Finally, the moment we’ve been training for throughout the pandemic has arrived: the White House is hiring a professional eater.
Well, technically a professional food taster. And, well, we’re also not sure if the job posting is real.
The LinkedIn job post asks applicants if they “want to join the front lines in the war against terror, but not a fan of guns?” Daily responsibilities are listed as “eating the finest foods and the occasional corn pops to ensure they are safe for the leader of the free world.” The listed start date is inauguration day—January 20, 2021.
The whole idea of a presidential food taster is somewhat of an urban legend, with some sources saying it’s a thing and some saying it isn’t. For the record, Washingtonian ran a 2013 article debunking the myth after then-President Obama turned down a lobster salad at a lunch. There are screening protocols for the president’s food, according to the article, but no official taster. But a 2001 New York Times article from the days of George W. Bush mentions “the president’s tasters,” and there’s a 1988 Cox News Service piece also mentioning Ronald Reagan’s food taster.
So, will someone actually be hired in the incoming administration to take nibbles of Biden’s ice cream cones and angel hair pasta? (And, if so, can said incoming administration consider this post as my official application to be considered?)
It’s hard to believe the White House would use the phrase “corn pops” in an official job posting but, if there’s anything 2020 has taught us, it’s that nothing is impossible. So let us know if you apply and get an interview—after all, as the listing states, “Uncle Joe needs You!”
Mimi Montgomery joined Washingtonian in 2018. She’s written for The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Washington City Paper, DCist, and PoPVille. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives in Del Ray.
