Roland Mesnier
Roland Mesnier was the pastry chef at the Princess Hotel and Governor's Palace in Bermuda before being hired by first lady Rosalyn Carter in 1980 as head pastry chef at the White House. While there, he served more than 40 queens, kings, princes, princesses and heads of state, launched the first professional pastry course at the Academy of Cuisine in Washington, D.C., and opened the doors of the White House to the best pastry cooks in the United States. He retired from the White House in July 2004 after 25 years of service. He is the recipient of several awards and honors, including a Doctorate of Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University and multiple gold, silver and bronze medals from culinary exhibitions around the world. His latest book is Dessert University (Simon and Schuster, 2004). He lives in Fairfax County, Va.
