• Mrs. Clinton and Pastry Chefs with 1993 Gingerbread House
    Unknown
    winter holidays
    staff
    gingerbread
    food & drink
    decorations
    State Floor
    State Dining Room
    Christmas
    Residence staff
    This is a photograph of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, and pastry chef Franette McCulloch with the 1993 official White House Gingerbread House that was dubbed the "House of Socks". It was created by Chef Mesnier in honor of President Bill Clinton and Mrs. Clinton's cat, Socks. The gingerbread house is a to-scale replica of White House complete with 20 marzipan versions of Socks playing around the house. The architectural details were created with carefully pipped icing and illuminated with working miniature floodlights. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Chef Roland Mesnier Collection Composite
    White House Historical Association
    holidays
    gingerbread
    food & drink
    decorations
    WHHA
    State Visit
    State Floor
    State Dinner
    Residence Staff
    Kitchen
    Ground Floor
    Family Dining Room
    State Dining Room
    celebrations
    winter holidays
    Christmas
    This composite is a compilation of photographs from the Chef Roland Mesnier Collection. White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004. This composite may only be used for press and publicity purposes related to the collection. All other uses must be approved by the White House Historical Association in writing.
  • Pastry Team with 2006 White House Gingerbread House
    Shealah Craighead
    staff
    gingerbread
    food & drink
    State Dining Room
    Residence staff
    winter holidays
    Christmas
    State Floor
    In this photograph taken by Shealah Craighead on November 30, 2006, members of the White House pastry team including Eileen Cortese (left), White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (center), and Marlene Roudebush (right) pose with the 2006 White House Gingerbread House. Although Chef Mesnier retired in July of 2004, he was asked to return in 2006 to help out between chefs and to build the gingerbread house. For this gingerbread house Chef Mesnier used a red and white color scheme. The house was covered with red bows and 800 sugar snowflakes. The White House Gingerbread House is a combined effort between the pastry staff and carpenters who provide advice and tools. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Chefs Mesnier and Morrison Prepare Dessert
    Unknown
    staff
    Second Floor
    Residence staff
    Family Kitchen
    food & drink
    This photograph shows White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier and assistant pastry chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison putting finishing touches on a cake for a White House event held on May 31, 2004. Chef Morrison began working with Chef Mesnier in 1995, working her way up to become assistant pastry chef. In 2014, Morrison became the first woman appointed White House executive pastry chef. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • White House Chefs Outside L’Academie de Cuisine
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    staff
    Residence staff
    Maryland
    In this photograph from 1986, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier poses in his chef's whites with a group outside L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, Maryland. To the left of him stands assistant pastry chef Franette McCulloch. On the far right is the Academy's founder Francois Dionot. Chef McCulloch was a student of Chef Mesnier when he taught at L’Academie de Cuisine and went on to teach there herself. Standing between Chef McCulloch and Chef Mesnier is likely Chef Mark Ramsdell, White House assistant pastry chef during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, who came to teach at the L’Academie de Cuisine and eventually became its director. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Presenting Desserts for Kenya State Dinner
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    staff
    food & drink
    State Visit
    State Dinner
    State Dining Room
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    State Floor
    In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (left) and assistant pastry chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison (right), carry a "Best of Kenya" dessert and accompanying petit four tray into the State Dining Room. The desserts were served at a State Dinner in honor of President Mwai Kibaki of the Republic of Kenya and Lucy Muthoni Kibaki, the first lady of Kenya, hosted by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Welch Bush on October 6, 2003. The main dessert consisted of white chocolate espresso cups filled with banana and tea mousse circling the coffee grinder centerpieces and coffee ice cream shaped like giant coffee beans. Each dessert was accompanied by trays of petit four decorated with sugar giraffes. In 2014, Chef Morrison went on to become the first woman to appointed White House Executive Pastry Chef. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Pastry Team with Dessert for White House 200th Annviversary Dinner
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    staff
    food & drink
    celebrations
    State Floor
    State Dining Room
    Residence staff
    commemorations
    In this photograph the White House pastry team poses in the State Dining Room with the dessert they prepared for the White House 200th anniversary dinner on November 9, 2000. In the front row, from left to right, are: White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, Marlene Roudebush, and Susan "Susie" E. Morrison. The team members in the back row are: Patrick Musel, an unidentified person, and Lynn McCartin. Guests at the 200th anniversary dinner, including former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, former President Gerald R. Ford, former First Lady Betty Ford, former President Jimmy Carter, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and former President George H.W. Bush, and former First Lady Barbara Bush, joined President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for a formal dinner in the East Room. The desserts included a decoration designed to look like John Adams' Blessing which was engraved into the mantel in the State Dining Room in 1945. It reads, “I Pray Heaven To Bestow The Best Of Blessings On This House And All that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.” For the full menu from this dinner, see 1140937. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Staff with Cake for George W. Bush's 56th Birthday
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    staff
    food & drink
    celebrations
    birthdays
    State Floor
    Residence staff
    Green Room
    staff of FLOTUS and POTUS
    In this photograph White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (left), Social Secretary Catherine Fenton (center), and assistant pastry chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison (right) pose with a birthday cake for President George W. Bush in the Green Room. The cake was made by the pastry team to celebrate President Bush's 56th birthday. Decorations on the cake included the Presidential seal and a Texas longhorn, likely a reference to Bush's childhood in Texas. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Pastry Team with Dessert Topped with Glazed Orange Slices
    Unknown
    food & drink
    Residence staff
    staff
    Family Dining Room
    State Floor
    In this photograph, the White House pastry team stand in the Family Dining Room looking over dessert for a dinner for the leaders of the International Democrat Union (IDU), later known as the International Democracy Union, on June 10, 2002. The dinner was hosted by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Welch Bush in the State Dining Room. The top of the cakes are decorated with glazed orange slices. Photographed, from left to right, are: Marlene Roudebush, Patrick Musel, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, and Susan "Susie" E. Morrison. For the full menu from this dinner, see 1140906. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Chef Mesnier Works with Pastry Team in White House Kitchen
    Unknown
    Kitchen
    Ground Floor
    food & drink
    staff
    Residence staff
    In this photograph White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier works with the White House pastry team on a dessert for a dinner for the Nation's Governors, held on February 22, 2004 during the George W. Bush administration. From left to right are Chef Mesnier, Patrick Musel, and an unidentified staff member. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Baseball Birthday Cake for George W. Bush
    Unknown
    staff
    food & drink
    birthdays
    Second Floor
    Center Hall
    celebrations
    Residence staff
    In this photograph White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (left) and assistant pastry chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison stand in the Center Hall with a cake for President George W. Bush's 55th birthday. The baseball themed cake is decorated with a bat, mitt, and baseballs. The Center Hall is located on the Second Floor residence of the White House. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Chef Emeril Lagasse Bakes with Chef Mesnier
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    winter holidays
    staff
    food & drink
    White House Guests
    Residence staff
    Kitchen
    Ground Floor
    Christmas
    press
    In this photograph White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier is joined by American celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse in the White House Kitchen. Together the chefs made a Christmas cherry trifle for a segment of ABC News' Good Morning America on December 14, 2001. The Christmas cherry trifle was a favorite of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Welch Bush. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Pastry Chefs with Reverend Graham's Birthday Cake
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    staff
    food & drink
    celebrations
    birthdays
    State Floor
    State Dining Room
    Residence staff
    In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (right) and assistant pastry chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison (left) pose with a birthday cake for President George W. Bush's longtime friend, Rev. Billy Graham. The celebration of his 83rd birthday on November 6, 2001 included a dinner of Maine lobster and roasted veal followed by slices of cake in the Family Dining Room. Chef Morrison and Chef Mesnier are photographed here in the State Dining Room. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • White House Pastry Team in the Ground Floor Corridor
    Joyce C. Naltchayan
    Ground Floor Corridor
    Ground Floor
    Residence staff
    staff
    This photograph of members of the White House pastry team taken by Joyce C. Naltchayan in the Ground Floor Corridor of the White House. From left to right are Susan "Susie" E. Morrison, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, and Marlene Roudebush holding one of their creative desserts, a sugar-based basket filled with a raspberry treat. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Pastry Chefs with Topiary Valencia Dessert
    Unknown
    staff
    food & drink
    State Visit
    State Floor
    State Dinner
    Family Dining Room
    Residence staff
    In this photograph, White House pastry chefs pose with "Topiary Valencia" desserts made for a State Dinner honoring King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Queen Sofia on February 23, 2000, during the Bill Clinton administration. From left to right are Marlene Roudebush, Patrick Musel, Susan "Susie" E. Morrison, Roland Mesnier, and an unknown pastry chef. Inspired by Spain's citrus fruits, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier created fruit shaped orange, clementine, lemon, and lime sorbets, each filled with a different mousse. The sorbet fruits, along with marzipan roses and crystallized violets, were held in chocolate boxes bearing the emblem of the King of Spain. Each display of fruit was topped with a pulled-sugar orange blossom branch and surrounded by fresh kumquats and raspberries. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Chefs Mesnier and Morrison with Dessert for Luncheon with Members of the Media
    Unknown
    staff
    meals
    food & drink
    State Floor
    State Dining Room
    Residence staff
    In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier presents dessert for a luncheon with members of the media hosted by President George W. Bush on February 27, 2001 in the Family Dining Room. Standing next to Chef Mesnier is assistant pastry chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison. The dessert consisted of a cake decorated with a chocolate keyboard and sugar news article. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • White House Pastry Team with Oval Office Cake
    Unknown
    Family Dining Room
    State Floor
    staff
    Residence staff
    food & drink
    This is a photograph of White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier with pastry chefs Susie Morrison, Lynn McCartin, and Marlene Roudebush with a cake designed to look like the Oval Office during President George W. Bush's administration. The three chocolate tiered cake was decorated with marzipan Oval Office decorations and an edible Presidential Seal. It was served at a luncheon on January 30th, 2002. The pastry team is photographed in the Family Dining Room. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Pastry Team with Dessert for White House 200th Annviversary Dinner
    Unknown
    staff
    food & drink
    celebrations
    State Floor
    State Dining Room
    Residence staff
