Filipino-American Club of the Jersey Shore, Monmouth County, New Jersey, filamorg.com

COURTESY OF:  PHILIPPINE NEWS (philippinenews.com), 16 January 2009.
Photo courtesy of HUFFINGTON POST (huffingtonpost.com)

" WASHINGTON D.C. — The White House is sure to get a makeover when the family of incoming US president Barack Obama arrives, but one thing won’t change: the White House chef.Cristeta Comerford, who made the annals of gastronomical history when she became the first woman to head the White House kitchen, will cook for the Obamas, after they decided to keep her busy at the presidential furnaces.

“Cristeta Comerford brings such incredible talent to the White House operation and came very highly regarded from the (President George W.) Bush family,” said Michelle Obama, who moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with her husband and two daughters on January 20....

EARLY LIFE:
"Cristeta Comerford  (born 1962) is the White House Executive Chef as of 2009. She is the first woman to be selected for the post, and also the first of Filipino descent.

CAREER:
She immigrated to the United States at the age of 23. Her first job was at the Sheraton Hotel near O'Hare International Airport. She also worked at the Hyatt Regency hotel. After Chicago, she moved to Washington, D.C., and worked as a chef at two restaurants. She additionally spent six months in Vienna as a rotating chef. Comerford was recruited by executive chef Walter Scheib III in 1995 to work in the Clinton White House.

Scheib resigned as executive chef in February 2005. Comerford was appointed by (then) First Lady Laura Bush on August 14, 2005. She is the first female executive chef and the first Filipina to hold this position.

She reportedly was appointed to this position due to her handling of a large dinner that was held in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

She was referenced when George Bush mentioned about "his Philippine-American chef" to visiting Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in June 2008.