Catering for both the President and Pope on the Same Day!

It was September of 1987 when Pope John Paul II and President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan met at Villa Vizcaya in Miami.  At this historic meeting, the Reagan’s welcomed the Pope to our shores.  Two weeks prior, my firm, Bills’ Catering (now Bill Hansen Catering) received the call from the powers-that-be that we were selected to provide the catering.  What a thrill….a country boy from Holland, New York (Population 3,000 and declining), via Cornell and the U. S. Navy was now going to be preparing food for two of the most powerful men in the world. 

After being cleared by the Secret Service we planned the menu…simple yet elegant.  Crudities with Dips, Fresh Fruit Skewers, Finger Sandwiches and Canapés.  These choices were not fancy or filling, since the meeting was late on a hot and humid South Florida afternoon, after lunch and before dinner.

We had prepared the same food for 200 others too, with the Secret Service, randomly selecting food from various trays, then isolating these platters inside Vizcaya, under top security, for the Reagans and the Pope.

The Reagan and Pope John Paul II met inside Villa Vizcaya, and were served by the President’s staff…These were Filipino stewards who regularly worked in the White House.  (As a former Naval Officer serving at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, I had worked with many stewards from the Philippines, and had, and still have nothing but the utmost respect for all they did.) 

Later on, my staff and I were invited to Vizcaya’s Casino Mound, a couple hundred yards from the main mansion and witnessed the international press conference broadcast around the world.  (This is a very special place for me personally, since this is where my son Jim married his bride Joette in 1999).

Prior to the conference, news anchor Sam Donaldson entertained the assembled press corps with some humorous stories as the correspondents sat sweating on bleachers in front of the podium.   Standing a mere 60 feet or so from these two amazing men, goose bumps and emotions got the best of me.  I was in total awe as these two men spoke…yes, my body ached from the very hard work during the 12 previous hours, having carried by hand over 20 cases of soda a quarter of mile from the nearest entry point on the south side of Vizcaya by Mercy Hospital.…but it was all worth it…and yes, we saw the Pope Mobile parked nearby.  Somewhere I even have a picture of me standing next to it…of course, without the Pope in it.

President Reagan and Pope John Paul II stroll through Vizcaya’s gardens

Other than the wonderful memories of that day, I have amongst my mementos, a thank you letter signed by President Reagan on White House stationery, a set of Presidential cuff links, along with a split of Presidential champagne, and White House cocktail napkins….….and wow have times changed…..also I have a package of Presidential cigarettes and two packs of White House matches.

And the story continues into the 1990’s and 2000’s as I catered for both President Bushes…..George H. W. Bush twice!!!