Ever wondered what George Washington ate for breakfast – or what Abraham Lincoln feasted on each evening? How about Barack Obama’s top treats and snacks? Well, we've done the research to find out what really goes on in the kitchens of the White House. From the favourite foods of Founding Fathers to Ronald Reagan’s penchant for jelly beans and Donald Trump’s unwavering dedication to McDonald's, we look at the dishes enjoyed by presidents through the years.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the often weird, and sometimes wonderful, foods loved by US presidents past and present.
The first president, serving from 1789 until his retirement in 1797, was partial to a simple meal of hoecakes drizzled with honey. These flat cornmeal cakes, sometimes called cornpones or Johnnycakes, come from a Native American recipe and have long been a staple in America’s southern states. The Founding Father enjoyed his for breakfast, usually smothered in butter as well as sweet honey.
Other meals served at President's House, the mansion where Washington lived in Philadelphia, and at the Washingtons’ plantation at Mount Vernon, Virginia, included platters of mutton chops, roast beef and tripe, prepared by enslaved people. And, though the president tended to 'eat heartily' and 'was not particular', he was 'excessively fond' of fish – often freshly caught from the Potomac River on his estate.
The president apparently had something of a sweet tooth and hosted regular 'ice cream and lemonade parties' with first lady, Martha. Records show that the kitchens at Mount Vernon purchased several ice cream pots and a 'Cream Machine for Ice' while Washington was president. In addition to the regular Friday gatherings, 'iced creams' were a popular pudding choice for dinner parties and joined a roster of sweet offerings including jellies, fruits and apple pie.
It seems the third president (1801-09) had a huge appetite – and a huge influence on food culture in the US. He brought back many ingredients and recipe ideas from his time as Minister to France and even took an enslaved man, James Hemings, with him on his travels, so that Hemings could learn the art of classic cookery. It’s believed one of the items Jefferson brought back to his Monticello plantation in Charlottesville, Virginia was a waffle iron, starting something of a craze for the fluffy, criss-crossed treat.
Wondering how French fries came to be named? A popular theory is that Hemings, the chef enslaved on Jefferson's plantation, prepared chipped potatoes 'in the French manner', helping to popularise what has become one of the USA’s favourite foods. They were likely small, flat rounds of potato rather than long skinny fries, though Jefferson’s favourite 'pommes de terre frites à cru en petites tranches' (small cuts of potatoes deep-fried while raw) were similar in every other respect.
Jefferson and Hemings also kickstarted America's love of mac 'n' cheese. They brought home a pasta-making machine (or 'mould for making macaroni') from Naples, Italy and it was used to make a (then) little-known dish: macaroni pie. The baked pasta and cheese dish was even served at a state dinner in 1802, helping to boost its popularity. A handwritten recipe by Jefferson details how the pasta is made and rolled into shape.
Andrew Jackson, who was president from 1829 to 1837 and is a face familiar from the $20 bill, had a penchant for leather britches. We’re not talking about the president’s clothing choices, though, but rather an Appalachian tradition of drying string beans in the pod as a method of preserving them. The name comes from the shrivelled, leathery appearance of the resulting beans, which are usually simmered in a pot with water and bacon.
The shortest serving president, from 4 March to 4 April, 1841, tragically had his term cut short when he caught pneumonia and died after forgetting his coat on his Inauguration Day. Harrison won his presidency by keeping potential voters well-fed during rallies by dishing out bowls of his favourite meal Burgoo – a 'throw it all in the pot' stew using squirrel meat, which was a popular choice of protein at the time. The stew also featured any combination of vegetables, potatoes and meats there was to hand.
Abraham Lincoln, who was president from 1861 until his assassination in 1865, had a bit of a sweet tooth and a penchant for desserts – particularly a white almond cake made by his wife Mary. The first lady got the recipe from her favourite bakery in Lexington, Kentucky, and would often make it for her husband. She was also known for doling out sweet treats, apparently giving out cookies to neighbourhood children and purchasing mountains of sugar.
How do you like them apples? A lot, if you’re anything like Lincoln. The crisp, tart and sweet fruit was apparently his all-time favourite food. The most iconic of presidents was also partial to them baked into that most iconic of American desserts, apple pie, usually served with rum sauce. At his inaugural luncheon, though, it was blackberry pie that was served for dessert.
Honest Abe was apparently pretty handy in the kitchen himself, and would often don an apron to help Mary with the cooking. He also told stories of food from his childhood, including a tale about how he shared gingerbread men baked by his mother with a neighbourhood boy. Lincoln famously used this story in a debate against the senator Stephen Douglas, to illustrate the other man’s tactic of blindsiding him with flattery.
Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt, pictured (left) with his vice-president Charles W. Fairbanks, was both a hunter and a conservationist and records suggest he liked to eat game. He also loved chicken, and ate it prepared in all manner of different ways – including, apparently, as a whole roast bird, devouring the lot for lunch with several glasses of milk. The president (serving from 1901-09) loved it best fried and 'with white gravy soaked into the meat'.
The 28th POTUS, Woodrow Wilson, was in power from 1913-31 and was said to be a simple eater, no doubt far more concerned with the tumultuous years he governed and perhaps out of respect for war rations. His former housekeeper, however, revealed there was one dish that Wilson loved to eat: a healthy chicken salad. He also liked it packed into a sandwich at lunchtime. He also enjoyed a boiled egg for breakfast.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s love of a grilled cheese sandwich is well-documented and restaurants and diners throughout the US serve toasties named in his honour. FDR, who was president from 1933-45 and helped pull the country out of the Great Depression, loved foods 'he could dig into', according to White House housekeeper Henrietta Nesbitt. The oozy toasted sandwiches came out top, along with hot dogs and scrambled eggs.
Some consider JFK the first real gourmand in office since Jefferson, and the Kennedys certainly shared that Founding Father’s taste for fine French cuisine. First Lady Jackie brought in renowned chef René Verdon to run the White House kitchens. Alongside refined dinner-party dishes, Verdon recalled in his 1967 cookbook that the president 'dearly loved' Boston clam chowder prepared in the creamy style befitting his roots. He pretty much always ate soup for lunch, sometimes with a sandwich and fruit on the side.
The 35th president, who served from 1961 until his assassination in November 1963, was a devotee of other Boston-born foods, too, including Boston baked beans – though chef Verdon said he persuaded Kennedy this dish wasn’t 'formal' enough for the White House. He also frequented Boston restaurants like the Union Oyster House when he was a congressman. The city’s oldest eatery, established in 1826, claims to be the longest continuously operating restaurant in the US, and has a plaque marking JFK’s regular booth where he usually ate Sunday lunch.
Richard Nixon’s food of choice is perhaps the most bizarre. Nixon, sworn into office in 1969, adored cottage cheese and was especially fond of it with some ketchup dolloped on top. He often ate it for breakfast along with more normal additions of coffee and fresh fruit. He even ate cottage cheese with pineapple as his last lunch before announcing his resignation, facing impeachment, in August 1974. In this picture he’s actually eating cake – not made with cottage cheese – on his 45th birthday in 1958, when he was vice-president to Dwight Eisenhower.
Jelly beans weren’t exactly a secret vice of Ronald Reagan, who was POTUS from 1981-89. He flaunted his love of the multi-coloured sweets – with Jelly Belly being his preferred brand – for all to see, keeping a jar on his desk in the Oval Office to snack on and offer around. The former actor had a recurring order with Jelly Belly manufacturer Herman Goelitz Co. of Oakland to supply 720 bags (more than 300,000 beans) per month.
Bill Clinton, in office from 1993-2001, was a longtime fan of this fast food staple, mainlining jalapeño cheeseburgers at Doe’s Eat Place in Little Rock, Arkansas, when he was governor of the state. The president’s passion for a McDonald’s cheese-topped patty was also famous and even spoofed on satire show Saturday Night Live. So it was a huge departure when Clinton, after having heart surgery twice, became vegan for health reasons in 2010.
The 42nd POTUS was also partial to cinnamon rolls before his health kick. One of his favourite spots was the now-closed Hungry’s Cafe in Little Rock, with owner Ann Ward describing the rolls he ordered as 'big as hubcaps'. He would slather them with margarine rather than butter, she said, to keep his cholesterol down.
Apparently not content with just one fast food favourite at a time, George W. Bush – POTUS from 2001-09 – loved devouring cheeseburger pizzas. Cristeta Comerford, the White House chef at the time, said in 2007 that the mash-up was one of the president’s preferred dinners, and was made by topping a Margherita pizza with 'every ingredient of a cheeseburger'. Bush seems to be a pizza fan in general, too. This photo of him (centre) shows him tucking in with George Pitaki, then New York governor, and Rudolph Giuliani, then mayor, in October 1999.
The Washington DC institution that is Ben’s Chili Bowl has served famous faces from Ella Fitzgerald to Hillary Clinton since opening in 1958. Barack Obama perhaps caused the most excitement when he swung by the family-run joint in January 2009, just 10 days before his inauguration. He chatted happily to customers over mouthfuls of 'half-smokes' (a bigger, spicier hot dog) and secret-recipe chilli con carne.
The Obamas were regulars at many DC-area restaurants, and helped to boost the profiles of local spots like Del Ray Pizzeria in Alexandria, a pretty waterfront city in Virginia, just outside the capital. Obama collected several pizzas to-go (pictured) in 2011, and the pizzeria named a pie, 'Barack My World', in his honour. Obama and first lady Michelle often dined at other Alexandria spots including Vermilion, where they had a Valentine’s Day meal in 2012.
Obama, who was president from 2009-17, loves nachos so much that he needs saving from them, he revealed to Jerry Seinfeld during an episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. If the topped tortillas aren’t taken away from him, he said: "I'll have guacamole coming out of my eyeballs." That may not be an appetising thought, but a heap of cheese, guac, sour cream, jalapeño (and so on) topped nachos sounds pretty good to us.
Donald Trump (POTUS from 2017-21) hasn’t been shy about his love of fast food. In fact he has said he trusts the 'cleanliness' of companies like McDonald’s and Wendy’s more than restaurants in which 'you have no idea where the food is coming from'. He has even served a spread of fast food favourites to White House guests including the Clemson Tigers football team. They visited in January 2019, after winning the national championships, and were treated to an enormous spread (pictured) – including Trump’s absolute fave, McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish.
Yes, he certainly does want fries with that, thank you very much. The 45th president’s love affair with fast food extends to the humble French fry – and not just because they’re tasty. No, Trump has also credited his penchant for McDonald’s French fries, in particular, 'for keeping his hair'. Tweeting in September 2020, the then-president suggested that eating the salty, stringy fried potatoes had helped prevent him going bald due to a chemical they contain.
The 46th president, inaugurated in January 2021, shares a love of ice cream with Barack Obama (whom Biden served as vice-president under). The pair are snapped here in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, on the campaign trail in 2008. President Biden has said: "I don't drink. I don't smoke. But I eat a lot of ice cream." His campaign spent $10,000 on ice cream as a gift to campaign donors, and his favoured brand is Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream based in Columbus, Ohio.
Pasta with red sauce is a favourite hearty meal of Biden's. According to Obama, the current president 'goes deep' on pasta with red sauce. First Lady Jill Biden, who wrote in her 2019 memoir that 'food is love', shares his penchant for the classic tomato sauce, which her husband especially loves with angel-hair pasta.
Biden’s favourite sandwich cements his reputation as a 'man of the people'. The president has mentioned the classic PB&J among his top foods in several interviews, and it’s safe to assume that the White House larder is well-stocked with tubs of peanut butter and jars of grape jelly. According to former White House photographer David Lienemann – who spent time with Biden while Obama was in the top job – Biden certainly can’t be accused of being 'a fancy eater'.