The Henry Haller Collection
In summer 2018, the White House Historical Association was contacted by members of the Haller family. Their father, Henry, had worked as the White House Executive Chef for five administrations over the course of twenty-one years. During that time, Chef Haller and his family accumulated all sorts of materials — photographs, menus, recipes, letters from presidents and first ladies, programs, place cards, invitations, and even newspaper clippings. This remarkable collection offers fascinating insight to White House culinary history, told through the life and career of Henry Haller. View the full collection.
Gallery
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White House Executive Chef Henry Haller prepares ham véronique in the White House Kitchen in May 1975, during the Gerald R. Ford administration. Chef Haller was executive chef from 1966 to 1987, working during the administrations of President Lyndon B. Johnson through President Ronald Reagan.
White House Historical Association -
On April 24, 1968, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson congratulated Chef Henry Haller on a gold medal commendation in the Library of the White House. Chef Haller was hired in 1966 after being invited to apply for the position by Mrs. Johnson and White House Social Secretary Bess Abel. Mrs. Johnson first experienced Chef Haller’s cooking at the Sheraton East Hotel in New York City.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
This menu was created for a State Dinner hosted by President Lyndon B. Johnson in honor of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India on March 28, 1966. It was the first of over 250 State Dinners Haller would supervise during his 21 year tenure as White House Executive Chef.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
In this photograph, taken on November 18, 1969, Chef Haller discusses meal preparation with White House Social Secretary Lucy Winchester, while White House Pastry Chef Heinz Bender (right) looks on. Successful event planning at the White House requires extensive coordination between the social secretary, who tactfully organizes events while considering the tastes and customs of participants, and the executive chef, who oversees the kitchen.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
This type-written menu was discovered taped to the reverse of a clipping from the "Evening Star" from February 5, 1971, which described a meeting in the White House between former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and First Lady Pat Nixon on February 3, 1971. The Nixons privately invited Mrs. Kennedy and her children to see the completed official White House portraits of the late President John F. Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy by painter Aaron Shikler. It was the only time that Mrs. Kennedy returned to the White House after leaving in December 1963.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
For the wedding of Tricia Nixon, daughter of President Richard M. Nixon, to Edward F. Cox on June 12, 1971, the White House kitchen staff worked with New York pastry chef Maurice Bonté, who also designed Luci Baines Johnson’s wedding cake in 1966. In this photograph, Bonté can be seen standing in the Entrance Hall along with colleagues from the White House kitchen: (from left to right) an unidentified kitchen staff member, Eserline Dewberry, Heinz Bender, Chef Haller, Franklin Blair, and Hans Raffert. Haller later recalled, in an interview with former White House Curator Betty Monkman that creating the cakes for White House weddings were quite challenging but ultimately successful affairs. Each cake had to serve around 600 guests and the chefs also had to field questions from the press.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
On July 7, 1976, President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford hosted a State Dinner in honor of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The dinner was held in the Rose Garden and coincided with the bicentennial of the American Revolution. Haller, seen here with Mrs. Ford ahead of the dinner, proudly recalled to historian Richard Norton Smith, “It was the biggest year for me as a chef at the White House because it was the Bicentennial, the 200 year celebration of the United States.”
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
The menu from the State Dinner honoring of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip. Chef Haller and his team created a dinner for 250 guests, who dined inside a tent placed in the Rose Garden. Portions of the dinner were broadcast live on television in the United States and around the world.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
On March 26, 1979, Chef Haller faced a unique challenge. President Jimmy Carter had negotiated a historic peace agreement between President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. To celebrate this achievement, Haller was tasked with coordinating a historic dinner on the South Lawn. With 1,340 guests present, it was the largest formal dinner ever held at the White House to date. This commemorative program from the event also includes the dinner menu, as well as a list of entertainers who performed at the event.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
To accommodate the extraordinary number of guests at the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty dinner, Haller decided to feature chilled dishes for the appetizer and dessert courses, which could be prepared ahead of time and easily served. Here, Haller (second from right) works with Assistant Executive Chef Hans Raffert (third from right), and other members of the White House Kitchen staff on a hazelnut chocolate “gianduja" mousse. Other items served at the dinner included Columbia River salmon in aspic and roast beef sirloin with spring vegetables.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
These small-scale chocolate models of the Statue of Liberty became part of a favorite memory from Chef Haller’s career. They were made for a Fourth of July celebration attended by President Ronald Reagan in New York City in 1986, to commemorate the centennial of the Statue of Liberty. As part of the celebration, a luncheon was held on Governors Island for President Reagan, First Lady Nancy Reagan, President François Mitterrand of France, his wife Danielle Mitterrand, and 28 additional guests. Chef Haller and his team prepared the food for the luncheon at the White House, and then Haller traveled to New York City with the food in a United States Marine Corps helicopter.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
Chef Haller captured this photograph of New York Harbor while en route from the White House aboard the Marine Corps helicopter. For the luncheon on July 4, 1986, the food was prepared by Haller, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, Chef Frank Ruta, and other members of the White House Kitchen staff. It was then transported by helicopter to Governors Island. Haller traveled with the food, and enjoyed breathtaking views of the harbor. Despite the helicopter’s bumps and turns, the food remained unharmed.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
On September 30, 1987, President Ronald Reagan invited Chef Haller to the Oval Office to congratulate him upon his retirement. Haller had served as White House Executive Chef for 21 years, preparing extravagant dishes for five first families and their distinguished guests. In the center of the photograph is Haller’s wife, Carole. She assisted her husband in diligently preserving keepsakes, photographs, and documents from his career, resulting in this extraordinary collection.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family
Born in Switzerland in 1923, Henry Haller was trained in Davos and worked in several five-star hotels until an opportunity permitted him to immigrate to Canada where he worked at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montreal. On July 4, 1952, he arrived in New York City—the culinary capital of the United States at that time. One of his first jobs was at the West Shore Hotel on Martha’s Vineyard Island, where he met his wife Carole during the summer of 1953. They were married in November 1954, and moved to Nyack, New York, for Henry’s next job at a country club. He worked there for four years, but it was during this time when Carole began collecting newspaper articles, photographs, and anything else that Henry brought home from work. As Haller’s career took off, the collection and the family grew quickly.
The Haller family then moved to New York City, where Henry worked in several fine hotels such as the Hotel Hampshire House in Central Park and the Sheraton East Hotel on Park Avenue. At the Sheraton, he cooked for the affluent, celebrities, athletes, and politicians—including President Lyndon B. Johnson. In fact, this was how the Johnsons knew of Haller’s talents, and when the White House needed a new chef, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson called Henry and asked him to come down to Washington for an interview. He was offered the job and he accepted it.
Haller began working at the White House on February 1, 1966, serving five administrations until his retirement in 1987. During that span, the residents hosted over 250 State Dinners and thousands of meals for themselves and their guests. Of special significance were two large events for 1,300 guests each on the White House Lawn; a POW dinner for returning Vietnam veterans in 1973; and the dinner celebrating the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. In addition to these major events, he also contributed to personal ones—planning and executing the dinners and cakes for three White House wedding receptions.
The Henry Haller Collection features a rich variety of sources, imagery, and documentation related to the White House, first families, food history, and the diplomacy of hospitality. The White House Historical Association is extremely grateful for Chef Haller’s contributions to the White House and the willingness of the Haller family to share this unique collection with others through our Digital Library. Its contents illuminate the many accomplishments of a distinguished White House Executive Chef, but its preservation represents a family’s love and its digitization a year-long effort to ensure that this remarkable man’s story is more readily available to all.