Meet Zephyr Wright, personal cook for President Lyndon B. Johnson and his family for decades!
Wright began working for the Johnson family in 1942, and when Johnson became president in 1963, Wright came to the White House as the first family’s personal cook. During his presidency, Johnson often discussed his efforts to pass civil rights legislation with Wright. In an interview, Wright recalled the president’s excitement when he appointed Thurgood Marshall to the United States Supreme Court in 1967. Marshall was the first African American to serve on the nation’s highest court.
White House Chief Usher J.B. West described Wright as “queen of the kitchen on the second floor” thanks to her expertise in serving the Johnsons’ favorite dishes. Although she enjoyed working for the Johnsons, Wright struggled to get along with the White House Executive Chef René Verdon. West recalled the tensions between Wright and Verdon. Trained in traditional French cuisine, Verdon was not accustomed to making the informal dishes that the Johnsons enjoyed such as chili con queso and tapioca pudding. Wright grew frustrated by the unequal pay scale between herself and Chef Verdon, who was paid three times the amount of Wright’s salary. She went to West repeatedly about her salary, and she managed to obtain several raises while working at the White House.
In 1968, Wright announced that she planned to retire when President Johnson left office. Instead of returning to Texas with the Johnson family, she remained in Washington, D.C. However, her retirement was short-lived. Former first daughter Lynda Bird Johnson Robb hired Wright as a private cook for her family.
The first photograph in today’s gallery features Wright and President Johnson in the kitchen at the Johnson’s Ranch in Stonewall, Texas. In the next images, members of the White House staff and President Johnson’s youngest daughter, Luci, celebrate Wright’s birthday in 1965.
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