    commemorations
    In this photograph the White House pastry team poses in the State Dining Room with the dessert they prepared for the White House 200th anniversary dinner on November 9, 2000. In the front row, from left to right, are: White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, Marlene Roudebush, and Susan "Susie" E. Morrison. The team members in the back row are: Patrick Musel, an unidentified person, and Lynn McCartin. Guests at the 200th anniversary dinner, including former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, former President Gerald R. Ford, former First Lady Betty Ford, former President Jimmy Carter, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and former President George H.W. Bush, and former First Lady Barbara Bush, joined President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for a formal dinner in the East Room. The desserts included a decoration designed to look like John Adams' Blessing which was engraved into the mantel in the State Dining Room in 1945. It reads, “I Pray Heaven To Bestow The Best Of Blessings On This House And All that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.” For the full menu from this dinner, see 1140937. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • White House Pastry Team Behind-the-Scenes for State Dinner for Italy
    Unknown
    staff
    State Floor
    Residence staff
    Green Room
    State Dinner
    State Visit
    In this photograph the White House pastry team poses for a picture together in the Green Room on May 6, 1998. Led by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, the pastry team had the desserts lined up in the Green Room for a State Dinner in honor of President of the Council of Ministers Romano Prodi of the Italian Republic, more commonly known as the prime minister of Italy, and Flavia Franzoni, his wife. The dinner was hosted by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in the East Room. From left to right are Chef Mesnier, Lynn McCartin, Susan "Susie" E. Morrison, Marlene Roudebush, and assistant pastry chef Franette McCulloch. For the full menu from this State Dinner, see 1140843. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • White House Pastry Team, Family Dining Room
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Family Dining Room
    Residence staff
    staff
    In this photograph, the White House Pastry Team poses for a photograph together in the Family Dining room on December 13, 2001. Standing from left to right are Susan Limb, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, Susan "Susie" E. Morrison, Lynn McCartin, Marlene Roudebush, and Patrick Musel. The pastry team puts together the elaborate desserts enjoyed at White House events and celebrations. In 2014 Susie Morrison became the first woman to appointed Executive Pastry Chef. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Pastry Team with Dessert for 50th Anniversary of NATO
    Ralph Alswang
    staff
    food & drink
    State Floor
    State Dining Room
    Residence staff
    meals
    In this photograph by Ralph Alswang, the White House pastry team poses in the State Dining Room with dessert ready to be served at the NATO summit dinner hosted on April 23, 1999. The dinner commemorated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO). The desserts consisted of blue sugar stands that held domes of strawberry nougat glace. Each was decorated with hand-painted sugar flags for each country in attendance and garnished with sliced strawberry and kiwi. Accompanying the main desserts were a champagne sabayon, chocolate globe truffles, and passion fruit tuiles. Among the staff pictured are Susan "Susie" E. Morrison (far left), assistant pastry chef Franette McCulloch (second from right), and White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (far right). This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Chef Emeril Lagasse Bakes with Chef Mesnier
    Unknown
    staff
    food & drink
    White House Guests
    Residence staff
    Kitchen
    Ground Floor
    Christmas
    press
    winter holidays
    In this photograph White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier is joined by American celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse in the White House Kitchen. Together the chefs made a Christmas cherry trifle for a segment of ABC News' Good Morning America on December 14, 2001. The Christmas cherry trifle was a favorite of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Welch Bush. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Chef Emeril Lagasse Bakes with Chef Mesnier
    Unknown
    staff
    press
    food & drink
    White House Guests
    Residence staff
    Kitchen
    Ground Floor
    Christmas
    winter holidays
    In this photograph White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier is joined by American celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse in the White House Kitchen. Together the chefs made a Christmas cherry trifle for a segment of ABC News' Good Morning America on December 14, 2001. The Christmas cherry trifle was a favorite of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Welch Bush. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Pastry Chefs with "Nordic Snow Drift Dessert"
    Unknown
    meals
    food & drink
    arts & culture
    State Floor
    Family Dining Room
    staff
    Residence staff
    In this photograph, pastry chefs Susan "Susie" E. Morrison and Marlene Roudebush and an unknown chef pose with White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier behind the "Nordic Snow Drift" desserts they made for a luncheon celebrating the opening of the "Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga” exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton invited dignitaries from Nordic nations, their guests, and staff and supporters from the museum to celebrate the occasion at the White House on April 28, 2000. Guests were able to view a selection of artifacts from the show in the Cross Hall. The dessert, designed by Chef Mesnier, was composed of a chocolate Viking ship filled with lingonberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream and topped with a fluffy meringue. Each ship was surrounded by strawberries wrapped in thinly sliced cantaloupe and a kiwi sauce, meant to resemble waves and the sea. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.
  • Chefs Preparing Dessert at Camp David
    Unknown
    staff
    food & drink
    Camp David
    Residence staff
    In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier plates petits fours for a dinner at Camp David. In the back, White House Executive Chef Walter Scheib and chef Cristeta Comerford stack dishes. On the counter are platters of elaborate desserts created by Chef Mesnier who was known for never making the same dessert twice. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Chef Mesnier created elaborate desserts for the White House from 1980 to 2004.