UK State Dinner: What's On The Menu?

Guests at tonight's State Dinner honoring David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and his wife Samantha, will enjoy a meal that represents the best of American hospitality and includes playful references to classic British traditions. First Lady Michelle Obama and White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford have put together a menu that features produce harvested yesterday from the White House's Kitchen Garden, including baby lettuces, spring onions and  fresh herbs. The dinner will be served in a tent on the White House's South Lawn.

The first course, Crisped Halibut with Potato Crust, will be served on a bed of braised baby kale fresh from the White House garden. The salad features spring garden lettuces with shallot dressing and includes a variety of greens, which are also from the Kitchen Garden.

Comerford says the main course, Bison Wellington, is a "great marriage of the two countries"  and features a uniquely American protein prepared in a quintessentially British style. For dessert, White House pastry chef William Yosses and his team have prepared a lemon sponge pudding in the British style, which they are serving with Newtown Pippin Apples, a variety that was grown by some of our founding fathers, and was even sent as a gift to Queen Victoria in 1838. You can go behind the scenes with the White House's kitchen team (and a group of chefs from our military branches who were on hand to help with the preparations) in this video:

See more coverage of Prime Minister David Cameron's visit:

Watch the Arrival Ceremony
President Obama introduces the Prime Minister to "Bracketology"
The President and the Prime Minister hold a joint press conference