You Know, My Parents Had A Restaurant.

I Was Chef To The French Presidents Between '56 And '59, Finished With De Gaulle, And During De Gaulle I Remember Serving Eisenhower, Nehru, Tito, Macmillan; Those Were The Heads Of State At The Time. I Never Saw Anyone. No One Would Ever, Ever, Ever Come To The Kitchen. You Couldn't Even See Them.

This June, I'll Travel Once Again To The Food And Wine Magazine Classic In Aspen, Colorado. For Many Years, My Dear Friend Julia Child And I Have Teamed Up To Teach Classes Together At The Event; For The Past Seven Years, My Daughter, Claudine, Has Been My Cooking Partner On Stage.

When I Pair Food And Wine, I Start With The Food. If I Have A Beautiful Roasted Bird, I Might Choose A Cabernet Or Pinot Noir, Or Maybe A Syrah, Depending On The Sauce And What Is In My Cellar.

I Cooked At The White House For Easter, Last Year, With Michelle Obama. But It More Had To Do With Cooking From The Organic Garden, And Her Message. I Took My Daughter And Granddaughter There, And They Were Really Charming, It Was Great.

Food Can Be Utilized For Economic Reasons, Like The Grain Embargo Of Carter 40 Years Ago. You Have A Political Decision, You Are Going To Move The Flow Of Food In A Part Of The World And Not Another Part Of The World. And Certainly Now, With The Way The Country Is Polarized And All That, You Wouldn't Want To Have A French Menu, With A French Thing - You'd Be Crucified! Or Anything Like That. You Have To Be A Real American And Apple Pie And This And That.