New Is Old In The Bush Kitchen

It looks as if all those criticisms two years ago that first lady Laura Bush dumped her Clinton-era chef not because she disliked his style but just to put her stamp on the White House kitchen are proving true.

Because at last week's state dinner for Queen Elizabeth, chef Cris Comerford produced a carbon copy meal in the style former Chef Walter Scheib designed -- right down to the pea soup, a Bush fave. It should have been no surprise.

Comerford was Scheib's deputy, one he called the best to replace him. By all accounts, the Bushes loved the chow, revealing another truth in Chefgate: The former social secretary who helped organize Scheib's firing because she didn't like his "country club" fare was wrong. They did like his style, and Comerford has adopted it.

By Paul Bedard