René G. A. Verdon

René Gerard Armand Verdon was born on June 29, 1924, in Pouzauges, France.¹ He came from a family of chefs and bakers.² Verdon became a chef’s apprentice in Nantes and trained at various hotels and restaurants in Paris prior to moving to the United States, where he worked at upscale hotels.³  

He began cooking at the White House for the Kennedys. According to his obituary: “Mr. Verdon was recommended to Mrs. Kennedy by Roger Fessaguet, the chef at La Caravelle in Manhattan, and his partners. The restaurant was a favorite of the Kennedy family, and Mrs. Kennedy hired Mr. Verdon temporarily to handle the onslaught of official luncheons and dinners for foreign visitors after the inauguration in January 1961.”⁴ 

Mrs. Kennedy enjoyed his cooking so much that she hired Verdon permanently as the first White House Executive Chef. He oversaw a team of sous chefs as he prepared upscale French cuisine for the Kennedys and their guests. Verdon lived at the White House earned $10,000 per month paid by the Kennedys.⁵ On May 1, 1963, he became a U.S. citizen. Verdon also planted an herb garden onsite to harvest fresh herbs for the White House Kitchen.⁶ 

After the assassination of President Kennedy, Verdon remained on staff to prepare dishes for Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson at official occasions; however, they brought their own personal cook, Zephyr Wright, to prepare their daily meals.⁷ Verdon became disgruntled with his work environment after the Johnsons hired Food Coordinator Mary Kaltman.⁸ As Kaltman attempted to save money through frozen produce and bulk food orders, Verdon resigned in protest, telling reporters: “I don’t think you can economize on food in the White House” and “I don’t want to lose my reputation.”⁹ 

As a result, René Verdon departed from the White House on January 1, 1966; Henry Haller replaced him as executive chef.¹⁰ Verdon later opened his own restaurant, Le Trianon, in San Francisco and penned The White House Chef Cookbook.¹¹ Verdon earned numerous accolades for his contributions to French cuisine and was given the keys to several U.S. cities and the Gold Medal to the City of Paris.¹² He died on February 2, 2011, and was buried in France.