State dinner for President Hollande of France

[Alex]

The four-course meal "celebrates the best of American cuisine," the White House said, highlighting "the talents of our nation’s cheese artisans, as well as the bountiful produce grown by farmers across our country."

-Caviar/Quail Eggs/Potatoes

-Merlot Lettuce/Petite Radishes/Baby Carrots/Red Wine Vinaigrette

-Beef Rib Eye/Blue Cheese Crisp

-Chocolate Malted Cake/Vanilla Ice Cream

-Mignardises (maple syrup fudge, lavender shortbread, cotton candy with orange zest)

The full story

Edited February 11, 2014 by Alex (log)

[annabelle]

That's better than they usually do. I wonder why they are eating in a tent in February (!) when there are perfectly acceptable dining rooms in the White House?

[judiu]

Maybe they were going for the Haute Picnique motif? Maybe they just had the carpets cleaned?

[annabelle]

I was thinking of the logistics of getting hot food up or down elevators and stairs and across the grounds. Those must be some heavy-duty cloches, in which case they'd weigh a ton.

Maybe it's just the riff-raff that's eating outside? What are they doing for a cloakroom? Entertainment? The poor staff that had to run the power cords out to the thing!

[huiray]

http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-state-dinner-menu-for-president.html

The massive white-walled pavilion is a rental, as is everything in it, White House officials said at a press preview on Monday. There will be no Presidential china used for the dinner, thanks to the number of guests; the formal State china sets are not big enough. And they are not used in tents--er, pavilions.

The pavilion can hold far more guests than either the State Dining Room or the East Room, where the President and Mrs. Obama have held their prior State Dinners. Social Secretary Jeremy Bernard hired Rafanelli Events to orchestrate the decor, as Bernard has done for each State Dinner since he was appointed to his post in 2011.

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Another link w/ video clips:

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/francois-hollande-state-dinner-menu-103339.html

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The White House has held other State Dinners (or the entertainment part) in a "tent" on previous occasions also. Here's what the "tent" looked like for the (1st) one for Manmohan Singh of India: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/6638529/Barack-Obama-to-host-first-state-dinner-in-huge-tent.html

Here's the inside of the "tent" for the entertainment part of the State Dinner for Mexico: http://photos.essence.com/galleries/2010-white-house-state-dinner?slide=39014#128819_39014

They had the one [in January 2011] for Hu Jintao of China in the WH with spill-over into the Red Room & Blue Room, though: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/01/state-dinner-review-the-obamas-got-everything-right-except-michelles-dress

The one for Angela Merkel of Germany was held in the open under the skies in the Rose garden:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/germany_state_visit.pdf

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/obama-and-visiting-chancellor-merkel-trade-pledges-of-partnership/2011/06/07/AGMjeCLH_gallery.html#photo=1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/white-house-state-dinner-for-germany-more-restrained-than-past-dinners--an-aesthetic-or-budget-choice/2011/06/08/AGzz5ZMH_blog.html

The cost? Here's one article relating to this... http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obama-state-dinners-top-1-5-million-article-1.1609458

(((Shrug))) I suppose the "tent" allows for more dramatic/varied decor or whatnot, depending on what they want to achieve or do on a particular occasion and how big the guest list is...(see the WaPo article for some numbers) (The official State Dining Room in the WH holds just 140 guests)

Edited February 12, 2014 by huiray (log)

[dcarch]

Building Code, fire safety regulations may dictate occupancy load of a space which is considered as a "Public Assembly".

Exits, distances of travel, width of egresses, etc. are all to be considered for a dinning space.

dcarch