First Lady Pool Reports of October 24, 2023

FLOTUS pool report #1 - State dinner preview program Starts/Menu

Hi all!

I'm your pool reporter for FLOTUS' state dinner preview/your resident Australian member of the press corps.

As a reminder, her preview is being livestreamed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZDnyotBEzQ

Tweet of set-up:
https://x.com/naomitlim/status/1716918322674163763?s=46&t=xa_99d1-8Plx6M_fT1ORUg

REPORTABLE BACKGROUND FROM THE OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY

On Tuesday, October 24th at 5:00 PM ET, First Lady Jill Biden will host a media preview in advance of Wednesday evening's State Dinner for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ms. Jodie Haydon as part of the Official Visit with Australia.

The media preview will include brief remarks from First Lady Jill Biden, White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo, and guest Chef Katie Button, followed by presentations of the menu from Chef Button, White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford, and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison. The First Lady will be joined by Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby and Bryan Rafanelli, founder and chief creative officer of Rafanelli Events, who assisted with the design and guest experience for the dinner. This is the fourth State Dinner of the Biden-Harris Administration.

State Dinner Menu
First Lady Jill Biden worked with guest Chef Katie Button, White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford, and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison to develop the menu for the State Dinner.

Chef Katie Button
Five-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee Katie Button is the co-founder of Asheville, North Carolina's Cúrate, a collection of restaurants, online marketplace, wine club, and culinary journeys designed to connect people with the Spanish experience and lifestyle. Button earned a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering in France, but a passion for food and travel guided her away from a Ph.D. program in neuroscience to pursue a career in the food world. She honed her craft in the kitchens of some of the world's best chefs, most notably Ferran Adrià and José Andrés, before venturing out to open Cúrate Bar de Tapas with husband Félix Meana and her family. Button is a member of the U.S. Department of State's American Culinary Corps, a network of more than 80 of the United States' influential chefs and culinary professionals who participate in programs and events around the world to foster cross-cultural exchange.

Among her many accolades, chef Katie Button was featured as one of Food & Wine's 2015 Best New Chefs. Cúrate was named as one of the "40 Most Important Restaurants of the Past 40 Years" by Food & Wine and one of the "Most Important Restaurants of the Decade" by Esquire. In 2016, Button released her first cookbook, Cúrate: Authentic Spanish Food from an American Kitchen. In 2022, Cúrate Bar de Tapas received the James Beard Foundation award for Outstanding Hospitality.

First Course
Farro & Roasted Beet Salad
Popped Sorghum, Herb Vinaigrette

Butternut Squash Soup
Smoked Paprika, Candied Pumpkin Seeds

Main Course
Sarsaparilla-braised Short Ribs
Sorghum-glazed Young Carrots
Brussels Sprouts, Celery Root Purée, Carrot Jus

Dessert
Hazelnut & Chocolate Mousse Cake
Crème Fraîche Ice Cream

Wine
Windracer Chardonnay "Alexander Mountain" 2019
Sequel Syrah Columbia Valley 2019
Argyle Extended Tirage Brut 2012

American and Australian Décor Elements

First Lady Jill Biden and Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo worked with Bryan Rafanelli and Rafanelli Events, an event design and production firm, to help create the design and guest experience for the dinner. The décor features design elements that honor the tradition and cultures of the United States and Australia, including:

• Painted Landscapes: The State Dinner design is inspired by the idea of our countries' shared painted landscapes, celebrating the awe-inspiring beauty and vibrancy of the United States and Australia's natural wonders and panoramas. From the blue and purple mountain majesties of the United States to the brilliant pink lakes and aquamarine shorelines of Australia, the space features vibrant colors to represent our two countries' robust friendship, built on a foundation of common interests, values, and cultural affinities.
• Butterflies and Florals: The backdrop to the stage and dinner space is a canvas of American Monarch Butterflies and Australian Cairns Birdwing Butterflies, as well as florals that represent both countries, including Roses and Delphinium for the United States and Eucalyptus for Australia.
• Springtime in Australia: The soft, yet energetic palette is a nod to Australia's spring season that is currently in bloom, while we celebrate autumn here in Washington, D.C.
• Fruit and Natural Elements: Romantic florals and lush ripe fruit that dress the dinner tables are reminiscent of still life paintings honoring the very elements that grow from our rich soils. The table décor features apples, pears, grapes, and berries, which grow abundantly in both countries. The flatware features stone handles that represent natural minerals and elements in both countries.

FLOTUS pool report #2 - Entertainment update amid Israel war

FLOTUS announced there had been an update to the entertainment program given recent world events. The B-52s will now attend as guests, and POTUS' Marine Band and the Army and Air Force Strolling Strings will play instrumental music instead.

