State Dinner For Macron on CSPAN NOW!

[quote] 200 live lobsters shipped to White House for the black tie affair

WASHINGTON (AP) — Butter-poached Maine lobster, beef with shallot marmalade and an American cheese trio will be served when French President Emmanuel Macron takes his seat Thursday as the guest of honor at a red-white-and-blue themed White House state dinner, the first for President Joe Biden.

Dessert will be orange chiffon cake, roasted pears and creme fraiche ice cream.

Everything from the menu to the entertainment to the table settings and other touches for the glitzy dinner were designed by the White House — and first lady Jill Biden — to highlight the ties that bind America and its oldest ally, France.

“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,” Biden said. "These form the bedrock upon which our enduring friendship was built.”

“I learned that setting a table can be an act of love,” she said, before journalists were permitted to see the tablescapes for the dinner, which is part of a broader state visit to the United States by Macron and his wife, Brigitte. Macron landed in the U.S. on Tuesday night.

The glitzy, black-tie dinner party will be held in a heated pavilion on the South Lawn with an expected 300 or so guests. They will be seated at a mix of square and rectangular tables, covered with dark blue silk cloths and decorated with red candles and arrangements of red, white and blue flowers, including roses and irises, the official flower of France.

China from the White House collection will not be used since it is not allowed outside of the executive mansion. Guests will dine on outside tableware.

An image of the Statue of Liberty, a gift to the U.S. from France in the 1800s, will be the backdrop for toasts by the presidents. American sparkling wine poured into silver French champagne vessels will be served for the toasts.

White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford reserved a special a shout-out for Maine's lobster workers.

“They had to ship 200 live lobsters to us yesterday morning,” she said.

Oceana, an international advocacy group focused on ocean conservation, objected to the use of Maine lobster, which recently was declared unsustainable by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch and the Marine Stewardship Council. The sustainability organizations cited concerns about risks to rare North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear. Entanglement in gear is one of the biggest threats to the whales.

Dinner guests, who typically are supporters and friends of both presidents, government officials, business people and some celebrities, will have the added bonus of arriving at a White House that has been decked out for the holidays with Christmas trees, wreaths and garland. Trolley cars will ride them down to the see-through pavilion on the South Lawn.

Music will be provided by Jon Batiste, a Grammy Award-winning New Orleans native who most recently was bandleader and musical director of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Joining Batiste will be his father, Michael Batiste, the U.S. Marine Band and the Army and Air Force Strolling Strings.

Jill Biden recalled that, when she flew to Japan to support Team USA in the Olympics, she ended up cheering alongside Macron during a three-on-three basketball game. Although they were rooting for opposing teams, “there was a comradery that we shared,” she said.

Wednesday night, the Bidens and the Macrons dined at Fiola Mare, an Italian seafood restaurant on the Georgetown waterfront. They spent about two hours at the restaurant before heading their separate ways.

“In terms of the public, most visible event that any White House or any president and first lady could have entertaining on the global stage that is the White House, this is it," McBride said.

Jill Biden is hit-and-miss with her style but tonight was a home run. She looked incredible.

For political junkies like me, this is better than the Academy Award red carpet.