First Lady Pool Reports of November 30, 2022

FLOTUS pool #1 - State Dinner preview - background

From FLOTUS office. Will do color in a minute.

BACKGROUND FROM THE OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY:

On Wednesday, November 30th at 3:00 PM ET, First Lady Jill Biden will host a media preview in advance of Thursday evening's State Dinner. The media preview will include brief remarks from the First Lady and White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo, followed by presentations from White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison. Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby will attend.

Overview
On the evening of Thursday, December 1st, the President and First Lady will host President Macron and Mrs. Macron for a State Dinner in a pavilion on the South Lawn as part of the first State Visit of the Biden-Harris Administration.

The design of this dinner was inspired by the shared colors of the United States and France — red, white, and blue — and our common values: liberty and democracy, equality and fellowship, which form the bedrock upon which our enduring friendship was built.

State Dinner Menu
The First Lady worked with White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison and their teams to create the following menu for the State Dinner:

Butter Poached Maine Lobster
American Osetra Caviar
Delicata Squash Raviolo
Tarragon Sauce

Calotte of Beef, Shallot Marmalade
Triple Cooked Butter Potatoes
Sunchoke & Creamed Watercress
Red Wine Reduction

American Artisanal Cheeses: The American Artisanal Cheese Course features three outstanding and award winning cheeses:

Rogue River Blue 2019/2020 World Cheese Awards World Champion Gold Made by Rogue Creamery with milk sourced from Grant Pass, Oregon

Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog
2022 World Cheese Bronze Medalist
Soft Ripened Goat Cheese

Deer Creek Cheddar Cheese from a small family run creamery in Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Orange Chiffon Cake
Roasted Pears with Citrus Sauce
Crème Fraiche Ice Cream

Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay "Napa Valley" 2018
Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon "Knights Valley" 2019
Roederer Estate Brut Rosé N/V

American and French Cultural Elements
Throughout the decor in the pavilion on the South Lawn, guests will find deep, rich colors and tones of red, white and blue to honor the long standing relationship between the United States and France, one of our oldest allies. The State Dinner was produced with support from Fête, an event planning and design production firm led by founder Jung Lee.

• Statue of Liberty: Serving as a backdrop for the President's toast, and featured in the menu programs, is perhaps the most famous expression of our enduring friendship: the Statue of Liberty.
• Floral Arrangements: All flowers will be in the red, white and blue color scheme, featuring the rose, the official flower of our Nation's capital and the iris, the official flower of France, their intricate petals reflecting the interwoven history of our nations. The deep pink roses are American Beauties, bred in France and brought to the United States almost two centuries ago.
• Toast: American sparkling wine will be served with French-made glasses, marking a beautiful intersection honoring both countries in celebration of the evening.
• Oak Tree: Our countries are deeply rooted together in history. The roots are grounded in our shared national tree, the Oak tree, which is integrated into the decor by incorporating elements of wood and oak tones in the chairs and wall paneling.
• Fleur-de-Lis: The Fleur-de-lis is woven into graphical elements in the room, mixed in with French, Art-Nouveau stained glass.

Entertainment
Guests will enjoy musical selections by Jon Batiste, accompanied by his father, Michael tiste, and "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, and the Army and Air Force Strolling Strings.

Batiste is a prolific and accomplished musician, composer and performer. A New Orleans native, Batiste received both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School, a world leader in performing arts education in New YBaork City. Batiste, who went on to serve as the bandleader and musical director of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022, also received a GRAMMY nomination for Best American Roots Performance (2019), and two GRAMMY nominations for his albums Chronology of a Dream: Live at the Village Vanguard and Meditations (2020).

For the Disney/Pixar film Soul (2020), Batiste became the second African American composer in history, after legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock, to win an Academy Award for composition. In addition to receiving the Academy Award for Best Original Score, his work on Soul also earned him a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, an NAACP Image Award and a Critics Choice Award.

Batiste's latest studio album We Are was released in March 2021 to overwhelming critical acclaim; he was subsequently nominated for eleven GRAMMY Awards across seven different categories, a first in GRAMMY history. Of the eleven, Batiste won five, including Album of the Year.

FLOTUS pool #2 - State Dinner preview - remarks

As prepared for delivery, from FLOTUS office

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at a Media Preview of the State Dinner with France

State Dining Room, White House

***
Welcome everyone, to the White House. We're in the beginning of our holiday season, of course, so I hope you are enjoying these beautiful displays.

My mother made every dinner a special occasion. She would bring out the china, put fresh flowers on the table, and light candles. Even if we were only having fish sticks from the freezer, she always made our dinners feel special.

