Marvin Woods: Obama's Chef in Waiting

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Let's speculate a moment about the foodie world one year from now. What would the White House kitchen be like after President Bush leaves office? Many presidents have kept their predecessor's chef – and others have installed a new chef. And still other presidents - rather their first ladies - have changed chef mid-stride for various reasons. Super Chef wonders who would Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain choose for White House Executive Chef? Once chef is already pulled ahead of the pack in what may proved to be a heated election season. Marvin Woods has announced his candidacy for Executive Chef in the Obama White House. I am serious. I have not had any contact with him, but I have let some people know that is what I am interested in doing. It is not a great job to some people, but there are a lot of positives to the job. The fact that you can work in the White House for the President is an honor. This is not something that I have wanted to do prior, or thinking about doing for anybody else. Maybe if America finally has an African American President, audiences will see more African Americans on the Food Network, Bravo and in the media as a whole – not just limited to barbecue and amateur cooking (see previous article). Marvin is co-owner and executive chef of Woods on South in Charlotte, North Carolina (North Carolina holds its primary on May 6). Marvin hosted Home Plate a cooking show which aired for more than four years on Turner South. He also is the author of Home Plate Cooking: Everyday Southern Cuisine with a Fresh Twist and The New Low-Country Cooking: 125 Recipes for Coastal Southern Cooking with Innovative Style; and he has been a guest on Good Morning America. With Black History Month in mind, Super Chef probed beyond Marvin's desire to serve the president. What really matters to him is speeding up positive change in the America's schools. He believes that begins with what children eat. Marvin is involved in two pilot programs in Atlanta to encourage school children to learn about healthy eating. I am on a mission. One of my initiatives is to combat childhood obesity and educate and enlighten people of color about eating better, and living a better life through food. My motto is "Let food be your medicine". One program is for elementary students and the other for high school students. I have been doing it for a year, its disheartening, I went in gung ho, thinking that I was going to make a change…I still think I can make a change, but it has led me to the government, Public school are subsidized by government, they are into commodities, canned products. Canned food is high in salt and fat with little nutritional value. Having the right President in place - that would change immediately. He has partnered with Sodexho and Atlanta's professional sports teams to energize kids and throw more light on the problem. He hopes to see his programs go city-wide and nation-wide. He is in the cafeterias with kids and demonstrates to them how to make healthy food at home. Marvin is planning on getting back on television with a children's cooking program. He also has a new spice and sauce line launching soon. It is all natural with no added salt. It is based on flavors from the African Diaspora in North and South America and the Caribbean. The Marvin Woods line's first eight products will be in stores and online this spring. Marvin is also a partner in The St. James Hotel in Selma Alabama. The 1827 hotel was refurbished and opened in November 2007 with 40 rooms and a restaurant by Marvin. It’s definitely Southern, meat and potatoes, with a low country influence. It is not posh, but in Selma it’s a Wow! Super Chef will happily accept a White House invitation. Previous articles: Make It Super Simple with G. Garvin Food Network: Down Home with the Neelys Marcus Samuelsson: Starbucks Taste of Ebony: Black Chefs Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin G. Garvin: MegaFest Star Vote for White House Woman Chef Augustus Jackson: African American White House Chef [White House Woman Chef - complete] [Chef Profiles - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef