Anecdotes of the White House State Banquet

Johnson: At a state banquet, more than 50 female guests danced.

The second only activity at the White House state banquet is the ball after the banquet, and the White House usually arranges artistic performances.

Who cooks at the state banquet? Is the hostess improperly dressed? Which male guest invited the hostess for the first dance? These will be hot topics in the United States for a long time to come. The State Banquet at the White House is the most important diplomatic activity in the United States.

1874, the first modern state banquet hosted the "King of Hawaii". /kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, the term "state banquet" refers to the activities of the President of the United States to entertain cabinet ministers, members of Congress and other dignitaries. However, it was not until President hiram grant took office that the "state banquet" began to refer to the formal banquet hosted by the President of the United States to welcome visiting foreign heads of state. President hiram grant and his wife hosted a banquet in honor of King David Kalākaua of the Sandwich Islands. The territory of the Sandwich Islands includes Hawaii, which later became the 50th state of the United States.

Traditionally, the first state banquet of the new president should be hosted by the leaders of Canada or Mexico.

Nixon and his wife Pat hosted the most state banquets: 76 times.

Of all the presidents, Nixon and his wife Pat held the most state banquets. Lucy winchester Brist, Nixon's social secretary, said, "There are 76 times that can be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records." Mr. and Mrs. Nixon took the formal big dress back to the state dinner, but canceled the dance. Besides 76 state banquets, they also held many official banquets.

A month after Clinton's "zipper door", the tango dance music at the couple's state banquet was restored.

In the 100-year history of American state banquets, it also played the role of peacemaker. After Clinton entered the White House, the hospitable president and his determined wife continued to hold four or five state banquets every year. After Clinton's sexual scandal was exposed, 1999 65438+ 10, when the House of Representatives impeached Clinton for a month, President Clinton and his wife took the opportunity of Argentine President Menem to tango at the ball after the state banquet and made up again.

Flowers are usually more expensive than vegetables, and the per capita consumption of state banquets is 50 to $ 100.

On June 24th, 2009, the new Obama and his wife Michelle received their first visitor: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This state banquet fully embodies the healthy eating lifestyle advocated by Michelle, the hostess of the White House. Vegetables and seasonal fruits are the main dishes, and many raw materials and seasonings are produced in the White House Garden. Walter Scheber, a White House chef 1 1 year, who has prepared 35 state banquets, said that the cost of state banquets is usually higher than the cost of food. According to his experience, state banquet dishes are not luxurious, and usually cost 50 to 100 USD per person.

State banquets have always been "popular", and French dishes, French menus and French dresses are all French.

For a long time before, the chefs in the White House were all French, so the White House state banquet was always dominated by French cuisine, and even the menus were printed in French. Later, the Kennedys made the banquet more and more elegant. Jacqueline hired French chefs and Paris fashion designers to design dresses, vowing to build "Versailles in America". It was not until August, 2005 that comerford, a Filipino female chef who is good at cooking American food, was promoted to the position of head chef of the White House, and the White House banquet became increasingly "Americanized".

Carefully selected locations and guests

Visiting heads of state and spouses usually enter the White House from the north porch, and the banquet is held in the state banquet hall.

According to the diplomatic etiquette of American state banquets, visiting foreign heads of state and their spouses enter the White House from the north porch, where the American President and his wife will wait for the welcome. The dining place is in the State Banquet Hall of the White House. The State Banquet Hall is the larger of the two banquet halls in the White House, which can accommodate 140 guests, and the size of the banquet hall is 48 x36 feet. Obama's state banquet for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was moved to the South Lawn because Indians "often celebrate in tents".

There are 700 people attending the Clinton State Banquet, and the supporting activities and lunch of the State Banquet are also very popular.

