Hans Raffert

Hans F. Raffert (March 11, 1927 – March 3, 2005) was a German American chef who was White House Executive Chef from 1988 to 1992. He was the first White House chef to annually build a gingerbread house for the Executive Residence's Christmas holiday decorations.

Early life and work Raffert was born March 11, 1927, in Hildesheim, Germany. His father was a baker, which sparked his interest in cooking. He worked four days a week, and spent two days in school. His apprenticeship ended in 1941 when he was 17. With World War II raging, he chose to enlist in the Kriegsmarine, the Nazi German navy. Enlisting meant that he would avoid being conscripted into the Wehrmacht, where he was much more likely to die. As a cook in the navy, he also avoided much of the hunger that afflicted the average German during the latter part of the war.

Raffert trained at a number of hotels and resorts in West Germany after the war. In 1951 he moved to Switzerland, but emigrated to Stockholm, Sweden, in 1952 in order to take advantage of the immense demand for chefs generated by the 1952 Winter Olympics in nearby Oslo, Norway. He spent the next seven and a half years in Sweden, working a various hotels. For three and a half of these years, he worked aboard cruise ships of the Swedish American Line, during which he made three around-the-world cruises.

Haller retired on October 1, 1987, and was replaced by chef Jon Hill. Raffert was appointed Acting Executive Chef on January 9. Raffert was permanently named to the position on March 3. Although the White House interviewed several candidates, Raffert's experience on the job and the high level of competency he displayed during his one and a half months as Acting Executive Chef convinced the First Lady that Raffert was the right candidate for the job. His salary in 1969 was $13,389 a year. and a September 1978 dinner for 1,300 on the South Lawn to celebrate the signing of the Camp David Accords. He enjoyed cooking for the First Family very much. First Lady Pat Nixon liked roast duck (a Raffert favorite as well), while President Jimmy Carter and his family a large meant on Sundays after church and were very much like the average American family. (First Daughter Amy Carter would bake cookies in the White House kitchen, overseen by Raffert.) He also approved of the way First Lady Nancy Reagan handled state dinner menus, personally approving the food and wine choices rather than allowing a committee of staff to argue at length over them.

Raffert was 60 when he became Executive Chef, and retired in October 1992 just before he turned 65.

Personal life and death

Raffert's marriage to his first wife, Annemarie (a native of Austria who emigrated to the United States when she was 16 years old), ended in divorce. They had a son, Patrick. Raffert married his second wife, Doris (a medical secretary), in 1976. The couple lived in Alexandria, Virginia.

Raffert died on March 3, 2005, in Alexandria. He was survived by his wife, Doris, and his son, Patrick, as well as a brother, Konrad Raffert of Clarksburg, Maryland. A funeral Mass was held at St. Louis Catholic Church in Alexandria. He was cremated, and inurned at Mount Comfort Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia.