Born in the Philippines, Cris Comerford (U.S. FWN100™ '12, Global FWN100™ '14) attended the food-technology program at the University of the Philippines and began her career as a “salad girl” in Chicago hotels. In 2005 she beat over 450 applicants vying for the Executive White House Chef position during the Bush administration.
Cris Comerford (Global FWN100™ '13) broke the glass ceiling for women chefs when she became the first woman and first Filipino to hold the coveted title of executive chef of the White House. With increased opportunities abroad and the culinary school boom (led by prestigious French cooking institution Le Cordon Bleu) in the Philippines, it's likely that we'll see more rockstar Filipina chefs like Cris heading kitchens and satisfying palettes across the world.
Watch the live stream of the White House Celebration of Filipino American History Month via whitehouse.gov/live today Friday, October 2, 2015 from 3:00 – 6:00 PM ET. The Celebration will kick off Filipino American History Month in October and will feature discussions with Administration officials and prominent Filipino Americans, as well as performances by distinguished Filipino American artists. Please join the conversation online and Tweet questions using #WhiteHouseFAHM #FAHM2015.
FWN Members present for today's White House Celebration of Filipino American History Month include: CEO & Founder Marily Mondejar, Sonia Delen (board member), Bambi Lorica (board member), plus members Genevieve Jopanda (Global FWN100™ '13), Vangie Buell (U.S. FWN100™ '07) and White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford (Global FWN100™ '13), among others.
