Though Michelle Obama is known for her advocacy for healthy eating and exercise habits, the former First Lady was known to have a sweet tooth, according to the official White House pastry chef. In addition to the recipe for Obama’s favorite dessert, one she often reserved for birthday parties and other celebrations, the chef also dished about his impression of her and the policies she enacted as First Lady.
Michelle Obama’s Sweet Weakness
Over the years, it’s become common knowledge that the Obama family preferred pies to cakes when it came to dessert time, but when it was time to celebrate a birthday or impress guests, Michelle Obama had a surprising favorite she turned to time and time again: red velvet cake.
White House pastry chef Bill Yosses worked with Delish on a video how-to on how the famous, delectable cake was made for the former First Family. Throughout the process, he also dropped some keen observations from his years serving as the Obama family’s personal pastry chef.
One of the themes that came up again and again throughout the a little over 11 minute long video was Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative. “I think one of the misconceptions about Mrs. Obama’s healthy food initiative ‘Let’s Move’ was that she might be anti-dessert in some way,” Yosses explained, adding, “That was not true.”
No Such Thing As ‘Healthy Dessert’
“Mrs. Obama never asked me to make spa cuisine or low calorie desserts or not use butter or sugar,” Yosses continued. There were no “healthy desserts” served in the Obama household. Rather, Michelle Obama insisted on using the best ingredients and technique possible and reducing portion size and frequency.
“That way, a person is satisfied with a smaller amount. So we always made the best desserts possible. We used the best ingredients possible. There’s probably no such thing as a healthy dessert, in fact,” he admitted before adding, “But I believe there is a healthy lifestyle that includes desserts.”
One of the “most powerful things” Yosses witnessed during the Obama years at the White house was thanks to Michelle Obama. He recalled how she’d invited chefs from all over the United States to the White House to help with the childhood obesity epidemic.
Yosses remembered that the event had been somewhat hastily thrown together with just two weeks’ notice. But such was the magnetism of Michelle Obama that seven hundred chefs made the trek to the White House south lawn to hear her speak. They did so on their own dime, as well.
Check Out The Full Video Below
The video featuring Yosses and even more recollections can be viewed below or through this link.