and the miracle of new orleans. the battle that shaped america's destiny. was the 18th annual library of congress national book festival, live on c-span 2's book tv. saturday at 10 am eastern. >>'s former white house pastry chef roland messier worked for five presidents. he has retired now but is invited to talk about his experience during the white house historical association's presidential site summit, taking place in washington dc. it is an hour and 10 minutes. good afternoon. hi everybody. we have been coming around saying hi to you. if i come up to the stage, i need a round of applause. the reason is, i -- my foot. this is my first walking up steps, and only for -- good

afternoon. on behalf of the white house historical association, welcome to the 2018 presidential site summit. we are delighted you are here and look forward to many partnerships when the summit is over. i am ann stock, a member of the association board . i am chair of the retail committee. so, here is my blood. any time this week, stop by our shop and buy, buy, buy. you knew i would have to say that. there is a pop up one right outside that we are eating. there is a full-line store across pennsylvania avenue and the white house visitor center. and there is another full-line store at 1610 8th street. stop by any of them. show your summit id, and you will receive a 10% discount. and now, the real reason i am here. i had the great pleasure of working with the next guest

speaker, chef roland mesnier. for the first five years the plug -- clinton administration. i was the white house social secretary. he was the executive pastry chef. and i still hold him responsible for the weight that i put on while working there. i made it. it was about 10 pounds. th ere every day. roland is a world-renowned pastry chef and author who has held important positions in the most prestigious hotels. the savoyan london, the george frank in paris and the green briar in west virginia. he served five -- count them -- five extraordinary presidents. jimmy carter, ronald reagan, george h.w. bush, bill clinton and george w. bush. and i think that deserves a round of applause. [ applause ]

but >> but to many of us, he was also a very good friend and trusted colleague, and here's where i got in good friend and trusted colleague. here is what i got in trouble, he was always ready with a cookie, truffle, a piece of cake, a sliver of pie, no matter what else is going on in the white house that week. when it comes to activity, i may be a little bit quiet, but too much for a long in that department. over the years, everyone from local had source to global heads of state have marveled at his one-of-a-kind creation. is holiday gingerbread houses were consistently amazing, whether modeled on the president's boyhood home, the first ladies, or even socks, the cat. and when president mrs. clinton hosted their first state dinner for the majesties, the emperor and in first -- empress of japan, mr. rowland was ready. he took inspiration from the japanese cherry cheese along

the tidal basin in washington. he created what he called simply cherry sorbet. but, believe me, this dessert was anything but simple, picture a foot tall handblown sugar cherry with white almond ice cream, california bing cherries, and yes cherry sorbet. nestled inside. a chocolate basket with bamboo handles and hand-painted cookies , marzipan cookies, made to look like sushi, completed the masterpiece. it was a work of art. her majesty was so enraptured that she asked to meet roll-on and congratulate him personally. i was scared to death, because i thought something was wrong when she called people over. but, she just wanted to say congratulations on the beautiful desert. she was far from his last admirer in those years.

my mouth is still watering thinking about the beautiful clever and always always delicious concoctions this man created. please join me in welcoming my friend and chef extraordinaire, roland mesnier. >> this is the tricky part.

>> does this thing go down a little bit? remember, i am just a pastry chef. i am not an engineer or anything of that kind. >> that good for you? >> yeah, i mean the papers mayfly everywhere, i don't know. good morning, everyone. welcome to the beautiful capital city of washington dc, of course. and the beautiful willard hotel. yes, my name is roland mesnier

, and i was the executive sous chef at the white house for 26 years. i served probably five president. you know, to get into the white house, you know everybody wants to work at the white house, until they get the job. then, they don't know what to do with it. i really mean it, that is the truth. you have to understand, this job is very scary because of the people you are serving. you no longer are serving just anybody, like in a hotel or whatever, you are serving people that have achieved great things in life, that have great jobs, so you better be on the same level with your food. i also served numerous emperors , kings, head of state -- heads

of state, all during my tenure. but, when i started at the white house, i was already in that line of work for 20 years, learning under the best chefs available in paris, france, germany, and especially the hotel i mentioned, because that particular hotel used to be known as the number one hotel in the world. it still exists today, but i think it's lost to the years, because now it is part of a chain. in those days, the savoy was owned by family, big difference. and, the customer, the guests that we were feeding at the savoy in those days, just to give you a short list, we had a lot of people from hollywood of course, frank sinatra, gregory

peck. we also had the royal family all the time. i served the queen of england a long time ago for the first time, and many many more after that, and also we had liz taylor, charlton heston, james cagney. then, we had jackie kennedy that would be coming for dinner, but at the time, she was not a kennedy anymore. she was still jackie kennedy, but she was not married. the president had already passed away. the president will come and have dinner by himself, not by himself, with his girlfriend at the time, which was molly collis , the opera singer. so, this was the caliber of the people that we fed every day at the savoy.

