State Dinner for Prince Charles & Camilla

[Pontormo]

So John Travolta couldn't make it this time.

Yo Yo Ma played for his supper as did Kathryn Scott who sat at the piano for hers.

Reports say Condolezza Rice looked stunning in her red birthday gown and Love escorted Katharine Armstrong.

Guests dined on the following:

Celery Broth with Crispy Rock Shrimp

Medallions of Buffalo Tenderlion

Wild Rice Pancakes

Roasted Corn

Glazed Parsnips and Young Carrots

Mint Romaine Lettuce with Blood Orange Vinaigrette

Vermont Camembert Cheese and Spiced Walnuts

Petit Fours

Chartreuse Ice Cream with Red and Green Grape Sauce

They quaffed:

Newton Chardonnay (Unfiltered) 2002

Peter Michael Pinot Noir (Le Moulin Rouge) 2002

Iron Horse (Wedding Cuvee; a nice gesture, don't you think?) 2002

The gold-rimmed china of the Clinton White House was used.

Now this event has been much publicized here in D.C. since President Bush is more of a blue jeans kind of guy and such elegant spectacles have been rare over the past half of a decade.

More importantly, this was the big public debut of the new female executive chef of the White House, Cristeta Comerford.

Let's say she didn't get the job and you did.

What would be on the menu?

Please be gentle, reader. No ranting.

You are free to take this very, very seriously and show off. Or not.

Inhabit your own skin if you are comfortable in it, or pretend you're oh, Mary Francis or I don't know, Gordon Ramsay, Nero Wolfe, or someone from the past.

Keep your honored guests and hosts and location and season in mind. (Prince Charles is known, after all, for promoting organic farming. The hosts own a ranch.)

I'd love to see what you come up with.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Quite obviously the White House wanted something classically American for the Royal Guests. Perhaps they also might have served one of the menus from the Nobel Prize Banquets eG thread here ...

The menu for each year's banquet looks good ... and any one of them would be perfect to me .. I like, for example, 1998 ... or 1991 ..

[*Deborah*]

Only three courses?

I'm sure it was delicious, but it seems very...low key for an official dinner. Of course I guess it's fancy compared to BBQ or whatever they usually have. (Just kidding, but evidently they're rather informal if that's the best they can do for the House of Windsor.)

I reckon any number of eGulleters eat a fancier dinner than that at least once a month, if not more often.

[Pontormo]

Shucks! When I saw your name underlined, I thought someone was adding a menu!

[Gifted Gourmet]

I thought someone was adding a menu!

←

Since I live below the Mason Dixon Line in Georgia, let this menu reflect the great American South:

Appetizer:

South Carolina Crab Cakes with a remoulade sauce

Main course (options):

Georgia Quail wrapped in country ham with Fried Green Tomatoes

White shrimp and grits (Charleston)

New Orleans Etoufee (option of the main protein)

Dessert:

Red Velvet Cake

Charleston Coconut Cake with 7 layers

Caramel cake with multiple layers

Wines from the Deep South

[Pontormo]

*Deborah*, I should have added a space after the vegetables in the main course above to acknowledge a separate salad course.

Also, there should have been a space between the cheese course and the petit fours to accommodate the fact that there was a properly stately succession of five courses, you're right.

And Ms. Goodman, thank you, thank you for being the first brave soul. I am licking my lips. Crab cakes are in fact something that we in D.C. enjoy.

Now, were I Laura Bush, I would ask if we could tweak the Southern focus just a wee bit to accommodate wines from California and add some lovely organic vegetables. Maybe a nice light winter squash soup first if a double step easing into the main courses would not be too too.

Perhaps a green salad course (not too fond of the mint Romaine there in the real event as much as the dressing sounds yummy) or some saute'ed greens or even a mean batch of the real Southern deal if it's too late in the season for butterbeans.

Still, I wonder if there is anything we could do to honour the British, besides accommodating the prince's interests in organic produce.

Maybe something with clotted cream? I'll leave it up to our New York-based doctor to choose the dairy products.

Any suggestions from the other side of the Pond?

Edited November 3, 2005 by Pontormo (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Good choices for the wines, I have to say. An excellent representation of some of the best that California has to offer. I might have gone with a lesser known Chardonnay, perhaps, but all in all very nice wine selection.

