Today, we’re eating waffles with Barack Obama, flipping pancakes with George W. Bush and picking out donuts with Bill Clinton. It’s a trip though U.S. history as we examine American Presidents and their favorite breakfast foods.

In part one, you’ll find images of recent Presidents ordering, making and eating breakfast.  Part two is a study of our Presidents and what they ate for breakfast, going all the way back to George Washington.

The Presidential Breakfast Image Library

Candidate Barack Obama with a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and a jug of coffee. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A montage of President Barack Obama enjoying breakfast.

George W. Bush flipping pancakes on the campaign trail in 1999.

President George W. Bush showing off a pancake as he eats with the troops.

President Bill Clinton selects a doughnut.

Bill Clinton, then governor of Arkansas, having breakfast with ABC’s Charlie Gibson in 1992. (Credit: ABC News)

George H.W. Bush (candidate for President in 1988) having coffee at the Three Brothers Coffee Shop in Homewood, Illinois with Arnold Schwarzenegger (AP Photo/Scott Applewhite via thejournal.ie).  It’s been reported that H.W. was a great lover of hot sauce which he would use to spice up eggs.

Ronald Reagan having a breakfast of Broiled Grapefruit (or possible a small melon) in 1980 with Vice President George H.W. Bush and Detroit Mayor Coleman Young. (AP Photo/Walter Zeboski via thejournal.ie)

Ronald Reagan having breakfast with his family in 1959.  At that time, Reagan was an actor and the host of TV’s General Electric Theater. (Credit: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library via architecturaldigest.com)

President Jimmy Carter having breakfast in The White House with Senator Henry M. Jackson and Senator Sam Nunn in 1977. (Credit:  University of Washington Libraries)

President Gerald Ford toasting English muffins in 1974. (Credit: National Archives, Gerald R. Ford Library)

Congressman Gerald Ford and family having breakfast in the kitchen of their Alexandria, VA home before he became Nixon’s Vice President. (Credit: Clover College Park Civic Association)

Richard Nixon as a Vice Presidential Candidate reflected in a mirror after eating a bowl of cereal. (Credit: Life Magazine via art.com)

President Richard M. Nixon enjoying breakfast with his children and his wife Pat.

President John F. Kennedy having an adorable breakfast with his daughter Caroline in the White House in 1961. (Credit: Charles Del Vecchio, Washington Post)

Dwight D. Eisenhower having breakfast on a plane with auto executive Paul G. Hoffman circa 1959. Notice the small boxes of Wheaties cereal. (Credit: allposters.com)

Dwight D. Eisenhower eating what appears to be a box of donuts in 1954. (Credit: Sealtest Southern Diary)

President Harry S. Truman having breakfast with the troops.

Five years after his Presidency, Harry S. Truman enjoys his pipe at an Ole’ Missouri Country Ham Breakfast at New York’s Waldorf Astoria in 1958. (Credit: hosttotheworld.com)

American Presidents & What They Ate For Breakfast

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

President Reagan usually had breakfast everyday at 7:45AM.  His most common breakfast was bran cereal with skim milk, fresh fruit and decaf coffee.  Once a week, he’d have eggs – either scrambled, poached or soft-boiled.  Whole wheat toast and homemade muffins were also common at the Reagan breakfast table.  For special occasions, Reagan would indulge in an old family favorite called Monkey Bread. ¹

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

President Carter would typically wake up around 5:30AM.  He’d start the day with coffee and fresh-squeezed juice.  A couple of hours later, he would have a light breakfast – usually fruit and buttered toast.  Occasionally, eggs or cereal would take the place of his regular fare.  Sunday breakfasts tended to be more indulgent.  Some of his favorite heavier breakfasts included country-style ham with red-eye gravy, scrambled eggs, corn bread, hot fried apples and grits.  Carter loved grits.  They were included on The White House breakfast menu on his first day in office.  He also named his dog Grits. ¹

Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

Like Carter, President Ford ate light on weekdays and went bigger on the weekends.  His typical weekday breakfast included toasted English muffins with jam, fresh fruit and fresh juice.  On Sundays, Ford loved a good waffle which he would top with strawberries and sour cream.  German apple pancakes also topped his list of heavier breakfast fare. ¹

Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

President Nixon’s typical breakfast was quite light – usually yogurt, cottage cheese and fresh fruit.  The most unusually thing about a Nixon breakfast was that he liked to top his cottage cheese with ketchup.  That alone might be an impeachable offense.  It’s been reported that his final Presidential breakfast before he left office was cottage cheese and pineapple. ²