we had a customer at the savoy that was a illinois -- billionaire. this man when he came, he always had to reserve a big long table, and he expected every time at the end of the meal to receive an enormous silver tray filled with homemade chocolate and cookies and all of that. he expected it. it was automatic. this man, without tray into his table, what he did, what kind of cookies needed to be there all the time on that tray. it was what we called a damned --. -- bend. and then he would pick one up, and the cookies had to shatter in 1000 pieces.

if the cookies do not break, he would say take this garbage out of here, i do not want it, it is not any good. so -- the pressure was on, the pressure was on. in the center of the stick silver tray, there was always a beautiful blonde sugar display, always. so, just to give you a little taste of what the savoy was, it was an exceptional place to work, and i have learned so much there. in these special place. now, after that i worked for, i was the pastry chef of the princess of bermuda, and i was also the pastry chef for the governor's palace in bermuda. you know, the princess was owned by the richest man in the world. his name was mr. dk lutefisk, and he had takers that brought

oil to the united states, and many other businesses. he was a real businessman, let me tell you. when i was doing the scene of acapulco, we also had the millionaire also that died at the hotel. we had to feed him. i have his name here somewhere, but my papers got rearranged. my table is not exactly the best. what was his name? oh, walt hughes. remember walt hughes? he had the top floor of the hotel, and we fed him -- he did not want to see anybody. we fed him under the door.

every plate of food needed to fit under the door, every window was boarded up. that was the end of the life of this man. so, you know, all sorts of crazy things we had to do for him. then, after that, i came back to france for a while, i was a pastry chef at the george sachs hotel, which was privately owned, family owned, and then and i -- i walked -- worked in a five-star restaurant in paris. i was back in bermuda by popular demand. the armstead hotel was my next job, where i spent five years, and this is where my family and i started our life in the united states. i also was a consultant to the

-- greenbrier hotel for six years. those were very significant places, jobs, where quality needed to be. not just anyone could work there and say oh i'm going to be the pastry chef here tomorrow. no, no, you needed to be experienced in many ways. by the way, after my speech, i will take some questions if you need clarification on something. then, in 1979, mrs. jocelyn carter went to spoil it for me, because i was very happy at the homestead, and some of her staff were coming to the homestead regularly and saw my work and approached me one day and said roland, mrs. carter is looking for a pastry chef, but you apply? i said no, i am very happy here. i don't want to go to washington. i understand that there is a mental problem in washington, and i'm not about to get the --

that disease. so, i am staying away from that place. so, fine, a few weeks later, they come back in the hotel and they start again on me. when are you going to come? i said oh, man, please, i already told you, no interest. so, they did that a couple of times. then, one time they called me in december 1979, they called me at my house, the white house called my house, and said roland, i am going to bring in employment sheet, and i want you to fill it and if you don't mind. and also, mrs. carter, wishes for you to come for a tour of the white house. that was a trick! so anyway, i accepted. and in those days i drove all the way from virginia to downtown dc to visit the white house. now, i was driving a 1965 dodge

dart, avocado green. not the prettiest thing to bring down to dc, let me tell you. but, you know, the nicest thing , those days, they let me drive on pennsylvania avenue. they opened the big gate to drive right in, and they asked me to park my avocado over -- under the colonnade. is that beautiful, or what? i said i start to like this place you know, if i get a job here, i get to park it every day. anyway, i took a tour of the white house, and you should be on the tour walking mimi, mrs. carter. with open arms she was so nice. called me by my first name, gave me a hug, and she said come with me, we need to talk. so, she pulled me to the side, and with gretchen, a very nice

lady, and we talked, and that is when mrs. carter asked me if i would like to take the job for a little get -- bed. so, you cannot say no to the president, you cannot say no to the first lady. i sat up and, yes, i will give you five years, maybe, and then we will see. okay, that's good. so, gretchen posten, the social security reminded mrs. carter that i was not an american citizen. i was on a green card, i was legal. so, mrs. carter said to gretchen , she said listen gretchen, i want him and i want him back, do you understand? so, don't worry about that, i'll fix it when he comes to the white house. and sure enough, if you wonder why i love mrs. carter very

much, because it was -- of what i'm going to tell you next, because one day surprise, i am working in the white house kitchen, this dude shows up from nowhere and tapped me on the shoulder and said get into the car that is outside, there is a black limousine coming into the car. i have no idea where he is taking me. i have no idea what is going to happen. so, he is taking me near the train station to some offices, in an office, where a guy asked me what about the american government, and all of the questions, and i said man, i do not know nothing. very simple, i do not know nothing. and he was getting very irritated with me. he said you know how the president is, i said sure, i see him every day, his ministry -- jimmy carter. good, you pass the test! i was ready to say what test are you testing me, what for? so after that, he said get back

