“Bittersweet” was the word of the night, the one often used to describe US President Barack Obama’s final state dinner.
“We saved the best for last,” he said on Tuesday as he welcomed Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife, Agnese Landini, to the White House.
The final gala meant everything was big or bigger, from the personality of the guest chef Mario Batali, who collaborated on the menu, to the size of the white tent on the South Lawn where the soiree was held, to the guest list of about 400 people.
“I’m excited that it’s the last state dinner, so it’s a bittersweet thing,” actress-comedian Alexandra Wentworth said. “I love the Obamas.”
“We’re Jews, but we identify as Italian,” actor Jerry Seinfeld said.
By way of explaining why the Obamas might have invited the Seinfeld and his wife, Jessica, he said the couple spends a lot of time traveling in Italy “and we almost exclusively go out for Italian food, but that’s as far as I can figure.”
Obama has had one dinner bigger than Tuesday’s, a 2014 event for African heads of state to which more than 400 people were invited.
Tuesday’s guest list included a touch of everything: celebrities, lawmakers, senior administration officials, White House staff, a larger-than-usual contingent of journalists and others, and it had the feeling of having been designed as one big final “thank you” to all.
The wife of the US president, Michelle Obama, was overheard thanking her guests “for eight magnificent years.”
In his pre-dinner toast, Obama said that US democracy had been graced by a touch of Italy.
He said that the Lincoln Memorial and the interior of the US Capitol dome were done by Italians and raised a glass to the “enduring alliance” between the US and Italy.
Renzi alluded during his toast to a speech the first lady gave last week in New Hampshire in which she criticized US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for boasting on a 2005 video about being sexually aggressive toward women.
“Michelle, your tomatoes are great, but after the last weeks, let me be very frank, your speeches are better than your tomatoes,” Renzi said.
Batali and pastry chef Susie Morrison settled on a menu of sweet potato ravioli with browned butter and sage, warm butternut squash salad and an entree of beef pinwheels, an Italian classic, served with broccoli rabe. Dessert was a green apple crostata, or Italian tart, served with buttermilk gelato, or Italian ice cream.
The menu was designed to showcase traditional Italian dishes that are familiar to Americans and were made using ingredients from Michelle Obama’s garden during this month’s final harvest, such as sweet potatoes and herbs.
Barack Obama has held 13 state dinners during nearly eight years in office, two more than former US president George W. Bush, but fewer than other recent predecessors, according to the White House Historical Association.
Former US president Bill Clinton far exceeded both of his successors with 28 dinners during two terms in office.
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