in Czechoslovakia when the Communist Party took control of the country in a coup d’etat, after which he fled to the United States. (2)
Rysavy worked as a private chef in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. In January 1955, Rysavy became a naturalized U.S. citizen and was hired as head chef at the White House at the recommendation of Herbert Blunck, an associate of President Dwight D. Eisenhower who had tried Rysavy’s cooking at a party. (3) As head chef, Rysavy cooked many of the Eisenhowers’ private meals and prepared large formal meals and State Dinners. In 1955, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower wrote Rysavy a thank you note for the birthday cake he made her, expressing gratitude for the “artistry which you showed in decorating it . . . the cake was just as delicious as it looked!” (4) Rysavy enjoyed his time at the White House, writing soon after retirement: “Life at the White House was strange and exciting because one never knew what adventure lay ahead. Now and then, when crossing the hall, I would meet the President walking along and he would always greet me.” (5)
Rysavy retired in June 1957 and moved back to Los Angeles. Soon after, he published a memoir titled White House Chef. (6) He passed away in 1984. (7) - (1) Francois Rysavy, "Favorite White House Dishes,” Tampa Tribune, Nov 3, 1957, pg 159, https://www.newspapers.com/image/328566039/?match=1&terms=%22Francois%20Rysavy%22%20AND%20%22White%20House%22
(2) “Francois Rysavy” In U.S. Social Security Index, 1935-2014, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3693/records/54137470?tid=&pid=&queryId=d5decd0e-a626-45f9-a4ef-4c68d70d9edb&_phsrc=KCT1562&_phstart=successSource; Francois Rysavy, "Favorite White House Dishes,” Tampa Tribune, Nov 3, 1957, pg 159, https://www.newspapers.com/image/328566039/?match=1&terms=%22Francois%20Rysavy%22%20AND%20%22White%20House%22; Nelda Thompson, “From Cookie-Peddler to Chief White House Chef,” Highland Park News-Herald and Journal (Los Angeles, CA), July 20, 1958, pg 10, https://www.newspapers.com/image/734107768/?match=1&terms=%22Francois%20Rysavy%22%20AND%20%22White%20House%22.
(3) Francois Rysavy, “French Puff Paste Lands Immigrant Job with Ike,” The Boston Globe, January 9, 1958, page 14; Francois Rysavy, "Favorite White House Dishes,” Tampa Tribune, Nov 3, 1957, pg 159, https://www.newspapers.com/image/328566039/?match=1&terms=%22Francois%20Rysavy%22%20AND%20%22White%20House%22. As to who recommended Rysavy for the job at the White House, Rysavy claimed in multiple articles that it was hotel executive Herbert Blunck. But in an article Rysavy wrote in the Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), he claimed it was John L. Hennessy, a different hotel executive. See Evening Star, January 16, 1958, pg 31.
(4) Jennifer Giambrone, “The Presidential Sweet Tooth: White House Sweets and Pastries for Every Occasion,” White House History, November 25, 2015, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-presidential-sweet-tooth.
(5) Francois Rysavy, "Favorite White House Dishes,” Tampa Tribune, Nov 3, 1957, pg 159, https://www.newspapers.com/image/328566039/?match=1&terms=%22Francois%20Rysavy%22%20AND%20%22White%20House%22.
(6) Francois Rysavy, “Cooking for the White House,” Los Angeles Times, February 10, 1958, pg. 29, https://www.newspapers.com/image/381208197/?match=1&terms=%22francois%20rysavy%22%20AND%20%22white%20house%22; Francois Rysavy, White House Chef (G.P. Putnam & sons, 1957).
(7) “Francois Rysavy” In U.S. Social Security Index, 1935-2014, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3693/records/54137470?tid=&pid=&queryId=d5decd0e-a626-45f9-a4ef-4c68d70d9edb&_phsrc=KCT1562&_phstart=successSource - Birthplace
- Czech Republic
- Related Association Content
- https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-presidential-sweet-tooth