in the car. so, they drove me back downtown -- not downtown, but in alexandria, thank you, alexandria. and, this lady is waiting for me on the doorstep, carrying a bible. i said, who died? she said, no, no jokes, no jokes, there is business here. put your hand on the bible and repay -- repeat after me. i said sure, i did just that. congratulations you are an american citizen! well, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, only in america you leave your house in the morning, as a foreigner, and come back as an american citizen. is that a beautiful country, or what? and this is why mrs. carter has been in my heart all of my life . as a matter of fact, i was

able to do something very special, that last year for their wedding anniversary i think, i forgot if it was 70 years or something, they were celebrating where the navy academy is, what is the time? annapolis, thank you. with a friend of mind -- mine, we made a wedding cake. we showed up and entered the room with this wedding cake. in those two were so happy, first of all to see me again after so many years, they gave me a big hug and everything, and the president and mrs. carter were in fantastic shape, let me tell you. for all what they've done, all their lives, i love those people, they are very honest and very nice. you know, i was at the white house. as a pastry chef we leave a lot

of things, not directly, because we're not allowed to do, i'm glad that's the case, because too many people will take advantage of that. we are allowed -- are not allowed to show our faces. we are there to take care of the president of the first lady, regardless of the party they were sent or whoever they are. and let me tell you, to be able to do that, to present them with this cake, it meant so much to me, and for them. it was very fantastic. i remember when they walked into the room that day, after working all day, they were working all day, they both went on the dance floor for 20 minutes, nonstop. after edge and everything, this is fantastic, absolutely fantastic! and every president that i served is giving me different stories, if you will, true stories. this is what i want to be, very

sure they understand. i do not speak in public to repeat what people told me, unless i lived it, unless it happened with me, i will not repeat it. the same for all of my books. i have wrote seven books, it looks, i think number eight is in making, but i was really on top of things to make sure that what is printed is the truth and the facts. there are many white house books out there, many, and some of them i wouldn't even use them to put it on the bottom of my birdcage. that is just as good as it is, because lie after lie, they make up stories to be interesting, because they did not have anything else to put there. when i started writing books, i told people who bought my books, if you see something in my book that is not correct, let me know. i want to know. while -- well i am still

waiting, it has been 15 years, now. so, just to say, it is because i figure that we are doing this story here, this is a story, that is what the young people were here, and whatever they read about servant first lady and president has to be very actual, very correct. so, that is why that's something that i would have never passed without doing that. you know, as i said, the white house is a very intimidating place. i always had the fear of failing. my first year on the job, most people in the white house that i was probably an arrogant man, because i did not speak to anybody. that had nothing to do with arrogance, it has to do with failing, because i needed to concentrate like this.

you know, talking about that, i am amazed today where we are going here. i think there is some young people here, but let me tell you one thing, and this is what i see when i travel, and this is also factual, you go to a restaurant or somewhere, you ask a waitress or a waiter for three things, she will have two honk, and the last one she will forget it. i am not kidding you. most will say i didn't order that, never mentioned it. what is this, oh i'm sorry, oh they are big on soy -- sorry, have you noticed? everybody aside, and nobody said that is what bothers me, because when i said i am sorry, i mean it, i really mean it. you know, i was raised and brought up -- i was brought up in a very poor family, nine children, very tiny house. we had no electricity and no running water in that house.

but, trust me, when we were told to do something, you did not forget, because if you did, you never forgot after that. they made sure they put it in your head that you would never forget. today, everything is oh, okay, who cares? enjoy yourself, man. enjoy yourself. oh, don't worry, you will never know the difference. just, take it to the table. i am not happy in that. i like to spend good money on something, but i also expect something in return. and, people are not focusing, not focusing on all! you know why, hello darling, is that you? did you enjoy last night? okay, goodbye. i can't talk, now. boom. that is enough. you know when i was at the white house, i was very strict. when i hired somebody, i would say, i want you to listen, and

listen good, because i am only going to say it once. if i have to say it again, you will be told -- taking the door and never coming again. it is up to you, that is your decision. i said you start at 8:00 to work, i don't want you to roll in with a can of coke in your hands, or talk about the other guy, about what you did last night, there is no importance here. here, we work. here, we are here to produce the best we can. and, i need you to have all of your concentration to do that. and, if i have to remind you that, then you are not any good to so, you decide if you want to stay here, or if you want to go. very simple. and you know, i have noticed one thing, that most people work best when someone sets some rigorous line and establishes those guidelines and make sure they are

