Listowel born Kathy Buckley would have been as famous as TV celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson if she were alive today, according to Sharon Ní Chonchúir.
Vincent Carmody’s new book, ‘Kathy White House – Her Culinary Odyssey,’ was launched at the 2023 Listowel Food Fair by RTE Presenter Katie Hannon. The book explores the life of Kathy Buckley, who served as the head chef for three American presidents, Coolidge, Hoover and Roosevelt.
She was born in Upper William Street in Listowel, Co. Kerry. She was the eldest of seven. Her father worked as a cooper in a workshop at the rear of their house, and her mother came from a long-established family of grocers and shoemakers. When Kathy was in her early teens she left school to take a job in the kitchen of the Butler Arms Hotel in Waterville.
She showed a talent for cooking, and served as head chef for the duration of the term of office of President Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) and for the presidential terms of both Herbert Hoover (1929-1933), and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945). She retired to Listowel in the early 1950s.
The book features recipe books, menu cards, letters, and mementos collected by Kathy during her time in the White House. It has received praise for its extensive research and presentation.
