Thread: Everything you need to know about Trump’s first state dinner

Everything you need to know about Trump’s first state dinner

White House says planning for the heavily choreographed affair has been managed almost exclusively by first lady Melania Trump.

By QUINT FORGEY
04/23/2018 03:16 PM EDT

Less than nine months after being wowed by the militaristic bravura of France’s Bastille Day celebrations, Donald Trump is set to serve up his own display of diplomatic pageantry on Tuesday when he hosts President Emmanuel Macron for his White House's first state dinner.

But despite the obsession with opulence and optics Trump embraced as a titan hotelier, the president and first lady Melania Trump opted for the more intimate venue of the State Dining Room, with a guest list close to 150.

The White House said the heavily choreographed affair has been managed almost exclusively by the famously reserved first lady, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying Monday that Melania Trump “has taken an active role in every detail in planning of the visit” — including the Tuesday dinner that will serve as the peak of two days of presidential pomp.

The guests of honor: Reciprocating Macron's July invitation to join him in Paris, Trump and the first lady will welcome the French leader and his wife, Brigitte Macron, for the administration's first state visit. After arriving in Washington on Monday afternoon, the two couples were due to plant a tree on the White House's South Lawn. The sapling, which the Macrons gifted to the Trumps, is a roughly 4.5-foot tall European Sessile Oak from France's Belleau Wood, where more than 9,000 American Marines died in a World War I battle in June 1918. On Monday evening, the couples were scheduled for a tour of various historic monuments via Marine One, ending at Mount Vernon for dinner at George Washington's iconic Virginia estate.

The Arrival Ceremony: Keeping with a military tradition dating back to the 17th century, President Trump and the first lady will take to the South Lawn on Tuesday morning to host the State Arrival Ceremony. Nearly 500 members of the U.S. Armed Forces from all five military branches will join the couple there for the time-honored “Review of the Troops.” Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, military families and students from the Maya Angelou French Immersion School in Temple Hills, Maryland, have also been invited to attend the ceremony.

The food: Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford is serving up a three-part spread of largely American cuisine, with hints of French influences. The first course, using greens from the White House kitchen garden to represent a celebration of spring’s first harvest, will feature a goat cheese gateau, tomato jam, buttermilk biscuit crumbles and young variegated lettuces. Then, on to the main course: a rack of spring lamb and a New Orleans-inspired Carolina gold rice jambalaya — scented with celery, peppers and onions, and spiced with herbs from the South Lawn. Finally, the denouement will come in the form of a nectarine tart dessert infused with White House honey and accompanied by crème fraîche ice cream. No word yet on whether President Trump will ask for two scoops.

The drinks: President Trump is known for abstaining from alcohol, but the French love their wine. The first lady has selected three varieties to underscore the nearly 250-year friendship between the United States and its Revolutionary War ally. The heads of state will sip on the Domaine Serene Chardonnay “Evenstad Reserve” 2015, concocted from a combination of French plants from the city of Dijon that thrive in Oregon’s volcanic soil. Guests will also taste the Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir “Laurène” 2014 — a red wine with the motto, “French soul–Oregon soil” — as well as the Schramsberg Demi-Sec “Crémant” 2014, which has made frequent appearances on many years of White House menus for official and ceremonial events.

The dinnerware: The first lady is sticking with two hues commonly associated with her husband’s personal brand — cream and gold — for the crockery’s color scheme. Pieces of china from the Clinton administration will serve as the baseplate for the table setting, and guests will dine on china collections from the Clinton and the George W. Bush White House during the meal. The green color palette of the Bush china is meant to complement the spring green and white flowers that will adorn the State Dining Room. Tuesday’s dinner will also feature pieces from the Vermeil collection and American Silver from the White House Collection furnished by Tiffany & Co. and S. Kirk & Sons.

The flowers: As guests traverse Cross Hall — the grand corridor on the first floor of the White House that bridges the East Room and the State Dining Room with 80 feet of red carpet — they’ll navigate past more than 1,200 branches of American-grown cherry blossom. The flora in the State Dining Room will be a bit less rosy, with more than 2,500 stems of white sweet peas and roughly 1,000 stems of white lilac — both California and Dutch grown mixed. In the White House’s parlors, attendees will find a variety of mixed garden flowers, as well as dark-green Stephanotis vines from California that generally produce small, star-shaped white flowers.

The entertainment: Guests will be treated to a performance by the Washington National Opera from the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...er-2018-545781

I was considering crashing the party but after seeing the menu have decided to pass.

If the menu changes to the following, please let me know and I may reconsider:

Meal menu: Prime Rib (substitute: BBQ Pork spareribs), pinto beans (substitute: baked beans), cornbread to put pinto beans on, loaded baked potato (substitute: mustard based potato salad) and Caesar Salad with choice of Ranch, Thousand Island or French Dressing.

Drinks: Sweet Tea, Bud Light and Perrier.

Dessert: Layered Mocha Cheesecake (Substitute: Blackberry pie w/scoop of vanilla ice cream).

If President Macron does't like my menu, he can sit in the corner and pout like a little frenchie.

Live entertainment during meal:

I thought there should be more courses and more food. Maybe they're having a big 6 or 7 course meal at Mount Vernon tonight. The French love food and they're big on courses and volume.

President Grant served the first State Dinner, it was also the most lavish, 29 courses, all French, too!!! He had 36 guests. Would love to know the exact menu. I'll try to find it.

Best list I could find so far:

President and Mrs. Grant greeted the King cordially, and dinner was served at a small party: only thirty-six people were invited. It was said to have nearly thirty covers (separate dishes) of exotic French cuisine and the finest of wines. The menu included several choices of soup, fish, boiled meats, roasted meats, game entrees, vegetables, relishes, pastries and other desserts. And coffee. The cost of the affair was around $3000 – more than ten-times the amount today!

https://featherfoster.wordpress.com/...-state-dinner/

The guest was the King of the Sandwich Islands, King Kalakaua. The Sandwich Islands are Hawaii.

I read where White House State Dinners can range from the simple to the lavish, so I guess the 3 course is okay. I'm sure it will be lovely and tasty.

At Mount Vernon:

The couples were led on a brief outdoor tour before they entered the pale yellow building for dinner of Dover sole, pasta stuffed with lemon ricotta, and chocolate souffle and cherry vanilla ice cream.

Trump declared the dinner “really fantastic” before returning to the White House.

Well ..... what can I say. I don't think anyone is going to gain weight on this tour.

Maybe ..... we're sending an "austerity" message, "we need our trade deficits fixed and THEN we'll feed you good".

Bret Baier on Fox News just reported the 3 course menu but added "among other delicacies", so there will be more food than just the salad, lamb and rice and dessert tart. YIPPEE!!! I hope we can find out what they are at some point, maybe later tonight or tomorrow. Hope everyone enjoys it!!

From the coverage it looks like everything went beautifully. The scenes of the State Dining Room were limited but from what you could see it looked lovely. Soft lighting. Very nice. No pics of the food yet, darn it. Would love to see the dishes they served.