Washington, Sep 24 (IANS) President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host Chinese President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan at a White House state dinner on Thursday evening (Friday morning India time), with a menu that pairs American ingredients with Chinese influences.
The dinner will be held in the East Room. The official delegations will join business leaders and government officials, according to details released by the Office of the First Lady. Melania Trump led preparations for the event.
The meal will open with a toast of Schramsberg “Blanc De Noir”, an American sparkling wine chosen to recall a toast shared by President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing in 1972.
Dinner begins with a yellow squash velouté served with a wild mushroom fricassée, crispy pancetta, and scallion oil. The release describes the soup as a smooth preparation of sweet yellow squash, with mushrooms sautéed in fresh herbs. The pancetta will add a savoury, smoky note, while the scallion oil will finish the dish.
The main course will be sesame-crusted sea bass with braised baby bok choy, roasted garden eggplant and a green herb sauce. The toasted sesame coating is intended to give the fish a nutty crust while keeping it tender. The vegetables will bring a mix of crisp and roasted textures to the plate.
For dessert, guests will be served vanilla crémeux and White House honey ice cream with walnut frangipane and sour cherry confit. The dessert is fruit-shaped, with the cherry confit at its centre. Its ice cream will be made with honey harvested at the White House.
The three courses bring together ingredients associated with American cooking and touches drawn from Chinese cuisine. Scallion oil finishes the opening dish; sesame and bok choy feature in the fish course. The White House described the menu as an effort to bring the culinary traditions of both countries together.
Classically trained tenor Christopher Macchio will headline the entertainment. He performed at Trump’s 2025 presidential inauguration. Military musicians from the US Marine Corps and the US Army will also perform during the formal dinner.
They will include “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and “The Commandant’s Own” United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps. The United States Army Chorus and the United States Army Strings are also on the programme.
Red will dominate the East Room. The First Lady’s office said the décor draws on the colour’s longstanding cultural significance in China. Urns will hold red blossoms, while tables will be covered in rich red linens and decorated with dahlias and ranunculus.
The tables will also feature vermeil from the White House collection and pieces from the Reagan State Service. The arrangement is intended to place Chinese cultural references alongside White House traditions, from the flowers and table settings to the formal dinner service.
The wine toast points back to Nixon’s 1972 visit to Beijing, when he and Zhou raised a toast that the White House release calls the “Toast to Peace”. The release says the same American sparkling wine served at that gathering is still enjoyed at White House functions.
Nixon’s visit was a major step in the opening of relations between Washington and Beijing. Thursday’s dinner uses that history as a reference point for welcoming Xi and Peng, even as the evening’s menu, music and setting mark the occasion as a White House state dinner.
–IANS
lkj/dan
