Cristeta Pasia Comerford, a Brown Girl of Filipino descent, grew up in Manila and has been the White House Executive Chef since 2005. She is the first female executive chef, the first person of ethnic minority, and the first Filipina to hold this position. She completed her secondary education at the Manila Science High School, and attended the University of the Philippines, Diliman in Quezon City majoring in food technology. Although Comerford did not earn her degree (she left school to emigrate to the United States at the age of 23), she worked at the Sheraton Hotel (Chicago), at the Hyatt Regency hotel (Chicago), as a chef at two restaurants in Washington, D.C., and spent six months in Vienna as a rotating chef. Appointed by First Lady Laura Bush, the Obama transition team announced (in January 2009) that Chef Comerford would be retained as the administration's head chef. Michelle Obama stated, "Also the mom of a young daughter, I appreciate our shared perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families." [Source: Wikipedia]
