Conflicting Stories Regarding Bayless White House Tweets

By Chuck Sudo in Food on May 19, 2010 2:50PM

We know that Rick Bayless is a Twitter master. But was he censored from tweeting from the White House? Did he tweet from the White House kitchen and get caught? Or was he putting some serious strain on his keypads with updates?

Bayless says no and he's asking for an apology from Sun-Times political columnist Lynn Sweet, who wrote yesterday that he was tweeting from the White House kitchen in preparation for a state dinner honoring Mexican President Felipe Calderon. NBC Chicago is taking the opposite and more sensational POV, saying the White House has "censored" Bayless.

What Twitter updates Bayless has given since he touched down in DC have been limited to expressing excitement at working in the kitchen with White House chef Cristeta Comerford and concern that all ingredients for the dinner will be ready for cooking. It's understandable that the White House may be concerned about non-approved communications from Bayless. They effectively put a muzzle on Marcus Samuelsson last year for the Obama's first state dinner; that dinenr, of course, was remembered more for party crashers than what Samuelsson cooked. They've also allowed Bayless a freer rein with media participation in the buildup to the dinner. Unless the White House considers Bayless's mole to be a guarded state secret, there's much ado about nothing here.