I learned that setting a table can be an act of love—and once I had my own family, I did my best to keep that tradition alive.

Our first State Dinner, which we are serving tomorrow night on the South Lawn—will be no different. It's an expression of welcome and friendship—a way to connect through a language that transcends words. And as each dish comes to the table, so too does the meaning behind it.

Joe and I have had the pleasure of spending some time with President and Mrs. Macron over the past two years.

When I traveled to Japan to support Team USA at the Olympics last summer, I found myself cheering alongside President Macron during the three-on-three women's basketball game. Though we were rooting for opposite sides, there was a comradery in the shared love we had for our teams.

And I got to know Mrs. Macron in Rome, where we instantly clicked as educators. So I'm excited to bring her to the Planet Word Museum tomorrow to meet some amazing students.

And now, we are so glad to welcome them to the White House as the first couple of our 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.
These form the bedrock upon which our enduring friendship was built.

On the tables are vivid red roses and blue delphiniums, alongside white irises—which are the symbols of our nation's capital and of France—their intricate petals reflecting the interwoven history of our nations.

Our chefs, Cris and Susie, have put together such a thoughtful menu for this event. And I'm especially excited that we are featuring American cheeses for our cheese course, including Rogue River Blue, the champion of the 2019 World Cheese Awards.

We chose Jon Batiste as our entertainer for the evening—a performer who grew up in New Orleans, which has been shaped by both French and American culture.

From playing in seminal brass bands, to leading the Louisiana Postal Workers Union during the civil rights movement, the Batiste family has been part of American history. Tomorrow, we are adding a State Dinner to that remarkable list.

And throughout the dinner—from images on the pavilion walls, to the chandeliers that will hang above us, to the dishes and displays on the tables—are symbols and celebrations of the many ties that bind our nations together.

The journey of planning this event has been an unforgettable experience. I've had the chance to collaborate with truly brilliant individuals—especially Carlos Elizondo, our White House Social Secretary. So many people have worked for months to make this visit magical and meaningful—and I'm grateful for all of them.

Our hope is that the end result will be a night that balances the beauty of our friendship with the seriousness of our purpose.

And we hope that French citizens everywhere feel the warmth of our welcome.

May our relationship grow stronger, our ties deeper, and our futures brighter as we deepen our partnership.

Now I will turn it over to our White House Social Secretary, Carlos Elizondo.

FLOTUS pool #3 - State Dinner preview - color part 1

Hello everyone - here's some color from the State Dinner preview this afternoon. You should already have background and the First Lady's remarks as prepared for delivery.

A trio of Marine Band musicians in red military dress jackets and black pants were playing jazz in the Grand Foyer as we walked in. A man on snare drum, another man on bass, and a woman at a very cool elongated brown wood piano.

Pool was set up behind stanchions in the State Dining Room, which is filled with Christmas decorations. We were in front of the official Gingerbread White House with the mantle (dressed with red and white striped knit stockings for the Bidens' grandkids) and Lincoln's portrait to our right. A podium labeled "The White House" was set up in the front of the room with two clear teleprompters, one on either side.

Two table skews were set up. The one on the left had a tall silver candelabra with 9 red candles. 6 other tall red candles were in individual holders around the table. This one had comfy distressed wood chairs with comfy beige cushions. Table to the right had a more modest setup with a three-candle candelabra in the center and 4 others around the table. All were lit and quickly melting. The chairs at that one had blue satin covers with gold trim. The tablecloths were royal blue to match the chair covers.

FLOTUS entered at 14:55 and was wearing a forest green dress with black flowers sewn onto what looked like black mesh on the skirt, with a black blazer, black tights and what looked like black knee-high boots. Gold drop earrings too.

Stage right, staff was standing in order: Carlos Elizondo, White House Social Secretary, then White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford, White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison, and FLOTUS comms director Elizabeth Alexander.

You should have the remarks, but key quotes:

"My mother made every dinner a special occasion. She would bring out the china, put fresh flowers on the table and light candles. Even if we were only having fish sticks from the freezer, she made our dinners feel special. And I learned that setting a table can be an act of love. And once I had my own family, I did my best to keep that tradition alive."

"Our first State dinner which we are serving tomorrow night on the South Lawn will be no different. It's an expression of welcome and friendship, a way to connect to a language that sort of transcends words. As each dish comes to the table, so, too, does the meaning behind it."

She talked about how she and "Joe" had spent time with the Macrons over the past two years and how, when she was pretty much the entire U.S. delegation at the Winter Olympics in Japan, she'd sat next to Macron during the three-on-three women's basketball game.

