Durant resident Darren “Mac” McCleary has always considered himself to be a capable chef, handling any meal that comes his way. This has included meals involving special guests, ranging from former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to actor Clint Eastwood. The story of one surprise guest, however, has stuck with McCleary for over 15 years now.
Prior to becoming a professional chef, McCleary said that he never went to culinary school and instead learned to cook at a young age by watching various cooking shows on television while he did his laundry or babysat. Once he’d honed his skills, he eventually joined the kitchen staff in the California home of Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
McCleary worked as a chef for about 25 years before moving back home to Wilton. Being someone who enjoyed his work, McCleary always cooked on holidays and during special events – including his own 50th birthday in 2008, which was on the same day as a scheduled dinner party.
The original number of guests that day was only 11 people. But as McCleary began preparing for the party, he received a phone call asking if he could handle one more person.
“I said ‘sure, no problem’, we could go up to 12 people at the main table,” McCleary said. “Everything was going fine; we brought up and polished some additional silver. Then I get another phone call, and they ask if we could handle seven more people.”
Making the request even stranger was the added note that these extra guests could eat in the kitchen instead of the main dining room. “I’ve never had guests eat in the kitchen before,” he said.
As the day went on, McCleary recalled how the San Francisco Police Department then stopped by to do a walkthrough of the home. “That was no big deal, they had made walkthroughs before.” About 30 minutes later, the U.S. Secret Service arrived to do another walkthrough. At that point, McCleary began to wonder what exactly was going on.
“About 30 minutes after that, I got a phone call from the office secretary who now had the go-ahead to tell us who was coming for dinner, and it was President Jimmy Carter,” he said. “With it being my 50th birthday, I just took it as a nice birthday surprise.”
McCleary and his team worked to try and make the spot at the table where President Carter would sit perfect, with them even managing to find a complete set of unscratched dishes and silverware. This ended up being for naught, however, as McCleary said he remembered how, after introducing himself and the rest of the house staff to him and after some socializing with Senator Feinstein and the other guests, President Carter accidentally sat in what McCleary felt was the worst spot at the table.
“He had mismatched silverware and plates, and I felt pretty bad, but everything else went well,” McCleary said. “We had roasted rack of veal with tarragon mustard sauce, with fingerling potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetables, which were baby zucchini, carrots, and baby squash.” The meal also included a cucumber-bowl salad.
After dinner, President Carter met with the house staff again, this time meeting them in the kitchen. McCleary said he remembered feeling a bit shy at the time but still appreciating the meeting. One of his friends then told the president that it was McCleary’s birthday, which led to both President Carter and Senator Feinstein wishing him a happy 50th.
“(President Carter) went back out into the dining room and reminded the senator that it was my birthday, and she never really celebrated birthdays, but she walked in and wished me a happy birthday,” he said.
A few days later, McCleary said he received an engraved Raymond Weil watch in the mail from Senator Feinstein. Of all the gifts he’d received from other employers, he felt this one meant the most to him due to its association with the time he met Jimmy Carter as well as with the senator’s recognition of him and the pride he felt through that.
“The evening was perfect, one of those evenings – one of those stories – that I have always loved telling people about. Of all the people that I’ve met over the years, he was one of the nicest men that I ever met – him and President Gerald Ford, who I also met once before.” McCleary said. “The old saying is ‘these are the people you want to meet in Heaven’, and Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford are right up there on the list of people you’d want to meet again.”