Sam Kass has a pretty cool gig as the newest chef in the White House. But according to the New York Times, the 29-year-old does a lot more than grill fish or tend veggies in the garden; he helps influence what America eats. While it may surprise some, Sam has a lot on his plate: the details of child nutrition legislation, funding streams for the school lunch program, and the best tactics to fight childhood obesity.

Sam has been cooking for the Obamas for about two years now, and has even played golf with the President. Interestingly, he has no formal culinary training and has never run a restaurant or hotel kitchen before. He graduated with a history degree from the University of Chicago and gained his culinary chops at Avec, a Chicago restaurant, before becoming a private chef.

Sam also attends briefings on child nutrition and health, has vetted nonprofits as potential partners for White House food initiatives, and discusses policy matters with senior staff. It’s an unusual role, but a guy who spends most of his time chopping and roasting could also be influencing policy.

“You look around our country and you see that we have a lot of major challenges, the origin of which is food,” Sam said. “It’s not a big step to think about a) What am I doing? How is that affecting this problem? How am I helping? Cooking for people’s pleasure is obviously a nice thing to do, but the No. 1 reason we eat is to nourish ourselves and take care of ourselves.”