Does Chef Comerford play Sommeliere as well, or does someone else hold that rarified position? And how do I apply for the job?

[culinary bear]

Oh dear, tempted as I am by the subject matter I'm afraid I couldn't entirely divorce myself from partisan politics in the writing thereof.

[*Deborah*]

I suppose the fact that both of your countries are currently at war may have something to do with the seeming lack of extravagance. Glad to see that extra courses were eked out of that menu, though, and to hear that the wines (with which I am not familiar) are good!

I made four courses from scratch for some friends recently, and if I had the [monetary, personnel and equipment] resources of the White House, I can scarcely imagine what I might have come up with! and I'm on the low end of eG entertaining, I fully and humbly realize.

[Pontormo]

Sir Bear, then might I suggest:

Spam

Spam

and

Spam

followed by

Trifle?

[Busboy]

Only three courses?

I'm sure it was delicious, but it seems very...low key for an official dinner. Of course I guess it's fancy compared to BBQ or whatever they usually have. (Just kidding, but evidently they're rather informal if that's the best they can do for the House of Windsor.)

I reckon any number of eGulleters eat a fancier dinner than that at least once a month, if not more often.

←

Keep in mind that, at a state dinner, the food is the least important thing. Being invited is the most important thing, and sitting close to somebody powerful is the second most important thing. It's not so much dinner as ceremony. Also, when serving 130 VIPs more or less simultaneously, I imagine that creating dishes that can be served quickly and efficiently (like those buffalo loins) is the priority, rather than the excellence of the food.

[Busboy]

And one last thing: there is no such thing as Vermont Camembert.

[Megan Blocker]

Only three courses?

I'm sure it was delicious, but it seems very...low key for an official dinner. Of course I guess it's fancy compared to BBQ or whatever they usually have. (Just kidding, but evidently they're rather informal if that's the best they can do for the House of Windsor.)

I reckon any number of eGulleters eat a fancier dinner than that at least once a month, if not more often.

←

Keep in mind that, at a state dinner, the food is the least important thing. Being invited is the most important thing, and sitting close to somebody powerful is the second most important thing. It's not so much dinner as ceremony. Also, when serving 130 VIPs more or less simultaneously, I imagine that creating dishes that can be served quickly and efficiently (like those buffalo loins) is the priority, rather than the excellence of the food.

←

Can anyone say "wedding?"

Edited November 3, 2005 by Megan Blocker (log)

[Carrot Top]

Menu planning at the White House is done not simply upon the whim and desire of the Executive Chef. Her creativity is shaped ultimately by protocol.

Protocol is determined by people who are hired to do such things, and it does involve food when guests visit.

Not only is protocol defined by the way an incumbent may want to "look" to the press and media and world, it is also defined by numerous other considerations that take into account the appetites, likes, dislikes and allergies of the guests. All the guests. Which means a lot of fine-tuning of menu.

One of the other factors that comes into planning is the fact that most guests of this type have been dining upon the finest foods in the world as a matter of course each day, all day, for as long as they have been in their positions.

Foie gras might have little interest to them. Fancy or fussy presentations the same. An overindulgence in food is the one thing they just may abhor - for it is in their face quite often, this fineness of table.

There is also a trend towards simplicity and elegance in a pared-down sense in these worlds. The beauty lies in the simple and pure. The not overdone. The unpretensious. Extravagance may be passe in this moment of history.

I thought this menu was excellent. It was not a blaring of trumpets but a quiet welcome in a clear and simple and fine manner.

Politics aside. This is about the table, where we are supposed to sit together and find what we can in common to move forward in some small way.

Is it all bullshit? Perhaps.

But that was a fine dinner, nonetheless. The new Executive Chef at the White House looks like she's doing a fine job, to me.

...............................................

No, I won't try to write a menu for this. But yes, I would still love to see what others would come up with.

[Pontormo]

Very classy response, Carrot Top.

I was hoping you would channel a spirit from the past, but you are quite right to speak to the professionalism and success of a woman who is very much in the spotlight.

[theabroma]

Sounds lovely.

T.

Edited November 3, 2005 by theabroma (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Folks,

I'm only going to say this once, as one post that violated our guidelines on political commentary has since been removed, and others are perilously close to skirting those borders.

Please keep the discussion focused on food.

Thanks.

