WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (AFP) - After cooking for two US presidents over 11 years, White House chef Walter Scheib has been fired, he told The New York Times on Saturday, adding that his ouster followed the appointment of a new social secretary to serve the first family.
"We've been trying to find a way to satisfy the first lady's stylistic requirements," Scheib, 50, told the paper in a telephone interview, "and it has been difficult. Basically I was not successful in my attempt."
Scheib, who was hired 11 years ago by then first lady Hillary Clinton, said he was asked to resign on Wednesday, a few weeks after White House social secretary Cathy Fenton was succeeded by Lea Berman, the wife of a wealthy contributor to the Republican Party.
The change, he said, did not bode well from the start. "Clearly with the new social secretary, there is a new set of eyes and a new vision... She is a very hands-on social secretary, very involved with all aspects of food, flowers and decor. She clearly has a mandate," he said.
Scheib will stay on his job until at least the end of the month, the daily said, adding that a search was under way for a new White House chef.
While miffed at having been fired -- "I hate to lose, because I am supercompetitive," Scheib said he was not worried about the future and looked forward to a change in life.
"While it is an honor to serve the first family," he said, "it is the same thing, night in and night out, over an extended period. And it's time for me to be exploring all of my creative abilities and not limiting myself."
02/05/2005 06:50 GMT - AFP