Unfortunately, we have no menus for any White House meals, formal or informal, during the Hoover administration. Mrs. Hoover's files on formal events are detailed in every other respect -- invitation lists, RSVPs, guest lists, seating charts, entertainment, etc. -- but she kept no record or copies of any menus.
Menu details can sometimes be gleaned from newspaper accounts, personal letters or diaries of attendees, or other informal sources. The only full menu we have been able to find was published in the December 1935 edition of the Ladies Home Journal by former White House cook Ava Long. In her article, “Three a Day in the White House,” she mentioned that during the Hoover Administration, “we used American menus and American cooking.” She offered as an example the menu she recorded in her daybook after the last Cabinet Dinner of the Hoover Administration:
Cabinet Dinner, Dec. 8, 1932
Blue Points
Celery Green Turtle Soup with Fairy Toast Olives
Cucumbers Filet of Trout with Tartare Sauce Tomatoes
Boned Turkey with Cranberry Jelly Parsley Potatoes Asparagus
Endive Salad with French Dressing Cheese Straws
Frozen Custard with Melba Sauce Cake Salted Nuts Candy
Unfortunately, we have no menus for any White House meals, formal or informal, during the Hoover administration. Mrs. Hoover's files on formal events are detailed in every other respect -- invitation lists, RSVPs, guest lists, seating charts, entertainment, etc. -- but she kept no record or copies of any menus.
Menu details can sometimes be gleaned from newspaper accounts, personal letters or diaries of attendees, or other informal sources. The only full menu we have been able to find was published in the December 1935 edition of the Ladies Home Journal by former White House cook Ava Long. In her article, “Three a Day in the White House,” she mentioned that during the Hoover Administration, “we used American menus and American cooking.” She offered as an example the menu she recorded in her daybook after the last Cabinet Dinner of the Hoover Administration:
Cabinet Dinner, Dec. 8, 1932
Blue Points
Celery Green Turtle Soup with Fairy Toast Olives
Cucumbers Filet of Trout with Tartare Sauce Tomatoes
Boned Turkey with Cranberry Jelly Parsley Potatoes Asparagus
Endive Salad with French Dressing Cheese Straws
Frozen Custard with Melba Sauce Cake Salted Nuts Candy