"And though we were rooting for opposite sides, there was a camaraderie that we shared. You know, we had a shared love for our teams. USA won by the way." (Last part was an ad lib, and the press corps laughed.)

She said she got to know Brigitte Macron in Rome "where we instantly clicked as educators." Called them "the first couple of our oldest ally."

The design of the dinner, she said, was inspired by the shared colors of their two countries: red, white and blue. And "our common values, liberty and democracy, equality and fellowship."

In a bold move, the cheese plate (for France!) will feature 3 American cheeses: " I'm especially excited that we are featuring American cheeses for our cheese course, including Rogue River Blue, the champion of the 2019 World Cheese Awards." (Fun Fact, your pooler was the New York Times 52 Places Traveler and went to Rogue River and visited this dairy. Beautiful area, do go!)

She highlighted that Jon Batiste, who's providing the after-dinner entertainment, is from New Orleans, which was shaped by both French and American culture. And mentioned that Batiste's family led the Louisiana Postal Workers Union during the Civil Rights Movement.

The dinner will take place in a glass pavilion on the South Lawn and Dr. Biden mentioned "chandeliers that will hang above us" and "images on the pavilion walls" -- so it will be a very fancy pavilion. Heated, too!

She laughed a little when she said "months," as in "So many people have worked for months to make this visit magical and beautiful."

"And we hope that the French citizens everywhere feel the warmth of our welcome. May our friendship grow stronger, our ties deeper and our futures brighter as we deepen our partnership."

Then she turned it over to Carlos Elizondo. More in the next report.

(here's the Otter, which includes Carlos Elizondo's remarks and any conversations afterwards https://otter.ai/u/mAjvgM6xe0rbMwi1uwp3IsJUMvY... I'm correcting as I go, so please listen to the audio)

We were in front of the official Gingerbread White House, which has a sugar cookie replica of Philadelphia's Independence Hall, and to the left of the Christmas trees which are decorated with glass balls and ornaments filled with self-portraits drawn by the students of the 2021 Teachers of the Year from around the country. The mantle has red and white striped knit stockings with the names of the Bidens' grandkids. There's a new one for "Peter," as in Peter Neal, Naomi Biden's new husband, and one for First Cat Willow and one for First Dog Commander. There are displays of giant children's books on the ground with paperboard cutouts (I forget what they're called -- like in movie theaters) of Commander on one and Willow on the other.

FLOTUS pool report #4 - State Dinner preview - color part 2

Again, here's the Otter, which includes Carlos Elizondo's remarks and any conversations afterwards https://otter.ai/u/mAjvgM6xe0rbMwi1uwp3IsJUMvY... I'm correcting as I go, so please listen to the audio)

After FLOTUS spoke, she turned it over to White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo, who was the social secretary for the 8 years they were in the Vice President's residence as well.

Key quotes:

"In the 10 years, I have served the Bidens as Social Secretary, both at the vice president's residence and now here at the White House, I have helped them welcome many, many thousands of guests and as hosts, what matters most to them is making people feel comfortable. And I'm honored to have this opportunity to help them bring that hospitality to the world stage."

"This State dinner will not only reflect the shared colors, history and values of the United States and France. It also shows the warmth and heart of our First Lady and this White House."
Tables will feature France's national flower, the iris, and American Beauty roses, said Elizondo, "bred in France and brought to the United States more than a century ago. With them are piano roses to honor President McCrone this love of the piano."

The settings had short French-forged champagne vessels that are going to feature American sparkling wine. "Each is rolled from one piece of silver, ensuring the sparkling wine inside is always at its best temperature. Its flavor and aroma showcased by the vessels' unique shape," said Elizondo.

The Statue of Liberty will be the backdrop for the President's toast and is featured in the menu programs, which have navy covers with the gold seal of the United States. A graphic rendering of the Statue of Liberty is on translucent paper on the first and last pages of the menu.

*** If anyone wants pics of the menu, reach out and I'll send them ***

He called the Statue of Liberty, "perhaps the most famous expression of our enduring friendship, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the people of the United States. Her torch, a beacon of light to the world, is reflected in towering candelabras on the tables and the chandeliers that will adorn the pavilion."

The walls of the pavilion will have images of fleur de lis and stained-glass roses and irises.

Elizondo thanked the chief of protocol's office, the United States Secret Service, the White House visitors' office, the executive residence staff, and "team social, my team," for their work on the dinner.

They partnered with Jung Lee, who runs Fête, an event planning and design firm out of New York City, to design the dinner.

