European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 26, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Chef Henry Halter with muffle Brandon Nancy Reagan s personal social Secretary has retired after having in parse meals tar Flea president Over 31 Yean. Veteran chef leaves White House by Marian Burros new York times enry Haller has collected his knives and assorted utensils Iron the White House Kitchen alter his fast Day As executive chef. Alter preparing meals for live presidents Over 21 years Harjer is retiring to make some  As he puts it. He will promote his White House Cookbook to be published in november make appearances on behalf of a French liqueur and pursue a variety of other lucrative interests from a cooking show on television to endorsing food products. Haller said a has no regrets at least not yet. I certainly feel a lot better than when i came Here the first Lime sail the Swiss Orn chef. The pressure is off me. 1 Leel like 1 won an olympic medal or endurance. Bui after All How Many times can you do that after so Many years on the Job his departure from the while House seemed especially Low key. No banners or balloons singing telegrams or cakes. His retire men party took place at the White House. Butlers. Secret service agents and members of the Reagan staff dropped by the Kitchen to say goodbye. Roland Mesnier the while House pastry chef who has worked with Haller or eight years said it s the end of a tradition it s like closing a door to a very vital part of our business and it in t necessarily for the  Hallar 64. Said he would especially miss Are the wonderful people i work  pause. Except for a  he would not elaborate. He is gladly giving up the Long hours and the Early mornings and having to stand on his feet for endless hours the typical complaint of most chefs. The biggest Challenge has been the physical  he said. The while House Kitchen is unlike a Ros Taurand or hotel Kitchen. It has a Liny staff by most standards three chefs and a pastry chef. Sometimes there is nothing to do More olten however the chefs juggle three functions in a single Day. The most hectic time Haller recalled was in 1976, during celebrations or the Bicentennial. We had seven stale dinners in six weeks he said ticking off the guests cd Honor who included Queen Elizabeth. But then he remembered the Nixon dinner Lor former prisoners of War in Vietnam an event Lor 1,300 under a tent on the White House Ian. Ii rained Lor Days and the grass turned to mud. And he could t leave out president Jimmy Carter s peace treaty dinner Lor 1,360 which was arranged in a week of Honor Menachem begin the prime minister of Israel and president Anwar Sadat of Egypt. Haller does not simply oversee such functions. He chops Parsley cuts up cheese cubes and cleans up after the men who work for him. Among other things. And his last Day of work at the end of september was business As usual. Except of course for the Swiss television Crew that followed him around to record his last hours in the while House. And there was yet another visit from Rex the reagans dog who had actually stopped in for a Brack not to say goodbye. His wife Carol an american whom he met when Bolh were working at a hotel on Martha s Vineyard Aba came to visit. _ the Linal Day on the Job was spent supervising Anil cooking Lor his last official function a cocktail reception for 450 Republican eagles contributors to the Republican National committee by the  Haller and his staff wore pulling the finishing touches on beef Broc Hattes. Gruyere cheese crepes canapes of die gras in Asp of. Smoked Salmon and Salmon mousse and Lump crab along with a stunning assortment of miniature French. Pastries until president and mrs Reagan arrived no Lorthe changes were gradual. The food however has remained first class. We had Good food when i came Here and we have Good food  he said. But Nancy Reagan instituted a system of rial dinner at which she and tha president were served the mow proposed for the next important dinner. Polaroid pictures Are taken of the dishes As mrs. Reagan approves them so that the rest of tha staff knows How she wants the food to look. The executive dial s last chore was to clean out his room on the third floor of the White House. After the reception he packed his remaining personal belongings up them in his cat and drove Home to Potomac my no Champagne no  he said. I Doni even know what we re having for  Erma Bombeck Etma Bot Atteck is on vacation. She left behind some of her Mavorite columns bom the past i watch a lot of animal documentaries on television i Don t relate to them at All i can watch a Turtle Lay her eggs with tears streaming Down tier face and Leef nothing. I can watch a Snake devour something Lurry and not even wince. When a Jjon has sex every 0 minutes i Don t even Slop eating my Nacho chips but i am intrigued by the animals who slake out territories the cats who do it by scent the Birds by song and the seals by pure Force that i can relate to. Man is probably the most territorial animal who Ever walked the lace of this Earth. We Art do it it s a habit we set Early m our die. We set on the same Seal on the school bus every Day eat lunch Page 16 the stars and stripes at Lite same Able anon have the same seat each week in the bleachers. We Park in the same spot every Day at work use the same Small in the restroom. Take the same route to and trom work every Day and slake Otto our Pew in Church i be written before about the territorial ritual of an aerobics class. I entered a class for the first time a few years ago and was fold i was standing in someone s spot i moved. I was standing in another woman s spot i moved after five different spots. I finally ended up where no one wanted. In the front Row next to the Mirror. Ii was three years Belore i could work my Way to the Back Row. At our House we a have our chair at the dinner table. Mine is the one closest to the stove and heaven help anyone who sits in it and expects me to Lake Lour More Steps to get where j m going my husband also suiters irom the Archie Bunker monday. October 26,1987 disease. His living room chair through years of use has his Anatomy set in Concrete. No one has gotten beyond the position of hovering Over and saying is this your chair hell Tell you. All of these territorial conquests Pale to the one we built our House on a Lew years ago. Unknown to us we infringed on the Peiman enl Homes of scorpions spiders crickets tjards. Snakes and foxes. They get our attention in a million Lille ways. They appear on our Patio uninvited crawl up our Walls hide out m our showed and shoes and when we open the Mailbox yell. Gotcha the Way it is explained to us they were there Fust about a billion years ago and old habits die hard. That s Why they bite you and try to gel rid of you. A woman tried to take my aerobics spol last week i works. A 1917. Lot and Fth inn