Soba

[*Deborah*]

I had not meant to imply that cream sauces, foie gras and caviare were required...and it is difficult in this instance for me to keep my opinion of the current White House residents and the current Duchess of Cornwall out of things. I am sure it was very well-prepared and delicious. Nonetheless I find it a bit flat.

I am also quite aware of the difficulties of scale and simultaneous service...it is, however, part of the job, and something that heads of state (or more properly, their staffs) have been managing to do for a century or two.

[Gifted Gourmet]

And one last thing: there is no such thing as Vermont Camembert.

←

Not even this?

Their Vermont Camembert is the only farmstead cheese of this type made in New England. It requires a great deal of hands-on care and is considered one of the most difficult of cheeses to make. Free from added animal enzymes, be assured that the cows who live at Blythedale Farm have a good home. They are cared for with love and respect and live in a clean, comfortable stable with year-round outdoor access. Their stress-free lives create a milk with delicious flavor.

Stress-free cows ... a good thing ...

[Carrot Top]

As a chef, I must say that anyone who is willing to criticize a chef should be ready to stand and equal them.

[*Deborah*]

As a chef, I must say that anyone who is willing to criticize a chef should be ready to stand and equal them.

←

Pardon me?

I thought I was entitled to an opinion? perhaps not.

[Megan Blocker]

I love the parsnips and carrots...I definitely would have cast a vote for winter/fall veggies, and roasted is even better...

I'm wondering what "wild rice pancakes" are like - are they crepes made with wild rice flour? Am I completely lacking in cosmopolitan knowledge of wild rice pancakes? Can someone describe them? Thanks!

As far as fancy...I think we're well past the point where fancy or special is defined only by ornament or bold new flavor combinations. Given Prince Charles' well-known interest in organic farming and the long trend of fine dining in America toward cuisine featuring the ingredients, I think the menu is appropriate. Is it the most exciting thing in the world? No. Does it still sound good, and feasible for a large crowd? Yes, definitely.

[Carrot Top]

As a chef, I must say that anyone who is willing to criticize a chef should be ready to stand and equal them.

←

Pardon me?

I thought I was entitled to an opinion? perhaps not.

←

As you are entitled, so am I, Deborah.

My opinion stands in the words above.

Generally I do not feel the need to express it.

Once in a rare while I do. This is one of those times.

[Busboy]

Only three courses?

I'm sure it was delicious, but it seems very...low key for an official dinner. Of course I guess it's fancy compared to BBQ or whatever they usually have. (Just kidding, but evidently they're rather informal if that's the best they can do for the House of Windsor.)

I reckon any number of eGulleters eat a fancier dinner than that at least once a month, if not more often.

←

Keep in mind that, at a state dinner, the food is the least important thing. Being invited is the most important thing, and sitting close to somebody powerful is the second most important thing. It's not so much dinner as ceremony. Also, when serving 130 VIPs more or less simultaneously, I imagine that creating dishes that can be served quickly and efficiently (like those buffalo loins) is the priority, rather than the excellence of the food.

←

Can anyone say "wedding?"

←

If you've ever had a sit-down dinner at a wedding that was more than tolerable, you're a luckier person than I. I've eaten at swank spreads and worked at swank spreads. Banquet food is banquet food.

[*Deborah*]

Ah, so one can not have an opinion on the suitability of a menu for the Prince of Wales if one is not a chef. Or perhaps an empoyee of the State Department.

Can one not have an opinion on food, in general?

Or perhaps one can have the opinion, but not express it. Or express it only if it is favourable?

Should we all just quit eGullet, those of us who are not professionals?

I meant to offend no-one in expressing my opinion...call me opinionated, I have opinions on many things, some of which I practice, and some, not.

I certainly did not mean to imply that the new Chef is incompetent or insult her; I happen to think it's great that they've hired a woman. If you have inferred such an insult, well...it was not my intention.

Just because I'm not particularly impressed by one menu doesn't mean a whole lot. But extending your rule, I see I'd better not talk about paintings, since I cannot paint. Or the skill of a pianist, as my keyboard talents are few. Or which cars I like, as I am not a mechanic or automotive designer. Or the weather, not being a meteorologist. Ad infinitum, really. I should probably make a little list of topics on which I am qualified to have an opinion.

Whoops. My bad.