The state banquet is the most important activity in American social and diplomatic circles, and the guest invitation list is another focus. State banquet planners should not only ensure that every attendee is a noble and respectable person, but also be careful not to hurt those who are still "prominent" although they are not invited. In order to thank his campaign sponsors, Clinton kept expanding the invitation list and even invited 700 guests to the biggest state banquet. At a state banquet, in order to invite more important guests, Bush's advisers Karen Hughes and Rove both voluntarily withdrew from the state banquet. In order to appease many unqualified people who were not invited, the White House also invited them to participate in a series of entertainment activities held after the state banquet. Those who were not invited to participate in the entertainment activities were invited to attend the White House lunch that day.

Exquisite seats

The Prince of Prussia used a rectangular banquet table 1902 at the state banquet, and the seating was extremely exquisite.

At state banquets, the most respected seats are of course those of the President and his wife of the United States. The rectangular banquet table was arranged by the President of the United States when he hosted a banquet in honor of Prince Henry of Prussia in 1902. Over the years, this arrangement has become the standard. The seating arrangement of American state banquets is very particular, and sitting in different positions represents different status. Who should sit at the same table with the president and who should sit with the first lady plays a weathervane role in American politics and society.

For the first time, Jacqueline Kennedy gave up the square table and adopted the round table, and the strict restrictions on seats were also broken.

But compared with Europeans, Americans are obviously not a nation that pays great attention to etiquette and seating, so they gradually use simple and convenient banquet tables and seating. The practice of arranging round tables in the whole banquet hall began in Jacqueline Kennedy. This arrangement enables the banquet hall to accommodate more guests, and at the same time allows the host to break the strict restrictions on formal seating arrangements. With the use of the round dining table, the strict restrictions on the ranking of other seats have been relaxed a lot. During the Nixon era, First Lady Braez often arranged an E-shaped table at state banquets: "If the president doesn't want to meet someone, but the level is very high, he can be arranged to sit in the corner of one of the three lines of the E-shaped, with his back to the president."

However, it is still a headache for the hostess to arrange seats. Kissinger: I want to sit next to a beautiful woman.

However, it is not so easy to arrange seats even if you use a round banquet table when you meet picky guests. At a state banquet, Kissinger, a national security adviser who was still a bachelor at that time, made a scene: when Brisbane, the wife of then US President Nixon, crossed the second floor of the East Room, Kissinger grabbed Brisbane and complained, "Who arranged the seats?" The last person sitting next to me is actually a 98-year-old woman who lost all her teeth (the wife of the former foreign minister). " After that, the most beautiful female guests are always arranged to sit next to Kissinger. "If we don't know who is the most beautiful, just tell the attendants. If we find a candidate temporarily, let us know immediately and we will change seats now. " Bliss said.

The style of the banquet is actually the style of the hostess.

Based on respect and tradition, the president's wife, as the hostess, must personally arrange the VIP list, dishes and table layout.

Walter Zabo, a former White House chef, once said: The state banquet is more like a Broadway opera than a banquet. The public is always most concerned about the first protagonist of the banquet: the hostess. Although the State Council officials are responsible for the etiquette and dishes of every state banquet, many important details, such as the VIP list, dishes, table layout, etc. , handled by the first lady of the United States and her assistants. Although the arrangement of American state banquets will be influenced by tradition, every hostess in the White House will leave her unique mark on the state banquets held.

Music and performances at state banquets usually reflect the tastes of the hostess and the first family.

For more than 200 years, artists have been performing at American state banquets. For example, during the administration of the second President of the United States, john adams, the performance of the American Marine Corps Orchestra became an indispensable content. Since Obama took office, A·R· Rahman, a famous Indian composer, was invited to have a state banquet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the first time.

The dress of the hostess is the hottest topic in society, and Michelle's pale yellow strapless dress has won favorable comments.

At the state banquet, the guests will be well dressed, and so will the female guests. The dress of the first lady is the focus of everyone's attention. At the State Banquet of Obama and Singh in 2009, Michelle Obama made a gorgeous appearance in an evening dress designed by Indian designer Najeem Khan. That night, she wore a beige evening dress, dotted with shiny silver ornaments, showing her hostess demeanor. The media praised Michelle as a perfect match this time. Hal Rubenstein, fashion editor of InStyle magazine, said that Michelle cleverly chose a delicate and elegant dress, which was both timely and elegant. As for choosing Indian fashion designers, Michelle intends to close the distance with singers.

The Soul of State Banquet: Chefs and Dishes

Regional cuisine: Banquets usually consist of 4-5 dishes, including American dishes and VIP dishes.

American state banquet menu usually consists of 4 ~ 5 dishes, and some dishes with VIP ethnic customs will also be added. As a pastry chef in the White House, Ronald mesnier is well versed in the "geopolitical" cooking of the White House, and his dishes are also related to complex diplomatic and political factors. At the state banquet hosted by George H.W. Bush for the Mexican President, the chef did not consider the theme of the Mexican President's trip: promoting economic and trade exchanges, but made a dessert featuring Mexican culture: a little boy wearing a Mexican wide-brimmed hat was dozing in front of a small earthen house. The feeling be nasty under, while the distinguished guests haven't noticed this dish, a White House assistant swallowed a little boy wearing a Mexican wide-brimmed hat on dessert, while the first lady Barbara bush leveled this "little hut" with Mexican characteristics while the guests weren't paying attention.

Previously, the chefs were all French, and the chef was comerford, a Filipino female chef with an annual salary of 654.38+ 10,000.

In 2005, when the former Executive Chef of the White House retired, comerford was appointed as the Executive Chef of the White House by laura bush, then the first lady, because of her outstanding performance at a party for Indian Prime Minister mohan singh. At that time, there were four dishes at the banquet: the first: iced asparagus soup and lemon cheese; The second course: European fried flounder, ginger and carrot butter; The third way: Indian fragrant rice and seasonal vegetables mix pistachios and raisins; Fourth: lettuce. Comerford 1995 enters the White House kitchen. In 2005, she was appreciated by laura bush, then the first lady, and was promoted to head chef. She has worked for 15 years, and her annual salary is only $654.38 million, which is similar to that of a graduate student who has worked for four or five years.

Chefs usually judge whether guests are satisfied by hearing: if the banquet hall is quiet or there is the sound of knives and forks, it proves delicious.

Usually, chefs who have worked in the White House for many years have developed the habit of judging whether guests are satisfied by hearing. On one occasion, at the state banquet of Mexican President Fox, Fox was particularly happy to give an impromptu speech for five minutes, which really worried the chef Chai Bo in the kitchen: if we go on, the first dish will get cold. Pastry chef Mesnier always hoped that the state banquet hall would be quiet after dessert, because it proved that the guests were attracted by their own creations and tasted them carefully.

Final program: dance

Johnson: At a state banquet, more than 50 female guests danced.

The second activity after the White House state banquet is a misunderstanding after the banquet. The White House usually arranges art performances. The first guest received by President lyndon johnson and his wife was former German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard. At first, people who didn't like Johnson waited to see his jokes. It was not until piano master Criburn, who was born in Texas, appeared at the ball that people began to look at the party with new eyes. President Johnson likes dancing. Johnson danced with more than 50 ladies at a state banquet in honor of British Prime Minister Douglas Home.

Yeltsin's invitation to the first lady to dance was rejected. Barbara bush: A gentleman should invite the lady on the right for the first dance.

When Bush was president, he attached great importance to diplomacy and regarded entertainment as a part of diplomacy. According to him, before difficult negotiations with foreign heads of state, if we can have dinner and dance together on the first night, terrible things such as "banging on the table with our fists" will not happen the next morning. However, in one of his most important activities, this guest made a fool of himself: 199 1 year, Yeltsin visited the United States, and at the beginning of the dance, he invited the first lady Barbara bush to dance as a gentleman. Barbara declined Yeltsin's invitation and politely explained that the American rule is that a gentleman should invite the lady sitting on his right to the first dance.

The State Banquet at the White House is an important diplomatic activity and a vanity fair for American upper class. Noam ornstein of the American Enterprise Association, a conservative think tank, said: "There are only two things that make you more valuable than attending a state dinner, and that is visiting Crawford (then President Bush's ranch) or visiting Camp David on weekends."