William Althoff has sliced and diced, basted and broiled for some of the most powerful people in the U.S.

Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore have partaken of his gastronomic talents, as have King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan.

It was the Navy that brought Althoff into contact with the political players, working as a chef and valet for the men and their wives.

“Everything I’ve done is cherished memories,” said the Colorado Springs resident. “I didn’t have any midlife crisis, it’s just reflecting back that God has blessed my life. And it’s such a rare opportunity to work at the White House — not many people get to do that. I never took it for granted.”

Working with food came early to Althoff, thanks to his grandmother, who immigrated to the U.S. from Alsace-Lorraine and worked as domestic help and a cook in the Bronx and Upper West Side in Manhattan. Her 11-year-old grandson would stay with her on the weekends and help her at work.

“She was such a good cook, better than my parents,” he said. “She was kind of strict, but I knew there was a much more tender heart behind there. She was a very good teacher.”

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She taught him mostly how to make Bavarian food: sauerbraten, chicken and dumplings, sauerkraut, red cabbage. And he was talented. During his senior year of high school, he cooked at a convent a couple of nights every week — nothing fancy, just American cooking. Every once in a while he’d cook for his family, careful to not usurp his father, who thought his cooking skills were divine, much to the chagrin of his family.

After high school, Althoff went off to Johnson & Wales University, where he earned a certification in culinary arts. He began working in New Jersey restaurants, but being very young, he didn’t feel quite ready to lead an entire kitchen staff. So he decided to join the Navy to earn some leadership skills and see the world.

After boot camp he started out in general mess on a ship in Norfolk, Va., just one of the crew cooking for more than 3,000 sailors. Eventually, his longtime skills earned the admiration of one admiral’s belly.

“It wasn’t fun cooking,” Althoff said. “I told the division officer I went to culinary school, and he transferred me to the officers’ mess. In a short period of time, we had an admiral on board who visited the mess where the officers ate and I ended up being reassigned to his mess.”

Cooking in the Navy wasn’t always the most enjoyable gig, though. At one point he wanted out.

“The people I worked with were Navy cooks — they didn’t want to make things better,” he said. “They were just interested in getting the job done. They weren’t interested in culinary arts.”

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A Navy counselor asked how they could retain his service in the military, and Althoff sarcastically said: “Well, I just want to cook for the president. But the Navy had the last laugh and I received a call from the presidential food service coordinator to interview for a job in the West Wing cooking for President Reagan.”

As one of Reagan’s chefs, Althoff helped change the way meals were served, and they were simply “better cooks than the previous ones,” he says. Perhaps Reagan noticed, as he’d alight in the kitchen occasionally, where everything stopped upon his arrival. He’d chat up the staff, talking about everything and nothing. And his taste buds particularly enjoyed a healthy, not too spicy Tex-Mex, while his wife, Nancy Reagan, ate very lightly.

“He did thank us for the food,” Althoff said. “He did like our food. And that was after he had the assassination attempt. It was very comforting for him to come down in the middle of the day from running the world to come say hello to us.”

After Reagan, the Navy chef traveled with Bush, working with other chefs around the world during state dinners, lunches and other functions. He also became a royal food taster when visiting foreign residences, hotels and other locations where the president might dine, just in case somebody slipped something funny into the food.

“We were in Russia one time and did all the cooking in 1988,” Althoff said. “When we were in Turkey or Korea or Japan, we would just make sure. Sometimes, if we didn’t have the time and weren’t there ahead of time to prep the food, we’d randomly select a plate for the president, so nobody would know which plate was going to him.”

And then there was Clinton. But instead of cooking for him, Althoff was promoted and became a valet who helped take care of the president’s personal services, clothing and such.

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“He was great, wonderful,” Althoff said. “He was fun to be with. He made you very relaxed. He was very personable.”

When Gore and his wife, Tipper Gore, were looking for a senior enlisted aide, Althoff applied and got the job. He spent the next five years as manager of the staff running the vice president’s residence on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory.

“It was a typical Tennessee menu — well-rounded, American cuisine,” he said. “We would entertain foreign dignitaries.”

And during his last couple of years in the Navy, Althoff worked with a caterer for King Hussein and Queen Noor. He retired from the military in 1999.

“We didn’t cook pork. It was sort of meat and potatoes for him,” he said of the king. “She was a conscious eater, like Nancy Reagan, pretty light stuff. I learned how to cook Turkish and Greek food. During Ramadan we’d make a lot of hummus.”

These days, Althoff’s work still revolves around food — he’s spent the last 13 years working for a retired couple in Lone Tree, where he cooks multiple times a week and takes care of the house. But after a lifetime of food service, he now mostly relies on others for his digestive fuel.

“It’s far too much fast food,” he said. “A rotisserie chicken is not a bad night.”

Contact the writer: 636-0270