What do they eat when two kings meet?

Culture, Media, General Food Media and News
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First Course

Garden Vegetable Velouté, Hearts of Palm, Toasted Shallots, Micro Mint

The first course offers delicate garden herb velouté, silken and aromatic, complemented by a refreshing hearts of palm salad. Finished with crisp toasted shallots and a whisper of micro mint for brightness and contrast.

Second Course

Spring Herbed Ravioli, Ricotta Cheese, Morels, Parmesan Emulsion

The second course is made of a handcrafted spring herb ravioli, featuring herbs from the White House Kitchen Garden, generously filled with creamy ricotta, earthy morels, gently dressed in a light Parmesan emulsion, which enhances the essence of the dish.

Third Course

Dover Sole Meunière, Potato Pavé, Spring Ramps, Snow Peas, Parsley Oil

The third course is made of a classic Dover sole meunière, expertly prepared and bathed in a nutty brown butter. The fish is accompanied by tender spring ramps, sweet snow peas, layered potatoes pavé, and a vibrant parsley oil for a refined, seasonal finish.

Dessert

White House Honey & Vanilla Bean Crémeux, Flourless Chocolate Gâteau, Almond Joconde, Crème Fraîche Ice Cream

For dessert, guests will be served a sweet beehive-shaped chocolate gâteau with a smooth vanilla bean crémeux custard, delicately set inside with an almond joconde. The refined, feather-light sponge joconde will provide the dessert a nutty taste, balanced with a brown butter crumble. The beehive will be complemented with crème fraîche ice cream and White House honey.

Wines

The following wines were selected to complement the menu while honoring the shared heritage and enduring friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom, and celebrating the strength of American winemaking today.

  • Hopkins riesling “Heritage” 2024, Hopkins Vineyards
  • Penner-Ash pinot noir “Willamette Valley” 2022, Penner-Ash Wine Cellars
  • Newton chardonnay “Unfiltered” 2022, Newton Vineyard
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No ketchup?

Huh.

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Those wines are so dull.
The Pinot Noir, distributed by Redneck Wines.

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Looks embarrassingly untasty.

Screenshot 2026-04-28 at 8.33.10 PM

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Kind of surprised Big Macs, freedom fries and Diet Coke wasn’t served.

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And no McDonald’s?

Im surprised there was no American beef at ALL on the menu.

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That was Bill Clinton – he was the one that liked McDonalds!! :slightly_smiling_face:

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And why so much classical French terminology and cooking preparations? Surely the USA has its own terminology and national dishes?

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I’m sure that both men received a post-dinner tallow infusion to make up for this serious health omission.

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State dinners are often used to highlight a country’s food - and the U.S. is known for its beef. A small portion would not have been remiss.

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I quite agree Linda. Perhaps just a portion of American beef tartare with salad even?

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Agreed completely.

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Seems to be a well established thing? I visited the JFK Library recently and there was a small exhibit about state dinners, including a few menus, all very French oriented … which, thanks to the magic of the internet, I can share with you!

https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jbkopp-sf093-008#?image_identifier=JBKOPP-SF093-008-p0001

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Yet the objective was to display a blend of American and UK food culture.

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:person_shrugging:

 

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Funny, I’ve seen many articles, interviews, etc. that said that Prince Charles (and formerly Queen Elizabeth) made it a policy not to eat seafood of any kind when traveling. They’d just had too many experiences of tours being derailed by fish that was off and had decided to forgo it altogether when on state business. I wonder what changed? It used to be a point of pride that the White House kitchen researched, anticipated, and honored every guest’s preferences and requirements without having to be given specific directives.

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Is that Donald trump?

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No, it’s admitting that it doesn’t know something.

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Ah ok, it just looked quite orange.

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Indeed…but big bad Bill usually snuck out to get his fix. He didn’t serve it at the WH. The current guy has.

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