Dry-aged rib eye steak, cherry blossoms and the music of Paul Simon will be provided for the more than 200 guests expected to attend a White House state dinner being thrown for Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, his wife, Yuko.
A lavish state dinner is a tool of US diplomacy, and a high honour that is used sparingly and only to America’s closest allies. In the case of Japan, President Joe Biden has chosen to celebrate an ally that he sees as a cornerstone of his policy toward the Indo-Pacific region.
First lady Jill Biden on Tuesday described a “flourishing” relationship between the US and its Pacific partner as she hosted a media preview of Wednesday’s dinner, including the menu, decor and entertainment.
The guests will dine on a first course of house-cured salmon and an entree of dry-aged rib eye steak with pepper butter, fava beans, mushrooms and onions. Dessert is salted caramel pistachio cake with a matcha ganache and cherry ice-cream.
Some of Jill Biden’s favourite flowers, including roses and peonies, are being used alongside imported cherry blossoms to decorate a mix of round and rectangular tables in shades of pink, with a few of the floral centrepieces topping out at 6ft (1.8 metres) tall.
Tables will be set with a mix of place settings representing the administrations of Presidents Lyndon B Johnson and George W Bush. Glass and silk butterflies will dance over the tables and the hallway on the State Floor will be outfitted to give guests the feel of walking atop a koi pond.
Photograph: Drew Angerer/AFP/Getty Images
After dinner, Simon will perform a selection of his iconic songs. Jill Biden, who is a fan herself, chose the singer-songwriter as a special tribute for Kishida because the prime minister is also an admirer of Simon’s work, the White House said.
Biden highlighted another iconic American musician by giving Kishida a custom-framed lithograph and a two-volume LP set signed by piano man Billy Joel, the White House said. Biden also gave him a “vintage vinyl record collection of great American music artists,” it said.
Also lined up to entertain guests after dinner are The President’s Own Marine Band Chamber Orchestra, the Army Rolling Strings and the Air Force Strings.
Outlining the event, Jill Biden said: “As technology dissolves the distances between us and we face challenges that cross borders and oceans, our nations are partners in building a world where we choose creation over destruction, peace over bloodshed and democracy over autocracy.”
Kishida will be the fifth world leader Biden has honoured with a state dinner after counterparts from France, South Korea, India and Australia.
On Thursday, the Kishidas will travel to North Carolina, and on Friday will dine on “whole hog” barbecue with Governor Roy Cooper, listen to bluegrass music and visit a Toyota plant, the governor’s office said.
With Associated Press and Reuters