respected. this is enough of this baloney thing to play, you know, you turn the old dance, now, now they dance. i said great, that's going to feed the people, you dancing. you know, you need to dissect. here, now, it is a time we had to be serious and do a job. when that is over, i don't care what you do with your life. you want to dance? oh damn! but, not in here. and, you know, i had invited a young woman who worked for me a little bit, and she was kind of losing hair. i would find hair in pastries. is it disgusting? can you imagine if this here happened to go to the first lady, the president, or some guest? so, i pulled her aside, i said tomorrow morning, i want you to come with a hairnet. chef, why, why? my core for is going to be

damaged. i said, if you want me to damage it, i can do it right now. no problem. no, hairnet. she set up the next day, no hairnet. and the same day she was going to a competition, she asked me if she could bring a piece of cake to me to taste to see if it was good enough for the competition. i cut into the cake, what is the first thing i pulled out of the cake? i said now, do you want a picture of this thing? do you know what that is? so, do me a favor, take your tool, go home, don't come back. that was it. but, just to say, you see today, you know, i could solve, ladies and gentlemen in no time , i could solve 50% of your crisis, then you read the paper and to read the crisis, i could put it out there and tell -- i

tell my wife, she can tell you, she is right there, i do not lie to her. i said i know exactly what happened there. i know what happened! but, you know in washington, the remedy to everything is more money. we need more money. you know what, i want to be very honest with you, money stinks. i don't have any money, never had, never will, and i don't care. i am a happy man, because i do my job the right way. i want to produce the best i can, whatever we put in front of the president and first lady, i always wanted it to be so well received, and i always thought, if i can give them a sweet moment with my dessert, when they go through so much every day, and also the beat up they get up every -- every single day, i mean which president did not get beat up, i don't know. i am sorry to say, there is

something very wrong with this lot, very wrong. and you know what, most of the time, the thing that i say, once i had to my life, two months later, there it is, i said you remember what i told you? there it is! we could have saved two months of headache they had just come to roland. but, i am not bragging about myself. i was just raised in a different way, very much in a different way. money was not the main objective. money usually is what will rot something, definitely, to the core. as long as you have enough money to live on, what else do you care? do you need three cars, five cars, six cars? do you drive all of them at the same time? i don't know. but, it is very important to me. what i am telling you now, all that i am telling you now is

going into the food business the same, that is why i never went to school to learn how to make. i learned on the job training, working in some great hotel were some great chef. and those chefs, they were just like i described like how i was at the white house, even if you want to stay here, this is what you need to do. but anyway, i want to give you a couple of lines on what is going on in the food business. have you noticed all of these terms that they use, that most of the chefs don't even know what they mean? especially the use french terms that i say i know that they don't know anything about french, but they just want to impress you. you know, cruising couture, you know what that is? i saw it on the menu not too long ago. you know what couture is, it has to do with clothes.

do they so a steak together, i don't know. now, you know, the famous tuna tuna casserole. i am sure you watched chefs on tv that want to impress you. in america, if we ever have a shortage of cheese, i think there will be a revolution like we've never seen. and you know, have you seen those guys that cook on tv, there is cheese in every dish by the time. they used to were -- be worried about cholesterol, no more, cholesterol is good for you! eggs, don't eat eggs, you're going to die! now, eggs are fabulous for you.

they are feeding you baloney every single day, but you are eating it with the biggest and use a spoon you can find! that is the same. nobody ever stood up and said excuse me chef, you just said that, but i do not think that is correct. i have read differently. no, no, we eat it with a big spoon, you know. now, i can predict to you the restaurant of the future, they are going to weigh you on the way in, where you on the way out, and charge you for the difference. remember when you used to eat, and you had a nice tablecloth, and a nice flower, and silverware that was so shiny? where is it today? today, have you seen waiters when they clean the table? they come with a what one and push the garbage on one side, push it there, so the table is sticky, you get stuck to the

table, because of the dirt. but, oh my god, oh no, this is -- you pretend to be somebody that knows this, but you don't. what's wrong with the tablecloth? remember in france in the old days, we had tablecloth at every table. they were made of paper. and do you know, when the meal was over, you asked the waiter for the bill, the guy took his pen and he wrote it right on a napkin. he tore the peace and said there is your bill. then they put on a new one, there was a teen clay will toss -- clean tablecloth on every table. i mean how we progress? no, we have progressed for people that don't care to make an effort.

