Albert Kumin

Albert Kumin was born on January 13, 1922 in Wil, Switzerland. At age sixteen he apprenticed in a bakery and then worked as a pastry chef in several hotels.¹ In 1948, Kumin moved to Canada where he worked at the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal alongside Henry Haller, who later became White House Executive Chef.² In 1958, Kumin moved to New York City and found success as a highly-respected pastry chef at several hotels and restaurants including the Four Seasons and Windows on the World at the top of the World Trade Center. He also taught at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.³

In the fall of 1978, Haller invited Kumin to work part-time for the White House to assist in making desserts for several State Dinners.⁴ In February 1979, the White House hired Kumin full-time as a pastry chef. Upon his appointment, Kumin declared: “As far as my career is concerned, it is the icing on the cake.” According to the New York Times, when Kumin moved to the White House, he brought with him two prized possessions: his “bible” or notebook of hand-written recipes that he had created over the course of his career (including Chocolate Velvet Cake which he invented), along with “Excalibur,” his chef-knife blackened in fire to allow it to cut through hard-cooked sugar.⁵ While at the White House, Kumin prepared the desserts for the 1979 dinner celebrating the signing of the Camp David Accords, attended by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.⁶ Kumin left his job at the White House in February 1980, exactly a year after he began. Despite rumors that he resigned due to disagreements with Haller or stress stemming from the heavy workload, Kumin insisted he departed due mostly because of the high-cost of living in Washington, D.C., and his displeasure at apartment living. However, he did express frustration at several aspects of the job, including the difficulty of procuring fresh ingredients since every supplier needed a security clearance. Still, when he left the job he stated that “working for the President was a wonderful experience.” 

After his stint in the White House, Kumin resumed teaching at the Culinary Institute, founded the International Pastry Arts Center in Katonah, NY, in 1985, opened his own chocolate-making company, and worked as the executive chef for a pastry company.⁷ On September 9, 2016, Kumin passed away at the age of ninety-four at his home in Stowe, Vermont. He was buried in Riverbank Cemetery in Vermont.⁸