Chicago chef Kass now cooking for Obama

FIRST FOOD | Family's personal kitchen boss cooked at Avec

Just two years ago, Sam Kass was one of the cooks on the line at the chic Avec restaurant in the West Loop. Now, the 28-year-old Chicago chef is part of President Obama’s kitchen cabinet.

Kass, who was the Obama family’s personal chef in Chicago, has been named an assistant White House chef, a spokeswoman for first lady Michelle Obama said Wednesday. He’ll work under executive chef Cristeta Comerford, a holdover from the Bush White House.

Kass grew up in Chicago, trained in Europe and graduated from the University of Chicago. His private chef business — Inevitable Table — says it promotes “a health lifestyle that focuses on the quality and flavor of food to encourage good eating habits.”

Last year, Kass headed the kitchen at Chicago’s Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, which holds free, weekly coffee klatches open to the public — only with soup, not coffee.