you know to do something great, something good, if it is in food or anything, you know very well it takes hard work, concentration, and you have to dedicate yourself. you know, when i was at the white house, as i said, i don't care who was the president, that did not mean anything to me. the only time that i had fun with that, one day it was during the george w. bush presidency, i said i am going to prove that republic he -- republican and democrat can have a good time together. so, i created a dessert, which is one of my books. it is an elephant made of blown sugar, no mold, from freehand, and a donkey, blown a sugar, sitting on his back, the same elephant with a front leg extended, and there is a sugar tray there, and the desert on top of that. is a huge dessert. that was all made of blown sugar, donkey and elephant, and

again, no mold involved, all shaped as you blow. try it someday, and you come back and tell me what you think. so anyway, the dessert came in, and i said, my gosh, we are going to hear something here. and, not a peep in the dining hall. i said what is going on? so, then the dining room went crazy subtly. there was flashes going off, everybody was laughing and having a great time. well, one of the guys, one of the guests got the idea to take his knife at the end and decapitate an elephant. i don't care, because i don't really use that stuff. and then, the democrat, the republican took his knife, and did -- decapitated the donkey. and they did that at every

single table. remember we had one dessert per table, there must have been 17, they were having a ball, bang, bang, bang. they all came back, no heads. but, i liked it. i said they thought i was going to be mad, i said why should i be mad? that was made for you, and i'm glad for one that the republican and democrats can get along together for 5 minutes, at least 5 minutes. so, for me, that was the real success. well, ladies and gentlemen, i think i need to stop, right? i want to take questions, yes, because i stole all of the timing. we will take questions. any question you have, remember, i am very knowledgeable about everything about money problems, sexual problems, car problems, what is

a sexual car or -- my staff, oh, that is a good question. you are not going to believe me, you are going to think i am lying. when i started at the white house, i had zero staff, not even a part-time helper. and, i had no pastry shop, no pastry kitchen. i was in the main kitchen with the cooks, and the main kitchen at the white house would have been about, let's see, from this table over there, come here, square, that was about it. now, as a pastry chef, trying to work with chocolate when the chef is browning meat on the stove, impossible to do. so, that was very hard. anyway, i made it work for seven years. seven years, i did that. and after seven years, i have enough. i went to see mr. gary waters, who was the head usher, very

good man, and i said listen, sir, i cannot continue to work like this. with each president, by the way, the workload got stronger and bigger. and i said i am not putting a knife under your throat or anything, but if i cannot, if you tell me that i cannot have a pastry kitchen, i will be leaving. i have a job waiting for me. pastry kitchen? yes, you will get it. and i said, i also need a serious raise. my wife can tell you, she never saw me. she never saw me. we have a son, i don't even know when that happens. i hope you remember. it is a joke. but no, it is true! my wife was disappointed many times. we never did anything, we cannot do anything. my life was centered with the white house.

she can tell you. 12, 14, 15 hours a day was not uncommon. i would say to her, next weekend we will go out to dinner. i would come home and say no, no dinner, i had to go to the white house. the president and first lady are celebrating something tonight. and i could not have done it any other way. this is not possible for me. i would not have enjoyed myself. so, you know, i asked my boss, i said i also need a serious raise, because i had two jobs. all my life i had two jobs, i was not only at the white house as the executive pastry chef, but i am the one who created the first professional pastry program in washington dc. okay, i started that. we were producing about 20 chefs a year, because there was no pastry chef in washington. so, i did that for a year.

so, i told mr. gary waters, i cannot do that anymore. i cannot do two jobs, i would be finishing at the white house some nights at 11:00 after a state dinner, and then go home, sleep a couple of hours, and back to the white house the next day, and then that evening, probably to the school to teach for four or five hours. that was a very rough time for me, a very rough time. so, anyway, he said yes to the pastry kitchen and the raise. and, after a while, i was not hearing from him, and i said you haven't come back to me about the money. are you paying me something, you know because i want to get the other job there and i can't do that and he said yes, it is going to be good, substantial it was, he kept his promise. and, the pastry kitchen, that is when he started saying to me, walk around the white house, try to find a spot where we can

do it, and i will help you do it. he kept his promise, he was a very good man. so, we did come to that. i got a plan, and then there was another usher at the white house, dennis free meyer's name was, and he was also an engineer, so he was good to work with for the equipment, the space and all of that. and i have the pictures, not with me today, of my equipment, all of my equipment was brought up with a crane in front of the white house. they removed the last window to the right to be able to bring my refrigerator into the place. then, there was one elevator to go up there, it was also very tiny, and the staircase was one of the spiral ones, you know like on the submarine. but, it was better than nothing. and, it worked for me, very well. later on, mr. water even gave me an additional room that we

turned into the chocolate room at the white house, which we did have a lot of chocolate candy and everything. so, anything is possible if you give it time, if your heart is in it. in the white house, i always said, was a place made for me. i loved to work there because they let me really produce whatever i wanted to. but, all of my dessert had significance somewhere. you know, like sometimes, let's say desserts for italy, i find something special around the town, and that would be duplicated in a pastry of course, it may be to decorate the tree of the pastry and everything. i mean, i did that all of the time. and, that's what -- you know, one of the first ladies was very tough, if i would say one thing, she was great.

