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Political advisers, chiefs of staff, press secretaries and national security advisers have come and gone in the nearly six years Barack Obama has been president. Now, the White House chef is also waving goodbye.

Sam Kass has been a fixture at the executive mansion, serving up nutrition policy as well as meals for Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha. He was not only their personal chef but also senior adviser for nutrition policy, giving him a seat at the table where administration officials hashed out everything from updated food labels to new requirements for healthier school lunches.

Kass, a newlywed, is leaving the White House at the end of the month, but don't ask him what the Obamas like or don't like to eat. "Top secret," he said.

"I love this family and believe in everything the president and first lady are doing and this has been the greatest job of my life and I assume will be the greatest job of my life," the 34-year-old said in an interview. "But I'm going to be with my wife. Once you're married you kind of need to be together."

Kass' wife, MSNBC host Alex Wagner, is based in New York City.

Kass' relationship with the Obamas started when they hired him to cook healthier meals for the family in Chicago before the 2008 elections. Michelle Obama was a vice president at the University of Chicago Medical Center and caring for young daughters, while Obama was a U.S. senator spending most of his time in Washington.

But the relationship sprouted well beyond the professional. Besides Kass' tireless work for Mrs. Obama, for whom he wore a third hat as executive director of her anti-childhood obesity campaign, Kass sometimes traveled with Obama and joined his weekend or vacation golf outings. Obama, in turn, blocked out several hours on his busy schedule to attend Kass' late-August wedding.

Obama said Kass "has grown from a close friend to a critical member of my team" and has left "an indelible mark on the White House." Mrs. Obama praised Kass' "extraordinary legacy of progress," which she said includes healthier food options in groceries, more nutritious school lunches and initiatives to improve how food is marketed to kids.

Unlike any White House chef before him, Kass helped make decisions with far greater potential consequences than whether the president's veggies, which Kass often plucked from the first lady's garden on the South Lawn, should be steamed or sauted.

The school lunch changes have led Mrs. Obama into a public spat with the School Nutrition Association, an industry-backed group that represents school cafeteria workers and food companies that sell to schools. The group has lobbied Congress to weaken the standards, arguing they are a burden on financially pinched districts and a big reason why kids are throwing their lunches into the garbage.

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Obama Personal Chef to Hang up Apron After 6 Years

President Barack Obama celebrated Christmas in Hawaii by singing carols at home before spending the afternoon on the beach.

Obama, his wife and two daughters pulled up midday in their motorcade to Bellows Air Force Station in Oahu, where they were joining family and friends under a clear blue sky. The secluded beach on the air base near Kailua Bay has picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean and Hawaii's lush green mountains.

Earlier Thursday, the first family opened gifts at their rented vacation home in Kailua, the White House said.

Obama started the holiday on Christmas Eve by having dinner with friends, his wife, Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha. Obama also telephoned troops from each branch of the military who are stationed overseas for the holidays. Obama thanked the troops for their service and the sacrifice they and their families make, the White House said.

In an annual Christmas Day tradition, Obama and the first lady also were to visit with troops and their families at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii.

The visit comes as the U.S. marks the end of combat operations in Afghanistan.

Back in Washington, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to visit with patients and their families and express gratitude for their service.

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Obama 'S Christmas in Hawaii: Carols, Relax on the Beach

President Obama cheered Sony's decision to make the Seth Rogen comedy "The Interview" widely available on digital platforms, but declined to say whether he would be streaming the spoof of North Korea while on his Hawaii vacation.

During a photo op midway through a round of golf with Malaysia's prime minister, the president was asked whether he'd watch the film. After thinking over the question for a moment, the president simply smiled and said, "I'm glad it's being released."

It was just last week that Obama called it a mistake for Sony to scuttle plans for releasing the film, which is about a wacky plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, amid threatened retaliatory attacks. The entertainment industry should not engage in self-censorship for fear of offending foreign dictators like North Korea's president, Obama said at a White House news conference.

By Monday, Sony announced it would go ahead with a limited release in theaters starting Christmas Day. And on Wednesday, the studio made the film available to rent on platforms such as YouTube, Google Play and Microsoft's Xbox Video.

For now, it appears Obama would prefer to enjoy time in the open air rather than stay inside to watch movies. Wednesday's round of golf was his fourth in five full days on the island of Oahu, skipping an outing only Monday because of rainy conditions. But it was the first time reporters were allowed to catch a glimpse of Obama on the course, documenting two missed putts on the 18th hole.

