President Obama's French food tested by 'taster'
08 Jun 2009 4:52 AM
PARIS, June 7 AFP - A US "taster" tested the food being dished up to President Barack Obama at a dinner in a French restaurant, a waiter said on Sunday.
"They have someone who tastes the dishes," said waiter Gabriel de Carvalho from the La Fontaine de Mars restaurant where Obama and his family turned up for dinner on Saturday night.
"It wasn't very pleasant for the cooks at first, but the person was very nice and was relaxed, so it all went well," he said on the Itele news channel.
Asked by AFP to comment, the restaurant confirmed the report.
The US Secret Service has always refused to confirm that US presidents travel with a food "taster", in line with their policy of discretion on all security related issues.
But it is known the Service goes to great lengths to scrutinise the source and the preparation of food served to US presidents whenever they eat out of the White House to ensure it is not tampered with.
