Dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao at White House

The food for this special guest had to have  more than a simply great taste , the state dinner for President Hu Jintao required a great deal of preparation. His important  visit  to the US requited the chief to make sure this important guest would enjoy each bite from the first mouthful.

Getting the right combination of food is paramount so that the foreign guest will be pleased and it can set the tone for an entire visit .” If one thing doesn’t go right, its not like a restaurant where you can give someone 10% off the bill and a free glass of champagne ,” says Walter Scheib , White House chef from 1994 to 2005. There are some foods that foreign guests will not touch making the pressure of serving the correct foods intense and daunting for the chef’s ,when you are representing the country and the first family. To make sure nothing is offensive on the menu ,the office of protocol at the State Department takes the first step and send a list to the first lady of what the guests culinary dislikes are and any cultural dishes the guest might not like .The first lady then selects the menu for the event and with the help of the White House social secretart and executive chef ,she decides how it will be presented . Before the plan is finally approved it may be revised and tested on a number of occasions. The Chinese State dinner menu was : D’Anjou pear salad with farnstead goat cheese , fennel , black walnuts and white balsamic vinegar ,Poached Main lobster with orange glaze carrots and black trumpet mushrooms ,Lemon sorbet , Dry aged rib eye steak with buttermilk crisp onions , stuffed potatoes and creamed spinach ,
Old fashioned apple pie with vanilla ice cream. The state dinner was cooked for President Hu by executive chef Cristeta Comerford ,the visiting guests requested something all American.