Michelle Obama and the recipe for the future of children

This article is published in number 13 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until March 30, 2021

Live Michelle Obama hugs people, but this time, my third with her for the exclusive interview with Vanity Fair, see you via Zoom. Her radiant smile comes first, then here is her hand on her heart, as a sign of affection.
There is in front of me Michelle LaVaughn Robinson ObamaRaised in a humble home on the outskirts of Chicago, a descendant of slaves, as she used to remember when she lived in the White House: “I wake up every morning in a house built by slaves,” her entry into the palace of power was a revelation.

Even more than her husband Barack, Michelle is the daughter of American emancipation and liberation, a woman who married a man who calls herself a feminist. With him she conquered power, entering his sacred place and changing the stereotype of the presidential couple, which has always been represented by a white man and woman. The sentence of Martin Luther King «I Have a DreamIs their mantra.
Michelle wanted to open the doors of the White House to everyone, even to those who were defined as the “different”, the excluded, from blacks to Hispanics, from homosexuals to transsexuals. Among the many guests of the Obama family in Washington there was also a young artist, poet and activist who inspired the American Renaissance, Amanda Gorman, which five years later with his poem The Hill We Climb, would have attracted world attention during the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
Michelle Obama has always fought for equality and emancipation, throughout her life she was a supporter of women’s education, because she, in the first person, knew its meaning and appreciated its value. Michelle, one of the few black students who graduated in law from Harvard, even against all those who told her she shouldn’t aim too high. Proud to carry forward the banner of diversity and inclusion, but above all of female solidarity. Celebrate gay marriage law with the rainbow flag projected over the White House, and then take your teenage daughters to the plaza in front of the White House to celebrate, with the people, the freedom and equality of loving and marrying whomever you want.
In a major Chicago law firm where she works as a lawyer and partner, she meets her future husband Barack Obama. That partnership leads them first to the White House and then to dominate the publishing rankings. And finally the collaboration with Hollywood begins. After the presidency, in fact, the couple writes Michelle’s books Becoming sells much more than Barack’s. And he claims that she, his rock, is the more influential of the two. Together they founded a television production company, la Higher Ground Productions, with the mission of harnessing the power of storytelling to address issues of social inclusion and progress, such as race, social class, civil rights and much more. The couple signed a multi-year agreement with Netflix for the production of film and television projects. Michelle has always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire people and “help us open our minds and hearts to others.” Now the Higher Ground Productions has created a program for children on healthy eating, Waffles + Mochi, a television series on Netflix in which he talks with the puppets Waffles and Mochi.
Today, five years after her husband’s term ends, Michelle takes care of many other things. As he is entering the National Women’s Hall of Fame as one of the most influential and iconic women of the 21st century, she claims she doesn’t love politics, yet everything she deals with, directly or indirectly, is very political, especially in the United States: healthcare, racial and wage disparity, access to healthy nutrition.

You argued that the well-being of a society can be measured by looking at the treatment it places on its women and girls. Is this the most important parameter in evaluating it?
“The investments that individual countries make for the education of girls are, in my opinion, the yardstick of the level of development and quality of life. Women are the lifeblood of every community and every family. If we don’t invest in their education, ensure they have the right knowledge to bring healthy children into the world and ensure that they, too, get an education, we will miss the opportunity to raise about half a country’s population. We can’t afford it, we already have too many problems in this world ».

Are there any other parameters?
“Yes, many. Such as the quality of the food we serve in our communities, the ability of families to access and try new and healthy foods, so that our children can grow up with the strength and tools they need to make their dreams come true and then come back and support others “.

Speaking of food: how does the Waffles + Mochi series fit into your television production company’s mission?
«It is a very important project for me, because it gives the possibility to know and explore the wonderful universal language of food. Waffles e Mochi they are my two traveling companions: together we travel the world to discover the different culinary traditions, but, above all, a healthy food culture. At the heart of a community’s strength is the health of its children which starts with what they eat, how food is prepared and how used they are to taste new things. The adventure with Waffles e Mochi it makes all of this fun and exciting for the little ones, and we hope it will also bring children from all over the world together. It is important that this show make their voices heard as they speak in their language and tell their relationship with the various foods and ingredients present in each episode. I believe that peace is one of the special components of Waffles + Mochi ».

Even when it was First Lady, Michelle Obama has always put the welfare of children at the center. As a mother and then as a mother of the nation she has always wanted to promote the consumption of healthy food on the tables of children and young people in America – where child poverty has reached very high numbers, with around 18 million children on the verge of starvation. The theme of the health of the little ones has always been central to her, from which initiatives such as the White House fruit and vegetable garden, the State dinner with over 50 children between 8 and 12 years old, each coming from from each of the American states. Today in the United States, hard hit by the pandemic, among the most vulnerable are the obese who suffer from diabetes, especially among the African American communities. Michelle insists on economic inequality, access to healthy food and the right to health which, in the United States, is considered a privilege. His production company, in collaboration with Netflix, aims to give one million healthy meals to the most vulnerable families, to raise awareness on the issue of children’s health.

One of the issues that has highlighted this pandemic is poor food security. In the Waffles + series, Mochi offers recipes accessible to children from all over the world and to families with different possibilities and means. Tell us more.
«All the recipes we offer are within everyone’s reach and can be prepared whether you have a fantastic chef’s kitchen, a simple toaster or a fire. In Peru, for example, we made a very good potato soup over an open fire. There is a great commitment but also a lot of fun ».

Cooking can become a passion. What did you do with your daughters during the lockdown? Did you cook together?
“We spent a lot of time together, between the Washington house and, when possible, the beach house on Martha’s Vineyard. I must say that my daughters are passionate about pastry: they have become two excellent pastry chefs, they prepare sweets, cakes, muffins … It was fun to watch them experiment new things, make mistakes and then improve by preparing the same recipes, over and over again. I really appreciate their ability to explore and it was nice to see that they are able to feed themselves as well. My daughters are now 22 and 19 years old; the eldest, Malia, has just graduated and will soon be going to live alone. Now I see the fruits of my investments: two young women who are curious and who love to experiment and love to discover new things when I travel. This is also the beauty of my program: to offer children new flavors and new experiences to get to know from an early age, so that when they grow up and are the age of my daughters they will more willingly taste new things and this will open the world to them. This is what we want for our kids ».

As a child and a young girl, she saw her mother cooking for her family. What is your favorite dish, the dish that makes you feel at home wherever you are?
«Macaroni and cheese, a nice pan full of cheese! As a child I loved her. We didn’t eat it often, but when it was on the table it was definitely my favorite dish and still is today. It is a simple traditional dish for special occasions: on Thanksgiving or at Christmas, a pan of macaroni and cheese is never missing; all ready to dive in to take a portion. Yes, it is the dish that makes me feel at home ».

You have been to Italy several times, including on the occasion of the Expo, the central theme of which was nutrition. What do you like about Italy?
«I love everything, it is one of my favorite countries. In the first place there is definitely food, and then people, history, art, fashion… Everything. As a family, we have always enjoyed our visits to Italy very much ».

Her African American journalist friend Joy-Ann Reid she declares that “Michelle’s extraordinary strength lies in her ability to speak about the needs and difficulties of the most vulnerable and marginalized people. And its strength shines through even when, with elegance, it does not allow itself to provocations and instrumental attacks ». Like when he responded to the insults that Donald Trump she addressed her and her husband (“when they fly low, we fly high”). Or when, commenting on Trump’s racism during his latest election campaign, he said: “The presidency doesn’t change people, it reveals who they really are.”
Michelle is a strong woman and to make her even stronger is the transparency with which she tells herself, she does not hide her weaknesses and speaks with authenticity of her challenges, such as the fact of having lost a child and the difficulty of getting pregnant, of the depression during the pandemic and the deep sadness for the racial violence that swept the country after the murder of George Floyd. Michelle manages to engage and inspire you with her words.
A woman who with the Foundation created with her husband continues to donate scholarships especially to the poorest students, because education and culture express a multiplier effect for the benefit of all, of the entire community. She recently had her photograph taken while getting vaccinated, to convince skeptics to join the vaccination campaign, and continues to stand out because, like few people, she knows how to talk about the needs and difficulties of the most vulnerable and marginalized people, because she knows how to get straight to people’s hearts. .
And when everyone asks her about when she will run for the presidency of the United States, she replies: “I never thought about the next elections but I continue to work for the next generations”. And this is his greatest strength: to feel that this is his appointment with destiny.

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