Dinner is Served

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a State Dinner

Chef adding food to platter with ladle, waiters watching (White House Photographic Office/Karl Schumacher)

The White House executive chef, a waiter and the maître d’ put the finishing touches on a dish during the 1975 state dinner for Japan’s Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako. (White House Photographic Office/Karl Schumacher)

The White House executive chef, a waiter and the maître d’ put the finishing touches on a dish during the 1975 state dinner for Japan’s Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako. (White House Photographic Office/Karl Schumacher)

Leg of lamb with beans, grilled tomatoes, spinach with cream

Jacqueline Kennedy, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Ghandi and John F. Kennedy posing for photos (White House/Robert Knudsen/JFK Library and Museum)

Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Ghandi, President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, pose for photos at the White House before a state dinner in 1961. (White House/Robert Knudsen/JFK Library and Museum)

Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Ghandi, President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, pose for photos at the White House before a state dinner in 1961. (White House/Robert Knudsen/JFK Library and Museum)

Very good, but can you read French? John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy served this to Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Mrs. Kennedy was a Francophile and hired French American René Verdon as the White House chef. The menu for the evening listed each course’s items entirely in French.

(White House Calligraphy Office/White House Historical Association)

(White House Calligraphy Office/White House Historical Association)

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