THE OBAMAS FIRST STATE DINNER

Photograph by Suresh K.

A few months ago the Obamas extended a very special engraved invitation via Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur. The Prime Minister and his wife are to be the guests of honor for the Obamas' first official State Dinner. It is now literally hours until the Prime Minister, his wife, and 400 guests descend upon the South Lawn of the White House. Preparations are in full swing.

Most of the details of Tuesday night's dinner center around the astute dictates of First Lady Michelle Obama. Her style sets the tone for everything - including florists, butlers, maids, and a guest chef for this significant event. Marcus Samuelsson, who is the chef of Aquavit in New York City, is orchestrating the banquet feast. Putting together a State dinner of this magnitude is no small task. White House executive chef Christeta Comerford will be there with chef Samuelsson creating a fabulous signature dinner for this extradorniary event. Most likely the dinner will encompass at least one culinary salute to the Prime Minister's homeland and creative (but uncomplicated) plates of the freshest seasonal food.

Interest surrounding the November 24 State Dinner is at its peak. I've had a chance to comment on the dinner with the Chicago Tribune, Politico, ABC, C-SPAN, and Hearst Television. You can catch the C-SPAN piece on Tuesday evening between 9:15 and 9:30 EST. The Hearst Television piece can be found here. The ABC online article entitled, Obamas First State Dinner--Bigger than the biggest wedding, can be found here.