"Nurturing our partnerships and relationships with our allies is critically important, especially in these tumultuous times. Food is comforting, reassuring and healing, and we hope that this dinner provides a little of that as well," FLOTUS said.

"We are now in a time when so many are facing sorrow and pain, so we made a few adjustments to the entertainment portion of the evening," she added.

FLOTUS pool report #3 - Prepared remarks of WH Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo

From the WH:

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo

Thank you, Dr. Biden. And thank you all for joining us.

As you all know, this is our fourth State Dinner. And with each one, the First Lady has brought her warmth and her heart to making the guests feel at ease, even when home is far away.

She has chosen decor that will delight and surprise, but will still give guests – whether they are from Australia or the United States – something that reminds them of the familiar landscapes of their homes.

The moment guests walk into the pavilion, they will be immersed in color.

The ceiling will be draped in an ombre of cool colors, starting with sea foam green and ending in a deep blue. The cloth will cascade into earthen greens, blues, and soft pinks framing the stage – replicating how sunlight hits the cliffs and rocks of a coast in those final moments of each day.

Hanging alongside the draped fabric will be golden chandeliers, dotted with pink roses – the national flower of the United States.

And, at every table, roses bloom alongside Australian eucalyptus, and dahlias and delphiniums, which grow across both our country sides. Interspersed among them, pears, pomegranates, apples, and red and green grapes – common to both American and Australian tablescapes – reminding us all of the bounty of fall, and how much we share.

Dr. Biden always sets a table with candlelight and flowers, often fresh cut from her garden. Tomorrow night’s arrangements will bring that same natural ease of being in someone’s home, with tables featuring blooms in vases large and small, making guests feel as if they are sitting in a field of flowers.

And the aroma of the roses and eucalyptus will fill the air, pulling guests out of the concrete city and into their memories of time spent in the fresh air of our shared landscapes.

Warmly colored table linens will reflect the painted pastel palette, falling into an ocean blue carpet. At each place setting, a glass charger will echo the sunset around it. Its swirling colors going from teal to rust to peach to white.

And covering the head table, you will find a sequined floral design, mirroring the flowers sitting on top of it.

And beside them, gold-brushed flatware with stone handles, a nod to the rocky coastal feeling of the drapery.

The President and Prime Minister will offer their toasts in front of a backdrop of vibrant blue. And running across it, bouquets mirroring the blossoms on the tables, their leaves growing together, intertwining our nations’ natural worlds.

Dancing between the greens, pinks, reds, and purples, the bright orange of American Monarch Butterflies, and the electric blues and yellows of Australian Cairns Birdwing Butterflies.

And bursting from the backdrop, dozens of three-dimensional paper flowers bring the garden to life.

This rich design will also be reflected in the program at each place setting.

I would like to thank Bryan Rafanelli, and his entire team, who have been incredible to work with and have brought so much thought and passion to this design. Thank you, Bryan, for bringing your talent and innovation to this project, and for being such a great partner.

Finally, I also want to thank the many teams – especially my team, Team Social, and the Office of the Chief of Protocol – who have worked tirelessly for months to make this Official Visit memorable.

Dr. Biden has chosen a menu that will also showcase American ingredients and innovation – thanks to our team of all female chefs!

So now, it’s my pleasure to introduce our incredible guest chef, Chef Katie Button.

Thank you.

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Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Guest Chef Katie Button

It gives me great pleasure to preview tomorrow’s anticipated State Dinner menu in Honor of Australia. The invitation to work with First Lady Jill Biden on this menu has been an incredible honor and a true privilege. We wanted to welcome the guests from Australia with the warmth and bounty of fall in the US.

I’m from Asheville, North Carolina tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountain region of southern Appalachia, a region rich in farming and food culture. My background is in science. I’m a master’s in biomedical engineering, turned chef. Now, I study how care and passion of producers lends to high quality and better ingredients, and seasonality is an essential part of taste.

Reflecting the bounty of the fall season, we start with a butternut squash soup and roasted beet salad with farro cooked in apple cider and sorghum. Sorghum is a truly Appalachian ingredient, pressed and reduced to syrup as a less expensive sweetener than sugar cane during the depression. The next course is sarsaparilla braised short ribs with a licorice, herbaceous, floral quality that pairs well with tender fall off the bone short ribs. For dessert, hazelnut and chocolate mousse cake, a perfectly delicious end to the meal and a festive entry to the upcoming holiday season.

My deepest appreciation to Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo, Executive Chef Cris Comerford and Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison for their collaboration and expertise. I look forward to showing my children a photo of the three female chefs responsible for tomorrow’s meal.