F. L. Gillette dedicated her life to cooking and housekeeping. Although some have speculated that Gillette never actually visited the White House, Gillette wrote the book predicting it would become popular due to the contemporary state of America's economy. She resided in Washington, DC. Hugo Ziemann-a White House steward, internationally recognized restaurateur, and accomplished chef-contributed a portion to the book, adding to its credibility and validity. He resided in Washington, DC. John Moeller was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As a chef, he worked in the Washington, DC area until starting as a White House chef under President Bush in September of 1992. He subsequently continued for eight years with President Clinton and five years with President Bush until December 2005. In the summer of 2010, he relocated back to Lancaster to start his own business, State of Affairs Catering and authored his first book Dining at the White House, which was released in September 2013.