In The Know

Chelsea Clinton mourns longtime White House pastry chef

FILE - White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier, right, displays a mango coconut lei, the dessert for the dinner hosted by President George W. Bush for Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in the State Dining Room in the White House in Washington, May 19, 2003. Mesnier, a White House executive chef and who served five presidential administrations for roughly 25 years, died Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Chelsea Clinton is mourning the death of a longtime White House pastry chef, who she credits with teaching her how to bake a “terrific pie crust.”

Roland Mesnier died last week at 78, The Associated Press reported.

The culinary pro served as the executive pastry chef at the White House from 1979 to 2004, cooking under five presidents.

In a Monday post on Twitter, the 42-year-old daughter of former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — who lived at the White House as a teenager — said she was “deeply saddened” by Mesnier’s death.

The French-born chef reflected to ITK in a 2019 interview on his long-lasting career at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

“Technically, there’s not supposed to be any politics in the kitchen. But sometimes it goes that way,” he said when asked if his was a political job.

“Stay away from the politics. Stay away from making comments. Stay away from all that,” Mesnier said at the time.  

“The only thing you’re supposed to do is concentrate on the job, regardless of who is the president, if it’s a Republican or a Democrat. It should not make a difference to you, none whatsoever,” he added.