i loved to work for her, because she knew what she wanted, that is nancy reagan. trust me, you better do what she asked you to do, and do it the right way. and that's nothing wrong there. again, i love to work for people like this. i would rather do that than people that go oh, well i don't know, i am not too sure. we do not want that. okay. and i remember very quickly, and then i'll take the question , the last one, with mrs. reagan, we are someday, noon, at the white house, we were going to have on tuesday the queen of the netherlands, and you know the netherlands is known for its tulip, the beautiful tulip over there. anyway, i had already had shown nancy reagan to dessert, which she said roland, no. you know, nancy reagan, i studied her very early on. she is an interesting character. when she was going to give you the finger, her head also moved to the right.

and she did that, she even did that to the reporter on television. when the reporter would ask a question, and i would see nancy going oh, i said man, you don't know what is coming. i am having a chill in my spine for you, man. i feel for you, man. and sure enough, nancy, boom. she was good. i left her to death. you know i say that i became the pastry chef that i am because of nancy reagan. and i mean it. every time, i mean it. because she was sold on what she wanted, and that was it. you better do your research. that time, sunday afternoon, remember the dinner is going to be tuesday night, she already rejected two desserts, too many things going on in my head at the same time and she is having lunch at the solarium and the white house, it is a beautiful room at the top, and there is a

long table there for some reason. and the president was eating in one hand, and nancy reagan at the other end. when i came with the dessert, nancy reagan looked at the dessert, and oh, i said man, brace yourself, man. roland, that's not going to do. and she could never tell you why. but, that's not going to do. president reagan came to my rescue. he said honey, he was talking to his wife, not me. honey, honey, leave the chef alone, that is a beautiful dessert. so, nancy reagan looked up to the president and said honey, eat your soup, this is not your problem. so he went down and ate his suit. well, i don't care. that is not my marriage, that is not my thing.

although they did have a wonderful marriage, you know that. so anyway, i went down to the kitchen, and you know, one word came to mind, suicide. i said if there is a sock -- stock pot on the stove boiling hot, i am probably going to jump in, because i don't know how long -- and i was fairly new, maybe a year, a year and half. i said you know, it is going to be a short stay. so, i am really in despair, i mean despair. and, the phone rings, it's mrs. reagan. she said roland, come back to the solarium. i know exactly what i want to do!. oh man, i rushed upstairs. so, when i get there, she says roland, here's what you're going to do. you know, the netherlands is known for the tulip. i want you to make a sugar basket, a basket made of sugar, one per table, with a beautiful handle, and on the handle, i

want you to put four tulips on each handle. and, i also want this basket to be filled with homemade assorted sorbet ice cream and fresh fruit. it wasn't springtime. i said mrs. reagan, this is beautiful. i do agree. and remember, i was the only pastry man at the white house those days. and i would have to make 15, 16 of those. and it is sunday afternoon. so, i told mrs. reagan, i said madame, this is beautiful. but, madam, there is only two days left before the dinner. here comes the challenge. roland, correction, you have two days and two nights. you know, i still have the chill in my back today, right now as we speak. and i said yes madam, thank you very much.

sugar. for some of you who do not know what a sugar basket is, it's all made of sugar, we leave it like a basket and all. in my book, dessert university, there is a sketch that shows you how to make a basket. and then you have to make four tulips per basket, sometimes 15, you can count how many sugar tulips that is. plus i have to make cookies and many other things. the rest of the business does not stop because of that. so, she said, i have two days and two nights. now, ladies and gentlemen, here is when you know what proud is. because, of course, it did happen, and happened well. and she got so many compliments , and when i, on my way home

that night, i did not know i had that much strength in me, but i said this is what courage is. that is what it is when you have passion for something. you're not going to say oh, i don't have time. i have to play with the computer. or no, not possible, i am by myself. no, no, i would have felt less than a human being if i had done that. i said mrs. reagan yes, it is going to happen. and it did happen. it did happen. and there are pictures of those dessert -- desserts and some of my books. and you know, i was so proud, i said this is what pride is. you are not born with pride in you. pride is something you cultivate, cultivate all the time. and, this is why i said nancy reagan made me who i am, because i said, i want this

feeling again, when we do the next dinner, i want to feel that feeling again! and it worked for me. and if it did not work this way, i did not feel very good for myself. question? anybody question, please? yes young man? remember what i said earlier, when someone talks to you, listen, especially if you are a waiter or an engineer, it does not matter. because you see the engineer that does not listen, we will see -- we saw what happened with the dc subway, okay? that's it, i will not say anymore. i don't have any here, okay. okay, next please?

