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I’m not sure that many meeting planners would want to serve one of President Bush’s favorite lunches at their next event, but they might secretly smile as they munch them in private: peanut butter and honey, BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato), grilled cheese (white bread with a single slice of Kraft American cheese) or a nice burger.

Walter Scheib made a lot of those during his four years as White House chef to the Bush family, but he created plenty of fancier foods as well, of course. Hired away from the Greenbriar resort by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton in 1994, Scheib was charged with bringing “what’s best about American food, wine and entertaining to the White House.”

To Scheib, that meant food that was flavor-driven, not technique-driven, and meals that reflected the changed ethnic landscape of the country with its resulting influence on regional and local cuisines. It meant more unusual flavor combinations and cooking approaches, an emphasis on seasonal and local produce, greater attention to origin and nutritional value, and incorporation of new and emerging organic and sustainably produced food options.

If you’re in Chicago at ASAE & The Center’s Annual Meeting & Expo, you’ll be tasting a few of Scheib’s memorable recipes, seasoned with some stories behind their inspiration. The man himself is featured chef for Monday night’s Food & Wine Classic at Chicago’s Navy Pier from 7 to 9:30 p.m., and frankly, I’m so psyched to be going that I read Scheib’s new cookbook, White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen (Wiley, 2007), in one night.

His emphasis on healthy cooking is clear, and Scheib readily agrees that chefs and other food professionals have become more attuned to the obesity epidemic and other public health issues—and adjusted their cooking accordingly. “It comes from two directions,” he says. “Obviously, chefs--while they are artists of a sort--also are business people, so as demand for these sorts of [socially conscious menus] increases from clients, they are more apt to fill that need. Also, many forward-looking chefs are trying to do these things ahead of the market….

“That’s got two benefits—it’s responsible to the client in terms of nutrition and flavor, but more importantly, it allows chefs to do what they do best…. If a chef uses that style of locally produced, tremendously fresh and seasonal product, he’s 50% toward a great dish before even putting the first grain of salt on it. It makes common sense to use that style of product, and on top of that he can talk about how it’s better for his guests.”

“… The biggest dilemma as we try to dine healthier is that we have a tendency to get preachy,” he continues. “The last thing you want to do is lecture somebody.… The secret is to change the style of dining very subtly. You can still have a piece of steak. It’s the accompaniments that go with it [that could change]. Instead of a baked potato, for instance, you might have a peach and ginger chutney, a Malaysian peanut sauce, a spice rub or a corn and chipotle sauce.”

Scheib notes that in addition to the trend toward healthier dining, taste preferences of businesspeople have been changing because they’re traveling more, especially abroad, making them “more aware of all the wonderful flavors and cooking styles that are available to them.” That presents a challenge to meeting planners who want to wow members.

“For meeting planners, they need to be a little bit brave,” he advises. “I do a lot of event planning and cooking for associations and other private clients, and I always tell them, ‘Don’t be afraid to try something new. Don’t always fall back on the standard 4-ounce filet, a chicken breast, a piece of salmon or these mix-and-match plates. Pick a theme and stick with it. Break the rut.

“Meeting planners have as much influence as just about anyone in the country in terms of exposing great numbers of people to great kinds of foods if they just challenge the chef….” he continues. “I think they will find that their clients are a lot more open to that kind of thing than they might suspect.”

Scheib also supports the concept of food as an important element of community-building, a key goal of many planners: “Dining isn’t about food--it’s about socialization…. Anything we can do to get people conversing is really good, whether it’s a new type of food, a new type of service, a tasting, family-style [serving] or something that takes action or involves participation at the tables.”

One recent event he attended started with a Korean-style first course of a dozen components, including a small, steaming pot of broth, raw beef and vegetables that everyone assembled to their personal taste under the instruction of a waiter.

“It really broke the ice!” Scheib enthuses. “We were a table of 10 strangers, but by the time we were done with the first course, we at least knew something about the other people because you had to show something of yourself as you assembled your own first course. These sorts of things really work, and people like them. Everybody’s had enough salads or shrimp cocktails put down in front of them for life, and that’s tedious and boring. They want to try something new and a bit more fun.” Sounds like four-star dining to me! Special thanks to Leading Authorities for arranging this special guest visit.