200 lobsters, American wine and cheese: all the details on Bidens' state dinner ... trends now
Two hundred live lobsters arrived at the White House on Tuesday. Tomorrow night they will be dinner.
The crustaceans from Maine will be the main course in Thursday's state dinner, which is starring some of the best cuisine America has to offer, including three-award winning cheeses and wines from Napa Valley.
Yes President Emmanuel Macron of France will be toasted with sparking wine (not champagne - which is only from the Champagne region of France) when President Joe Biden hosts the first state dinner of his administration.
Hopefully he likes Brut Rosé as Macron began his trip with a undiplomatic shot at the American president. A reporter for Agence France-Presse heard the French president complain that Biden's industrial subsidies are 'super aggressive' against French competitors.
'This is super aggressive for our business people,' he was heard telling members of Congress and business leaders at a lunch on Wednesday. He was referring to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which will give billions to US-based manufacturers.
It may be one of the many issues Macron brings up on Thursday, when he arrives at the White House for his one-on-one meeting with Biden. The two leaders will also host a joint press conference before sitting down with their spouses to clink glasses to the Franco-American relationship.
First lady Jill Biden revealed menu and place settings for Thursday's state dinner
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron will be feted by the Bidens in a glass pavilion on the South Lawn of the White House
The table settings are a nod to the colors in the French and American flags - red, white and blue
White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford (left) and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison (right) show off the plates of food that will be served at the state dinner
Jill Biden and Brigitte Macron, meanwhile, on Thursday will visit Planet Word, an immersive language experience in Washington, D.C. Local school children will join them.
After the day's work comes the night's glamour.
More than 300 guests in sweeping gowns and tuxedos will descend upon the White House for an evening of music, toasts and amore.
Guests will walk through a snow-covered forest in the White House's East Wing, which is decorated for Christmas, and gather under a glass pavilion on the South Lawn for the dinner.
Chandeliers that will hang above them; candles will light the night sky; and images fleurs de lis, stained-glass roses and irises will be flashed on the pavilion walls.
It will be heated too.
First lady Jill Biden previewed the night to come on Wednesday.
'The design of this dinner was inspired by the shared colors of our flags - red, white, and blue - and our common values: liberty and democracy, equality and fellowship. These form the bedrock upon which our enduring friendship was built,' she said.
Eight weeks of planning went into Thursday night's dinner.
The White House staff had outside help from Fête, an event planning and design production firm out of New York led by founder Jung Lee.
At the sit-down dinner, the tables will be covered in blue table clothes. Arrangements of red and white flowers, sprinkled with red candles, will form the centerpieces.
The flower arrangements feature France's national flower, the iris, and American Beauty roses. There will also be piano roses to honor President Macron's love of the piano.
The gold and white plates that guests will dine off of are rented. Typically state dinners use official White House china from one of the previous administrations but those place settings are not allowed outside the White House. Because the dinner is taking place out on the South Lawn, the china settings can't be used.
Completing the table's look are short French-forged champagne vessels that will feature American sparkling wine.
In addition to the lobster, caviar, triple cooked