>> what is the dessert that you got the most compliments on? >> i would say the dessert that i did for the emperor of japan. i wanted to create a dessert for the emperor of japan that nobody really knows what it is until they dig into it. there was a big bowl that was supposed to look like an oversized chase, right. the size of a soccer ball. that ball needed to be cut in half. that is not an easy task, to cut sugar in half, very brittle. those two half bowls were placed on a disk of white chocolate while it was still soft. so, it looked like the cherry is open. and inside, i placed a round bowl of almond ice cream, which

is white. now, follow me here, that is the important thing, and then in the middle of that, there was another bowl that was made of the cherry sorbet, which is deep red. now, just picture, please, whoever can give me the right answer, i'll give you the key -- if you dig into that white bowl , because you see, the guests at the white house, it was a dessert for a table of 10. remember, the guests serve themselves. now, if you go into that white bowl, what is going to appear? thank you sir. you win the cadillac. the flag of japan. i wanted to do something a little bit that is not just a dessert, but that was perfectly round inside, you dig into it, there is the flag of japan. and then after that, we served another basket of chocolate, and

they were made in different shapes like sushi. they were all sweet, very nice. so, can you imagine, just picture the job, and the gender -- jennifer japan was pretty big, i think maybe 200. >> 189! >> oh, wow. >> that would mean i would have had to made enough for 20 tables, so that is 20 of those bowls to make. and at the white house, i have a place to work! remember, i have to store the stuff, because the sugar, after you make sugar if you don't use it, you get sticky, especially a day like today, with the humidity, sugar does not like humidity. so, i needed to have enough space to store it.

and after we were cutting and half and so on, and mounted in the chocolate, it still needed to be stored. another thing you had to plant was that when the ice cream comes to the table, it has to be perfectly soft. you do not want anybody to start poking it. so, the timing, everything has to be worked out. so, that for me was the dessert that i was most proud of. there were so many components that you had to work on. >> i want to add one more thing. the dinner was in the rose garden, so there was humidity from outside, so the timing on this was absolutely critical, or we would have had a melted mess. >> yes, thank you. exactly. you know, for me, the more does -- difficult task i had, the more proud i felt. do you understand that?

you know how many people say oh, it is too difficult, i don't know why you bother. why bother? for my inside, my feeling. and try it someday, to be proud, it feels good. and you know, and with the years passing at the white house, i learned to love the first family of the white house, the president, the first lady, whoever they were, and you know i served five. many times people asked me the same question, which ones were your favorite? and i said they were all my good favorites. they said no, you are a good politician. it has nothing to do with politics, it is the truth! they all were absolutely fantastic, with me, first lady, president, there was no problem. and, there were so many times, i had a conversation with him, and i can assure you another thing, during all of my years in the white house, i have seen every president and first lady cry, i have seen them cry, and i see them laugh. and i tell you one thing, it gets right here.

it gets right to your heart, because the first family becomes your family. you know, many times, when i first came to the white house, i put guidelines for me in my head. i said if the president or first lady was attacked, would you please your body to shield them? that's not even a question. that's not even a question, i would do that in a minute. you know, this is off of beating up on the head, you don't achieve things like this. trust me, complement, tap on the back can really solve a lot of crisis. and i was 26 years in this position, and i know, and i would have never gave the president or first lady deception on what they were

expecting and so on. so, my work, my profession was very important to me. this is why television and all of that, i could not care less. all of these poor souls there that goes on the food network and stuff, do they know what they are doing? do they know it is a shame what they're doing? do they know that they are telling you stuff that is not true? like, do you know now when they do some sugar sculpture on television, to know what they use? there is not 1 ounce of sugar in it. i will tell you what they use, you know a cough drop? do you know what a cough drop is made of? it is a product that looks like sugar that you can flavor, but it has zero sugar in it, and it is so easy to work with because it does not get affected by the humidity. do you know cough drops, many years ago, for some of you that have been around a little bit, they used to stick together

after you open the back now, they do not stick anymore. but, the pastry chefs will still come on tv, they're not even pastry chefs, don't get me started. we are totally different breeds here, okay. they are taking you for a full every single day. yes? >> which president or first lady was more demanding -- demanding? who had the more ambitious ideas for you, and who had the least? also, why did you retire when you did? >> no president or first lady -- most of it, i decided on the dessert. the secretary and i many, would look at it and say yes or no, and the first lady was involved, there was more than one person

involved there on saying yes, no, okay. so -- after, when i started to have that feeling about doing special stuff, dramatically when i plan a dessert, it was over-the-top. don't come and ask me to make a pie -- i said the pie shop is around the corner. you know, it has to be special. special, and many times the dessert will always reflect the invited head of state. you know, and not the flats, but the flag is too easy. it has to be something else. you know. and then sometimes, there is very many stores on that, but we need to curve it. yes? >> the first lady would sample,

