TALLAHASSEE — The governor's chef, Josh Butler, is trying not to fall asleep in his soup.

FAVORITE MEALS

Charlie Crist, 2007-present

Cobb salad with boiled egg, grilled chicken breast, grape tomatoes, crispy bacon, chives, blue cheese, romaine lettuce, homemade herbed buttermilk dressing.

Jeb Bush, 1999-2007

Mexican-style meatballs ("albondigas") of beef and pork simmered in a smoked chili tomato sauce, served over white rice and topped with Mexican sour cream and tortilla chips.

Lawton Chiles, 1991-1998

Pan-fried wild turkey or venison with just salt and pepper on the grill, baked sweet potato, Southern-style collard greens.

Source: Chef Josh Butler

Gone are the days of Jeb Bush and family, when Butler fixed a different meal almost every night of the week for eight years.

Further gone are the Bush family's predecessors, Lawton and Rhea Chiles, also regular eaters, who had tastes for everything from pan-fried wild turkey to Thai cuisine.

Butler, 31, is coping with the era of Gov. Charlie Crist, a bachelor who famously professed, even on the grueling campaign trail, to eat only once a day.

And only very healthy things, at that.

And only two or three times a week at home.

"It's a little frustrating, but you just have to deal with it," said Butler in an interview from a sun room in the Governor's Mansion. "I'm working on him."

Expanding the governor's culinary horizons is a process, one Butler approaches with humor and genuine sense of purpose. A big fan of local produce, he scours nearby farmers' markets for fresh vegetables that might please the governor (leeks yes, beets no).

Crist has come to love Butler's tomato bisque, but still takes his chunky New England clam chowder from a Campbell's can -- and asks that the potatoes be removed.

He still prefers to eat salads mostly, but he now occasionally tops them with Butler's fried oysters.

Much has been made of Crist's eating habits in the year since he took office. His consumption of so much Red Bull, and the way it was publicized, led a member of Crist's security detail to joke that Butler needed to learn to cook with the energy drink. (Butler thinks Crist is off the stuff, now, as it has been sitting untouched in the fridge for months.)

For a chef who lives to experiment, the quirks present a challenge. They also stand in contrast to the habits of Florida's previous first family, the Bushes, who occupied the majority of Butler's decade in the mansion.

In the chef's office, a basement room in the mansion that doubles as a food pantry, a framed photo hangs on the wall of Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba. Between the keys of Butler's keyboard is a Jeb Bush photo card from his 2002 re-election campaign. Butler leafs through recipes on his desk to unearth more photos: a signed picture of himself with Bush's mother, Barbara; another of himself and Jeb wearing Hawaiian shirts and leis at a party.

Butler misses the Bushes.

They ate at the mansion almost every night at 7, often with their daughter. They adored surprises, and food.

"I prided myself, and Jeb will tell you this, too, I tried never to serve him the same meal twice," Butler said. "I would experiment on their family meal."

The Bush favorite was Mexican meatballs, or "albondigas," smothered in a smoked tomato chili sauce.

They asked Butler to come into the private dining room off the kitchen and explain the meal. In the afternoons, Butler served lunch for Columba.

Butler said he does not know where Crist takes his dinner. Usually, Butler fixes it before leaving work at 5 p.m. Generally, "it's a lot of salads," Butler said.

The chef chalks it up to Crist being unmarried, not that interested in food and always on the go.

"He's his own man," Butler said. "He knows what he likes and I just have to adapt to it. It's fun in a different way."

These days, Butler's creative energy is mostly spent on the parties and banquets that go on practically nonstop at the Governor's Mansion during the legislative session, where lawmakers, associations and the press are hosted.

Butler, who is paid about $40,000 a year, also serves smaller parties of guests and Crist's parents and sisters when they are in town.

Crist, who has a slight frame and exercises daily, is at his most adventurous when entertaining guests. But even then Butler tends to fret. When he fixed swordfish with fennel and saffron tomato sauce -- a dish Butler describes as "out-of-control delicious" -- for a small party, he worried the governor might not like it.

"I had never served him swordfish before," Butler said.

When asked to comment on Butler's efforts to introduce him to new foods, Crist instead sent an e-mail remarking on Butler's service during parties.

"Josh is a talented chef, and I appreciate the creative approach he brings to foods served at the People's House," Crist said in the written statement. "By using fresh and local ingredients, he highlights many of Florida's best flavors for our guests."

After graduating from Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, he worked his way up in local restaurants from dishwasher to line cook to working as a chef at The Governor's Club.

Only 21 and without formal culinary training, but eager to get a job where he could be in charge, he applied for an opening as chef to Lawton Chiles.

It was Chiles' wife, Rhea, who did the hiring. Butler donned his father's suit and presented her with a book of color photos of meals he had prepared, ostrich and stuffed grouper.

"I thought, let's try this young man and see how he does, and he did very well," Rhea Chiles said. "He had panache, a real flair for presentation as well as good food."

The Chileses took a daily breakfast of oatmeal with tofu crumbles, whole almonds and a pinch of brown sugar.

For lunch and dinner, Rhea Chiles liked Thai food best. Her husband preferred game he hunted.

Butler packed lunches for the governor on his hunting trips.

Rhea trained Butler by overseeing his menu selections, especially when he served parties at the mansion.

Lawton Chiles died of a heart attack three months after Butler arrived. He was found near his exercise bike during a Christmas party for state law enforcement officers.

Butler was in his office when Rhea Chiles came into the basement crying.

"I had this instant feeling of grief," Butler said. "I didn't even know them that well personally but it was hard. She single-handedly changed my life, bringing me here."

When the Bushes arrived at the mansion, Butler was given free rein over the party menus. They "knew as much as the guests" about what was being served, Butler said.

How much longer Butler will stay at the mansion "is a good question," he said.

"There's definitely a big future wide open for me out here," said Butler, who spins music as a DJ on weekends. "I'm probably not going to limit myself to staying here until I retire. Let's just leave it at that."

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