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

President Johnson’s most common breakfast was chipped beef covered in cream with a cup of hot tea.  He was also known to enjoy a good steak for breakfast, as well as for lunch and dinner. ¹

John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

President Kennedy was known to start his day with 2 poached eggs on toast, crisp bacon, additional toast with jam or marmalade, milk, orange juice and coffee.  He was also prone to enjoy corn muffins.  Kennedy took his coffee with cream and sugar. ³

Harry Truman (1945-1953)

President Truman had a regular breakfast menu that he rarely deviated from:  hot cereal during cold months and cold cereal during warm months.  He would augment his cereal with wheat toast, milk and orange juice (sometimes grapefruit or tomato juice). ⁵

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)

FDR was known to take breakfast on a tray in his bedroom.  His favorite items were creamed chipped beef, corned beef hash with poached eggs and fried corn-meal mush with maple syrup.  He was particular about his coffee.  It was a dark French roast made in The White House kitchen from green coffee beans.  Roosevelt was also fond of kippered herring and salt mackerel for breakfast. ⁴

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

President Coolidge favored a hot cereal made with 3 parts whole wheat and 1 part whole rye.  The grains were not ground before they were cooked, so you can imagine it was a hearty concoction. ⁵

Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)

President Harding’s favorite breakfast items were hot cereal, scrambled eggs, bacon, wheat cakes with maple syrup, corn muffins, grapefruit and toast.  He was also a very big coffee-drinker. ⁵

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

It’s often been reported that President Wilson regularly had a Rocky-style breakfast of two raw eggs in grape juice.  This conflicts with Wilson’s own words, “I am very fond of country hams, peach cobblers, butter and buttermilk, fresh eggs, hot biscuits, homemade ice cream and plain white cake.”  There are records that Wilson’s first breakfast in The White House consisted of oranges, cereal with cream, bacon, eggs, steak, hot cakes, toast, tea and coffee. ^{5, 6}

William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

President Taft was a steak and potatoes kind of guy.  For breakfast, his steak would usually be broiled and his potatoes were usually presented in the form of hash browns.  We know that on one particular trip to Savannah, GA, Taft had a breakfast consisting of grapefruit, potted partridge, grilled partridge, broiled venison, waffles with maple syrup, hominy, hot rolls and bacon. ⁵

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

President Teddy Roosevelt was pretty set in his ways when it came to breakfast.  He’d have hard-boiled eggs and homemade rolls.  He insisted that the eggs be cooked until solid throughout.  Medium or soft-boiled eggs wouldn’t cut it.  As for the rolls, they had to be fresh and there had to be a lot of them.  In the rare times that he’d deviate from his routine, it was usually in favor of hominy with butter and salt. ^{7, 8}

William McKinley (1897-1901)

President McKinley’s morning menu consisted of eggs, steak or chops, hot breads, potatoes, fruit and coffee. He would occasionally throw fish into that mix. ⁵

Grover Cleveland (1893-1897)

A journalist named Frank Carpenter observed President Cleveland’s morning routine and described it like this: “At eight, he is ready for breakfast. This is not a large meal… oatmeal, beefsteak, eggs or a chop, with coffee to wash it down.” ⁵

Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)

President Arthur was known to eat his breakfast as he dressed. It was usually a very simple meal consisting of only coffee and a roll. ⁵

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

President Hayes had coffee for breakfast and tea for lunch.  He was fond of cornmeal batter-cakes. ⁵

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

President Grant’s favorite breakfast items included steak, broiled Spanish mackerel, bacon, fried apples, flannel cakes, buckwheat cakes and strong black coffee. ⁵

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

President Lincoln had simple tastes when it came to food.  It was said that his favorite beverage was water.  When it came to breakfast, The Great Emancipator preferred a single egg, a piece of toast and a good hot cup of coffee.  Many mornings, he would be satisfied with only an apple. ^{5, 9}

James Madison (1809-1817)

According to the book James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham, President Madison “breakfasted at nine o’clock on ham or salt fish, herring… coffee or tea, and slices of toast or untoasted bread spread with butter.”

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

In her book The First Forty Years of Washington Society, Margaret Bayard Smith made the following account of having breakfast with President Jefferson, “Our breakfast table was as large as our dinner table… we had tea, coffee, excellent muffins, hot wheat and corn bread, cold ham and butter.”

George Washington (1789-1797)

We get an idea of what President Washington had for breakfast from Henry Wansey, an English manufacturer who had breakfast with Washington on June 8, 1794.  He wrote, “Breakfast seems to have been the only meal in the Presidential house that was relaxed. Mrs. Washington made tea and coffee for them; on the table there were two small plates of sliced tongues and dry toast, bread and butter, but no broiled fish, as is generally the custom.” Washington was also said to be fond of hoecakes, cornmeal pancakes that were cooked on a fire-heated hoe. ^{5, 9}

Sources Used For This Article:

¹ The White House Family Cookbook, Henry Haller, 1987

² “How Nixon Lives, What He Likes,” Marie Smith, Washington Post, January 17, 1969

³ The White House Chef Cookbook, Rene Verdon, 1967

⁴ The Presidential Cookbook: Feeding the Roosevelts and Their Guests, Henrietta Nesbitt, 1951

⁵ The Presidents’ Cookbook, Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks, 1968

⁶ First Wilson Family Breakfast at the White House – The Economy Administration Cook Book, Susie Root, 1913

⁷ The President’s Table: Two Hundred Years of Dining and Diplomacy, Barry H. Landau, 2007

⁸ “What the President Eats: Mr. Roosevelt Corrects and Epicurean Syndicate Story,” Washington Post, June 26, 1906

⁹ “Lincoln’s Favorite Foods” and “Washington’s Favorite Foods”, TheQuestingFeast.com

Happy Presidents Day!

Elvis Presley having a breakfast of eggs, bacon and French fries in 1956 at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, VA. (Photo: Alfred Wertheimer)

Another image from Elvis’ 1956 breakfast in Richmond, VA. (Photo: Alfred Wertheime)

Elvis having breakfast with Colonel Parker at Fort Chaffee in March of 1958.

Three shots of The Beatles eating breakfast together.

Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison sharing the breakfast experience.

John Lennon eating breakfast in Tokyo in 1966 (Photo: Robert Whitaker) and four images of Lennon having breakfast in Amsterdam during his famous bed-in for peace in March 1969 (Photos: Nico Koster).

George Harrison eating a donut, spreading jam on toast and sharing coffee with a minor.

Ringo Starr having breakfast in the hospital in 1964.

Mick Jagger enjoying a special meal with Andy Warhol and William S. Burroughs. (Photo: Marcia Resnick)

Mick Jagger chowing down in 1965 and sometime in the mid 70’s.

Keith Richards making breakfast in 1975 at Andy Warhol’s house in Montauk, NY (Photo: Ken Regan) and Richards eating pancakes with Mick Taylor in Manchester in 1973 (Photo: Laurens Van Houten).

How does a sleepy Bob Dylan perk up in the morning? The answer, my friend, is… coffee.

Bob Dylan in a diner with Johnny Cash. Dylan’s coffee suggests they may be about to have breakfast.

Jim Morrison (The Doors) having Huevos Rancheros and beer for breakfast at the Lucky U restaurant in West Los Angeles in 1967. (Photo: Bobby Klein)

Elton John enjoying the morning with orange juice, a big pastry, USA Today and two beautiful dogs. (Photo: Deborah Anderson)

David Bowie eating a donut early in his career and having a full English breakfast (I think) on a train with Mick Ronson in 1973.

Pete Townshend and Keith Moon of The Who enjoying what appears to be pancakes or waffles. (UPDATE: It’s been pointed out in readers’ comments that the guy on the left is actually Phil Daniels, an actor from the film Quadrophenia.)

“Mama” Cass Elliot and Michelle Phillips of The Mama’s And The Papa’s having some in-flight breakfast and a few laughs.

Alice Cooper having breakfast with Groucho Marx. (Photo: Neal Preston)

Bruce Springsteen at a McDonald’s in New Orleans in 1975. Could it be that he’s eating an Egg McMuffin? Probably not, but one can dream. (Photo: Barbara Pyle)

Art Garfunkel (of Simon & Garfunkel) is shown having breakfast on the cover of his 1979 solo album Fate For Breakfast. Fate? Looks like a croissant and a sunny-side-up egg to me. (Photo: Edie Baskin)

Ozzy Osbourne and Slash (Guns N’ Roses) eating together at the Dorchester Hotel London in 2008. (Photos: Dave Hogan/Getty Images Europe)

In all likelihood, Freddy Mercury of Queen is just eating a biscuit (British cookie) in this picture. I really like Queen and wanted to include a picture. So let’s assume that it’s a Quaker Breakfast Cookie or a BelVita breakfast biscuit. This photo was taken at the Ealing College of Art around 1969.

“The Corn Flakes Series” by photographer Bobby Grossman. Here we see David Byrne of the Talking Heads, Debbie Harry of Blondie and David Johansen of The New York Dolls.

Madonna seductively peeling fruit in a low-cut top perfect for a relaxed morning breakfast or an afternoon brunch with friends. (Photo: Steven Klein)

Michael Jackson gives a thumb-up to breakfast circa 1984.

Rod Stewart enjoying breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien in Studio City, Los Angeles (more) and having coffee and croissants with his family on the French Riviera (more).

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith enjoying breakfast at West Hollywood’s Urth Cafe in January 2012. Dude looks like he’s hungry. (more)

Bonus: Jennifer Lopez being fed a donut (more), Justin Bieber eating bacon and Rihanna having fruit.

Happy Birthday Elvis Presley!  Born in 1935, this year he would have been 79 years old.  Every January 8th, I like to make one of Elvis’ favorite foods to celebrate.  Last year, I made his famous fried breakfast sandwich with peanut butter, bacon and banana.  To celebrate this year, I decided to make Sweet Breakfast Grits.

I found a really fun book in the bargain section of Barnes & Noble called Are You Hungry Tonight? compiled by Brenda Arlene Butler. It’s an eclectic mix of Elvis’ favorite foods – everything from Sausage Spoon Bread to Chicken ala King.  There’s only 7 breakfast recipes in the book, but it’s a great read for Elvis fans who love to cook.

The book claims that Elvis’ mother used to make him grits and speculates that grits were probably included in his earliest memories of solid food.  Another book, The Life And Cuisine Of Elvis Presley by David Adler, reveals that Elvis enjoyed grits for breakfast in his later years along with 6-egg omelets and burnt bacon by the pound.  Today, we’ll just concentrate on the grits.

The recipe for Sweet Breakfast Grits in Hungry Tonight is common among many other cookbooks.  It calls for:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup hominy grits
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• milk and sugar – for serving

The instructions ask you to bring the water and salt to boil.  Slowly add in all the remaining ingredients and then simmer (covered) until the water is absorbed – about 3 minutes.

That recipe is fine, but having made sweet grits a few times, I know it can be better.  I opt to use quick-cooking grits which I prepare according to the package directions with a mixture of water and milk (for extra creaminess).  Since they’re called “sweet” grits, I also make sure to stir some sugar into the grits (as opposed to garnishing each serving with sugar).  A little bit of butter is an absolute necessity.  I believe anyone from the south would agree with that.

My version isn’t super different from the Hungry Tonight version, but I think you’ll find those few changes make a delicious difference.

For my version of Sweet Breakfast Grits including the printable recipe, click here.

Interestingly…

A happy accident happened as I was making my Elvis tribute breakfast.  While making grits in the pan, I used up every last drop of milk in the house.  That was a bummer because I like to top each serving with an additional splash of milk. I really like the mix of cool and warm as you take the first bite.

Fortunately… another pretty famous guy had a birthday recently.  Maybe you’ve heard of him… Jesus.  As it happened, I had some leftover Christmas Eggnog in the refrigerator.  Instead of adding a splash of milk, I added a splash of nog.  I loved it!  I mean… it was kind of amazing.  That splash of eggnog turned Sweet Breakfast Grits into Sweet Holiday Grits… something to remember for next Christmas.  But for now…

Viva La Breakfast!  Happy Birthday Elvis!

The book Are You Hungry Tonight? is currently out of print but you can find used copies on Amazon and eBay.

For more grits recipes, check out the Oatmeal And Hot Cereal Collection at MrBreakfast.com.

For pictures of Elvis eating breakfast, check out my article Rock Stars Eating Breakfast.

Also check out that Elvis Breakfast Sandwich, I mentioned earlier:

The Elvis Breakfast Sandwich

Food Photographers Quick Tip: Don’t thaw frozen berries and expect them to look fresh in pictures.  They look mushy and weird.

Today, the official website of Prince Charles denied reports that the Prince has seven boiled eggs prepared every morning – of which, he only chooses one.

The malicious breakfast rumor first appeared in the 2006 book On Royalty by Jeremy Paxman.  The author alleged that Charles was so particular about the texture of his egg that he would order his staff to boil several eggs and number them according to their cooking time.

Not so, says the Prince’s website.  In the FAQ section of the site, the following text now appears:

“Does The Prince of Wales have seven boiled eggs cooked for his breakfast but only eat one, as claimed in Jeremy Paxman’s book On Monarchy?

“No, he doesn’t and never has done, at breakfast or any other time.”

(It seems the Prince’s site got the name of the book wrong.  It is actually On Royalty not On Monarchy.)

If you’re finicky about your soft-boiled eggs, check out my column “How To Boil An Egg” where you’ll find advice about soft-boiled and hard-boiled eggs.

Sources:

Official Website of Prince Charles

Bloomberg News: Prince Charles Seeks to Dispel Seven-Breakfast-Eggs Story

Huffington Post: Photo of Prince Charles Looking at Cartons of Eggs

Telegraph: Photo of Prince Charles Looking at a Single Egg

Most people know Alfred Hitchcock as the legendary director of thrillers like Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window and about 50 other films.  Here at MrBreakfast.com, we know the Master of Suspense as a guy who loves a good quiche.  Follow along as I make his recipe for Quiche Lorraine which appeared in a 1981 celebrity cookbook by Johna Blinn titled appropriately Celebrity Cookbook.

I love kitschy old cookbooks, especially celebrity cookbooks.  So, imagine how happy I was to find a kitschy old cookbook with recipes from over 200 celebrities.  It was just $1.00 at a thrift store.  Score!  I’ll probably cover other recipes from this book in the future, maybe Elliott Gould’s Western Omelet Supreme, but for today, let’s concentrate on Alfred Hitchcock’s Quiche Lorraine.

Hitchcock was a self-proclaimed lover of quiche.  He even featured it in his 1955 film To Catch A Thief. The scene that starred Quiche Lorraine featured Cary Grant and John Williams.  If you combine parts of their dialogue, you get this description of the dish: “Quiche Lorraine… It looks delicious… It’s wonderful… The pastry is as light as air.”

Alfred Hitchcock’s Quiche Lorraine: Step-By-Step

For the ingredients list and a printable recipe, click here.

To make the pasty crust, chop cold butter into small pieces and blend it into the flour with your finger tips until the texture is like coarse, wet sand.  Add an egg yolk, water and salt and mix until a dough forms.

Pack and roll the dough into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Once chilled, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to form the crust.  Fit the crust over a 10-inch pie pan and press it down to line the pan.  Trim edges as needed.  Poke a number of holes into the bottom of the crust with a fork.  Refrigerate pie crust as you work on the next steps.

Slice the onions and cube the ham.

Saute the onions in a couple Tablespoons of butter until softened and just starting to brown – about 12 minutes.

Sprinkle ham over the bottom of the pie crust.  Spread onions over the ham.

To make the custard (aka the delicious glue that holds your quiche together):  Beat your eggs, milk and seasonings together.  Mr. Hitchcock tells you to beat your eggs and slowly whisk in hot milk, then stir over low heat until the mixture thickens.  In my experience, that’s an unneeded step.  Just mix the stuff together.

Pour the custard over the ham and onions.

Bake the quiche for 35 to 40 minutes at 375 degrees until the custard is set and the top is golden brown.  Mr. Hitchcock says 30 minutes, but I found that it needed a little more time.

Allow quiche to cool slightly – 5 or 10 minutes.  Slice and serve warm.

Thanks Alfred Hitchcock!

This article is based on the recipe Alfred Hitchcock’s Quiche Lorraine from MrBreakfast.com.

Bonus:

Watch Nathalie Morris, a curator at the British Film Institute, make a version of this recipe while discussing the treatment of food in the films of Alfred Hitchcock.  Somebody give this girl a show!

Michael Phelps’s Breakfast:

• three fried-egg sandwiches
• three chocolate chip pancakes
• one five-egg omelette
• three slices of French toast
• one bowl of grits

As reported by the Daily Mail, this enormous breakfast is just part of daily diet that clocks in at 12,000 calories.  For lunch, Phelps enjoys pasta with ham and cheese sandwiches.  For dinner, pizza of course.

While Phelps takes breakfast to the extreme, it should be noted that eating a responsible breakfast everyday has been proven to help people maintain a healthy weight (National Weight Control Registry Study) and revitalize tired muscles (University of Texas Study).  Click here for a ton of other studies on the benefits of breakfast.

If you’re not about to swim 100 laps, I’d recommend that you eat just until you feel satisfied.  Or if desired, eat breakfast like Michael Phelps and we’ll see you in the Olympics of Obesity.