While the president was golfing at the Marine Corps base near his vacation residence, First Lady Michelle Obama was continuing an annual tradition of taking calls to update children about the whereabouts of Santa Claus through NORAD's "Santa Tracker" program.

One child, identified as Sara, asked the first lady whether she and the president believe in Santa. "I do believe in Santa," Mrs. Obama replied. "The president believes in Santa very much, yes."

Follow @mikememoli for updates on President Obama's holiday trip to Hawaii.

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Obama glad 'Interview' released, but won't say if he'll watch film

What do two world leaders do when they find themselves on the same Hawaiian island on Christmas Eve? If you're President Barack Obama and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, you round up a few aides and make common cause on the golf course.

Both vacationing this week in Oahu, Obama and Najib teed off Wednesday on a cloudy but balmy afternoon at a Marine Corps base, not far from where Obama is renting a home for his two-week stay. The two leaders seemed at ease together, smiling and laughing in casual clothes as they sized up their shots.

Although Obama plays golf nearly every day while on vacation, he typically restricts his foursome to a small circle of longtime friends and advisers. But in recent years, his annual trip to Hawaii has allowed Obama to mix in a little diplomacy. Last year, he hit the links with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who owns a home in Hawaii.

Media access to Obama's golf games is typically restricted, but reporters and photographers were permitted to briefly watch the two leaders Wednesday about halfway through their game. Neither leader was having particularly good luck with their short game.

Up first to finish the hole, Najib came up short with his putt. Obama crouched low to line up his shot, but the ball tilted left and evaded the hole. After another failed attempt, he picked up the ball and called it quits. Najib, too, missed his next shot, but a gracious Obama gave him a pat on the shoulder and praised his golf game just the same.

"Merry Christmas," Obama said as he waved to the media.

Then he added a note of caution for reporters covering his Hawaiian getaway.

"Be careful about those fruity drinks," he said. "You never know - they might have a little kick to them."

Ever the statesmen, Obama and Najib also used their time on the course to discuss world affairs, including Malaysia's rotating leadership next year of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. "The two leaders took the opportunity to discuss the growing and warming relationship between the United States and Malaysia," the White House said in a statement.

Najib has served as Malaysia's prime minister since 2009. In April, Obama paid the first presidential visit to Malaysia in nearly half a century, when Lyndon B. Johnson visited the Southeast Asian nation. During that visit, Obama met with Najib and pressed his government to improve its human rights and political freedoms.

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Obama Tees off in Hawaii With Malaysian Leader

HONOLULU President Obama has generally refrained from mixing business and pleasure on the golf course. On vacation here in Hawaii, he has mostly hit the links with the same circle of longtime friends and White House aides he usually pals around with. Until Wednesday, when a newbie joined the First Foursome Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The White House said Najib, along with aides Joe Paulsen andMike Brush, was playing with the president on the course at the Marine Corps base at Kanehoe Bay. Turns out Najib was in town on his own getaway, and it is not unprecedented for Obama to do a golf summit with a world leader. Last year in Hawaii, he played with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. (In 2011, Obama famously played a round with House Speaker John A. Boehner at Andrews Air Force Base that did not exactly lead to a good working relationship off the course.)

Obama has established perhaps a better working relationship with Najib, after making the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Malaysia in nearly half a century last spring. It was unlikely they had an in-depth discussion of their foreign policy agendas on the course, however, but perhaps focusing instead on trying to avoid the sand traps.

In a statement, the White House said: "The two leaders took the opportunity to discuss the growing and warming relationship between the United States and Malaysia. The president said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Najib in 2015, during Malaysia's chair year of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations."

On the 18th hole, reporters were allowed onto the course briefly. Obama missed a putt to the left off the hole, then tried to tap in but "picked the ball up before it missed again," according to a pool report. Najib also missed a second putt, but Obama consoled him with a pat on the shoulder.

President Obama and Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia play golfed together on Christmas Eve in Hawaii. (Reuters)

Wall Street Journal reporter Carol Lee asked Obama if he planned to watch "The Interview," the Sony movie that will be released on Christmas after the studio initially canceled the release in the wake of the company being hacked, allegedly by North Korea.

"I'm glad it's being released," replied Obama, who had criticized the studio last week for its initial decision.

The president wished the reporters a Merry Christmas, according to Lee, then offered: "Be careful about those fruity drinks. You never know they might have a little kick."

Lee reports that she asked him if he'd been drinking fruity drinks, but he didn't respond.

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In Hawaii, Obama golfs with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak