Ferdinand Louvat
Cite this Page
"Ferdinand Louvat," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1108.
- Position
- Chef
- Years in President's House
- 1962 – 1967
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- White House Pastry Chef Ferdinand Louvat was born in Voiron, France in 1914. (1) During World War II, Louvat fought for the Free French forces; he was captured by Germans and held as a prisoner of war for several years. (2) After the war, he immigrated to the United States in 1961 and worked at La Caravelle, a French restaurant in New York City frequented by the Kennedys. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy hired him to work as a pastry chef at the White House the following year. (3)
There, in addition to intricate pastries for formal dinners and State Visits, he prepared pizzas, muffins, and other baked goods for his fellow staff to be served at the White House Navy Mess. (4) He also famously created a three-hundred-pound, seven-layer cake for Luci Johnson’s White House 1966 wedding reception, as well as mini cake favors for each guest. (5)
Around this time, Louvat underwent a leg amputation following a cancer diagnosis, and after his recovery, he became a U.S. citizen in August 1967. To celebrate, the Johnsons held a party and gifted him the American flag that had flown over the White House that morning. (6) Sadly, Louvat died unexpectedly just a few months later on November 20, 1967. He was buried in his native Voiron, France; the Johnsons sent a wreath on behalf of themselves and the White House staff to adorn his grave. (7) - Birthplace
- Voiron, France
- Related Association Content
- https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/white-house-chef-making-cookies