FLOTUS pool #5: State Dinner preview - Carlos Elizondo remarks

As just sent out by FLOTUS team:

Thank you, Dr. Biden, and thank you all for joining us today.

In the ten years I've served the Bidens as Social Secretary—both at the Vice President's Residence, and now, here at the White House—I've helped them welcome thousands of guests. And as hosts, what matters most to them is making people feel comfortable and at home.

I am honored to have this opportunity to help them bring that hospitality to the world stage.

This State Dinner will not only reflect the shared colors, history, and values of the United States and France, it also shows the warmth and heart of our First Lady and this White House.

Tomorrow night, the State Dinner will take place on the South Lawn, in a candlelit pavilion.

As the First Lady mentioned, the flowers that will surround us have been chosen with care. Alongside France's national flower, the iris, we are featuring American Beauty roses, bred in France and brought to the United States more than a century ago. With them are piano roses, to honor President Macron's love of the piano.

Also on the tables are French-forged champagne vessels. Tomorrow, we will fill them with American sparkling wine. Each is rolled from one piece of silver, ensuring the sparkling wine inside is always at its best temperature—its flavor and aroma showcased by the vessel's unique shape.

Serving as a backdrop for the President's toast, and featured in the menu programs, is perhaps the most famous expression of our enduring friendship: the Statue of Liberty—a gift from France to the people of the United States. Her torch, a beacon of light to the world, is reflected in towering candelabras on the tables and the chandeliers that will adorn the pavilion. And on the walls are images of oaken fleur-de-lis, and stained-glass roses and irises.

I would be remiss if I did not express my gratitude for the many offices, especially the Chief of Protocol's office, the Unites States Secret Service, the White House Visitors Office, the Executive Residence staff, and my team, team social, who have put their hearts and hard work into this State Visit.

Finally, I would like to thank Jung Lee and her creative team at Fête, an event planning and design firm out of New York City, for their partnership in helping create the design and guest experience for tomorrow's dinner.

Now, I would like to introduce two of my amazing colleagues: Cris Comerford, our White House executive chef, and Susie Morrison, our White House executive pastry chef, to walk us through tomorrow night's menu.

FLOTUS pool #6: State Dinner preview - color part 3

You can watch the remarks on C-Span
https://www.c-span.org/video/?524538-1/lady-jill-biden-previews-state-di... [c-span.org]

Otter link here:

https://otter.ai/u/mAjvgM6xe0rbMwi1uwp3IsJUMvY

After Carlos Elizondo spoke, he gave the floor to Cris Comerford, White House Executive Chef and Susie Morrison, White House Executive Pastry Chef

They wore their white chefs' hats and coats, and each held two dishes. They stood right in front of the press. Comerford had the lobster and steak dishes, and Morrison held the cheese plate and dessert.
Main thing: They flew in 200 live Maine Lobsters yesterday.
They are highlighting 3 American cheeses (refer to the menu in pool report #1)

Quotes from Comerford:

"We came up with a menu that would highlight and express the state of America at the moment. We are featuring beautiful things from the land and the sea."

First course: "bright poached Maine lobster that is dolloped with American Osetra Caviar from California white fish sturgeon."

It's garnished "with some celery crisp that's actually one of our first lady's favorite. I made sure that I put some extra in there."

Meant to "honor... our lobstermen from Maine who really have to like work pretty hard because they had to ship 200 live lobsters to us yesterday morning to get it to this point."
Main dish: Coulotte of beef.

She called it "butter of steak, because basically it is the butter that is on the top of a ribeye. And it's really nice and it has a lot of marbling. It came from different farms in Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and also Virginia."

It's meant to "highlight all of the different ranchers and people who work and toil very hard to get all of [sic] this wonderful meats on our dishes."

Comes with shallot marmalade, micro carrots and Brussels sprouts from "a hot house in Ohio, and they specialize in wonderful vegetables that chefs would really love to use on their dishes."
Cheese Course:

Rogue River blue cheese that has won the Gold Medal Award in the World Cheese Competition in 2019 and 2020. Wrapped in grape leaf packaging, served with macerated grapes and grenadine walnuts, plus "honey from the White House, of course."

Other cheese from Deer Creek, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, "because I want to highlight some of the cheeses from the other parts of the country."

Cheese #3: "Humboldt Fog. It's a goat cheese that's made from a raw goat cheese that is harvested in Humboldt County, California. So, again, we want to honor everything that is beautifully American at this point."

Dessert: QUOTES BY SUSIE MORRISON

Orange chiffon cake with roasted pears, citrus sauce, and crème fraiche ice cream.

Made with "very tender meringue cake with citrus flavoring."