and others will come on and looking everybody -- >> i did not finish her last question over there, which was -- i was going downhill physically. a 16 hour day will catch up with you, and i was in very bad shape. one day i sat down with my wife and i said listen, we need to decide on a date, i need to stop this, i cannot do that anymore. because of the style i traded, don't tell me to do simpler things i cannot do that i cannot do that. so, you know, that's why, yes. i'm sorry. there was a question here i do not answer, yes? >> and all of those years, did the sugar after stick? >> no probably sugar, but the souffli is an interesting one. that did happen once, and there

was not even part of my control. we were doing a raspberry souffli, which is delicious. aggressively i used, that dessert could be a low-calorie diet dessert if you will, because it is a wonderful recipe. it had fresh raspberries and everything we were doing that for a while. i forgot which country. that was in spring. i put that on the menu. i wanted the raspberry souffli. at the white house we made baked souffli like that. two per table, because that's how we did the dessert. i tested the recipe, checked it out, tested, tested, did the timing and everything, everything was about timing, and it was beautiful. so, here comes the night of the

dinner, i knew what time, i said okay, we start the egg whites. so we are whipping egg whites at the time. and you know what, they never came up. i said man, how different it was. but i mean honestly, the souffli that in, because a souffli that size needs to bake. so, the dinner at a white house takes a little bit more. i said let's throw those away, let's wash the bowl and start over. we start again. now, the clock is ticking. at the white house, when they come for dessert, you cannot say i need another 10 minutes. you cannot do that. the only word the butler wants to hear is speak up now.

so, we were cracking eggs again, washing the ball, when i heard, this was when i was still working in the main kitchen. i heard the chef and the assistant chef talking about the mayonnaise they made on the machine that morning. do you know how many drops it takes to mess up 100 eggs? i wasn't there when they did it. so, it all splashed on the machine. you don't see it, you don't know what it is. so, you know, when i heard them talking said okay, i was very upset.

they did not tell me to be careful because they made mayonnaise. meanwhile, i have lost a great deal of time. here comes. this is when you acknowledge and you have experienced coming you can do that -- experience, what are you going to do, call 911? probably call his mother. no. so, i gave the order to crank up the oven to maximum. and the soufflis were >> dishware put on -- and the soufflis were put on baking dishes. i was able to save a great deal of time. you know what, the butler came

in to pick up the soufflis, not even a minute delay. that happens if you have experience. don't tell me that the guy who is just graduated from the school, from the country club, no, this is not possible unless you have lived it. unless you were there. this is a different kind of business. >> what is your favorite dessert to eat? >> to eat? a good old american pie! apple, blueberry, i love a good old american pie. okay, are we good? were going to do the book? my

latest book that came out last year which is the white house in gingerbread. it is a wonderful book. has a gingerbread recipe, and this book will we have the fabulous eggnog recipe which is the original from the white house. it was messed up later on by another chef. no, i am telling you the truth. you know the eggnog everyday went down the sink. after the party went down this -- the sink. in my time, there was never enough eggnog. >> i see that you have been in

it. it is true what i am saying. that was a delicious eggnog. anyway, this book, i will be signing it. remember, let me save you some time on your shopping. and, another thing, this book, because the recipes are so true , the book is based on the truth about it. if i were you, i would buy several cases. these books will be worth a lot of money later on. i will be signing. everybody will get my business card with every book that i sign. now, when is the last time you

went to buy a book and the author gave you his phone number? anything happen to you like that? but this author has been giving a card with his phone number. you know what? i have never received a phone call. okay? that tells you something. i started working with the historical association. i was so taken by the quality of all they sell. if you look for a beautiful christmas present, it is worthwhile to go see this store. and then your christmas shopping is done. this is why i decided to do my book with them. at first, i went with a

publisher. but i was not ready. but then, the historical association really blew me away. they do not shortchange anything. this is why i appreciate working with them. i hope we will continue this nice communication we have for a long time. ladies and gentlemen i wish you the best of time in washington, d.c. i hope you enjoyed this. thank you. rs ]

on wednesday, we will have live coverage as the press secretary joins a conversation with white house correspondents. john meacham talks with judy woodward of pbs about george w.

bush, andrew jackson and franklin d roosevelt. begins wednesday morning at 9 am eastern. then, at 11 am, a discussion of presidential history and whose stories get told. they are talking to representatives from presidential sites across the country. part of the white house historical association summit this weekend in washington. if you miss any of this week's american history tv programs, you can find them online at c- span.org. our look at the presidency continues wednesday with how residents have dealt with the media and press coverage. on thursday, we turn to our oral history series and conversations with women who are members of congress. friday, we will show

discussions on world war i known as the great war. including a great look at soldiers on the western front and how the u.s. dealt with shellshocked. c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television company. today, we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house and public policy events in washington dc and across the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. much of the white house design has ritesh roots. white house curator lydia tederick was joined by rufus bird who is the surveyor of the queen's works of art for the royal collection trust. this hour-long program is part of a daylong symposium hosted by the white house historical association .