First Lady Michelle Obama Says President Obama 'Shovels' His Food Sometimes
The first lady teamed up with chef Mario Batali to cook with students in Milan.
— -- When you're the leader of the free world, sometimes you have to scarf down your food.
In Milan today, first lady Michelle Obama shared the importance of eating as a family, saying it's an opportunity to share stories from their day and as well as slowly appreciate their meals.
She noted the first family sits down each night for dinner and does just that, but sometimes the president gobbles up his food a little too quickly.
"We've preserved our family dinner time. No matter what the president is doing, between 6:30 and 7:00, he stops. We come up, we sit down, we have a meal,” Mrs. Obama told students assembled at the James Beard American Restaurant in Milan. "You're actually tasting it and you probably eat less because you're not just shoveling. Shoveling is probably not a good thing. We don’t shovel."
The first lady then paused before saying to laughter, “Well, the president shovels sometimes.”
While his wife encourages healthy eating, it's clear President Obama loves to eat, and sometimes he's splurges -- as is evidenced in this chronicle of his love of cheeseburgers.
Ms. Obama is leading the U.S. delegation to the Milan Expo, which is focusing on food and nutrition. But before the official event, she took on the role of chef when she teamed up with renowned chef Mario Batali to cook with middle school students in Milan.
“Here she is -- Chef Michelle Obama!” visiting American Chef John Besh said as he introduced the first lady.
“Are you guys ready to cook with us?” Obama said. “I’m not really an executive chef. I just hang out with them.”
Obama and Batali joined 7th and 8th graders from the American School in Milan to promote the first lady’s “Let’s Move initiative” and healthy eating.
“You throw all these things together with an idea of what balance is and suddenly something tastes delicious,” Batali said.
Ms. Obama and the students listened diligently as Batali explained the ingredients they would use for their meal: Israeli couscous, chicken, tomato, arugula, lemons and herbs. The first lady immediately dove in cutting pieces of chicken while students diced tomatoes and zested lemon.
“How are you feeling about this battle of the chickens salads?” Besh asked the first lady.
“I'm focused,” Mrs. Obama said as she cooked alongside the students. “I'm trying to concentrate. I’m trying to make sure the chicken is the right size. I’m talking to my teammates. I’m trying to get to know them, so I'm multi-tasking here.”
Later in the day, the first lady, Sasha, Malia and Marian Robinson met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife and daughter as they paid a short visit to the church of Santa Maria dell Grazie to see Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper.
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