Trio of oranges, plus mandarin curd inside as well as at the base of the cake. Cake is made with tangerine mousse.

Complemented with an assortment of blood oranges and some tangerine orange slices

Roasted pears at the base are roasted with raspberry sauce. cinnamon stick and vanilla bean

On top are spirals made of sugar in red, white, and blue. The side of the cake has the flags of the U.S. and France painted on white chocolate.

Cake covered in a chocolate glaze, "which adds very, very delicate creaminess to the cake." And then white chocolate shavings at the bottom.

----

THEN FLOTUS comms director Elizabeth Alexander opened the stanchions so press could get a closer look. She, Carlos Elizondo and both chefs stayed around for questions and photos.

Alexander: "The Chef's obviously have to get busy so they're only going to be here for a few minutes. But come on up!"

Jill Biden waved and exited, "Thanks for coming!"

FLOTUS pool #7 - State Dinner preview, color part 4 (the end!)

Here's what your pooler got from talking to the WH team after the remarks.

***They're releasing the guest list tomorrow night ***

There are 300-400 guests

The first lady picked the wine. "We had a tasting," said Elizondo

They've been talking about the State visit and dinner since summer and planning "in earnest" for eight weeks, said comms director Elizabeth Alexander.

Final little details!

• The red, white and blue spirals on the dessert are made of sugar and they made 1200 of them, according to Susie Morrison, 400 in each color.
• Cris Comerford said she found out about Rogue River Blue from the French:
  "Actually, on my trip to France a couple years ago, my chef counterparts asked me, 'Have you ever tried Rogue River? It's the World Champion of Cheese.' And I said I never did."
• They've been working on the menu for 6 months
• Comerford: "We really want to be featuring everything that is American and everything that is delicious."
• Your pooler asked how they managed to get 200 live lobsters here. Comerford replied, laughing, " Because we can! [laughs].We contacted our fishmonger to make sure we [sic] get it in the proper time. We're happy in that they were live lobsters."
• The china being used is white with gold designs and it's all rented. Said Carlos Elizondo: "The Presidential White House China is part of the White House collection, and the curators are against us taking it outside of the house just because of breakage."
• This is the first State Dinner in the holiday season. The social office planned Naomi Biden's wedding, the holiday decorations, the Christmas Tree lighting tonight.
  Elizondo: "Yeah, it hasn't happened [before]. So, we are you know, we are doing the best that we can. And we are as I said to you the other day, 'We're not tired. We're just full of caffeine.' Right? We're just try to keep going. But you know, it takes an incredible team and I have an incredible team and offices along the 18 acres have been really, really helpful."
• Elizondo said "it's amazing" having their first state dinner in 2 years of being in office.
  "We miss having people in the People's House, right? And the President and first lady entertaining and reaching out to the American people."
• He said using Jung Lee and her firm Fête for event planning was "just coincidental. We didn't use Fete because it's French." It's her first time doing an event at the WH.
• Emily Goodin of the Daily Mail asked Elizondo what the strategy of putting the guest list together was. Here's what he said: "There's a strategy that, you know, many offices have been involved in and, you know, we're trying to sort of bring in all the many supporters and friends of the president and first lady for this, their first State Dinner."
• Comerford said the next 24 hours are, "Busy. We'll be smiling like this. We'll be so relieved. It's really an amazing opportunity for us to be able to use our talents and abilities. We have a lot of chefs that are helping us."
• Comerford will have 30 chefs on the savory side for 3 courses, Morrison will have at least 12. They come from the Navy mess and "friends of ours from the West Wing."
• Morrison said there is something the pastry team is making in addition to the dessert but wouldn't say what.
  "There's some other things but they won't be in the tent."
• They've been thinking about the menu for six months. They made proposals. They considered what is seasonal and also "the preferences of the guests because we want to honor things they like," said Comerford. Squash in the ravioli is from the garden.

  "Everything is very well thought of and very thoughtfully made, and it so happens that the White House garden had the squashes ready. So what you see in the ravioli all came from the garden as well. So that's really nice."

• The pavilion will be different from the glass tent they used for the Elton John concert. It is fully enclosed, all glass and vinyl. It has a floor. Guests will be taken from the house to the pavilion in trollies.

  Elizondo: "The reception gathering will be in the house and then we'll have our guests led to trollies, the heated trollies and they will go down to the pavilion. We're not gonna have people walk down in their stilettos."

• Jon Batiste is rehearsing tonight. They've been in discussion with him since the fall.

  Elizondo: "He's the after dinner entertainment, and then the Macrons will exit and the dinner will conclude with the after-dinner entertainment."