The full menu for the White House state dinner honoring King Charles and Queen Camilla has been revealed, as US President Donald Trump and Melania Trump welcomed the royal couple on Tuesday evening during their US state visit. The dinner celebrated the enduring relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, coinciding with the King's speech, in which he expressed gratitude to Mr Trump for a 'wonderful dinner' and acknowledged the two nations' 'moments of difficulty'.
Classic French Dishes on the Menu
The menu featured an array of classic French dishes, including a Dover sole meuniere and potatoes pave. The presentation of the banquet was carefully chosen to reflect 'the long and enduring friendship' between the two countries. A spring theme permeated the evening, with fresh seasonal flowers adorning the tables, which a White House spokesman described as 'inspired by the beauty of English gardens'.
First Course
The meal began with a garden vegetable veloute, a creamy French soup served hot or cold, accompanied by a simple hearts of palm salad and finished with crispy toasted shallots and micro mint.
Second Course
For the second course, guests enjoyed spring herb ravioli pasta filled with ricotta cheese and morel mushrooms in a light parmesan sauce. The dish incorporated herbs sourced from the White House kitchen garden.
Third Course
The third course was another French classic: Dover sole meuniere. The fish, lightly dusted in flour and pan-fried in nutty brown butter, was served with spring ramps (wild leeks or wood garlic), flat-pod snow peas, and potatoes pave—a French side dish of thinly sliced potatoes pressed into a cube with cream and butter, then fried. A parsley oil completed the dish.
Dessert and Wine Pairings
Dessert featured a beehive-shaped chocolate gateau with White House honey and vanilla bean cremeux custard, alongside a French almond sponge cake (almond jaconde) and creme fraiche ice cream topped with a brown butter crumble. The hand-painted menu bore gold lettering welcoming the King and Queen.
Wines were selected to complement each course, including the Hopkins Riesling Heritage 2024, Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2022, and Newton Chardonnay Unfiltered 2022. A White House spokesperson noted that the wine choices honored 'the shared heritage and enduring friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom'.
Evening Entertainment
Entertainment for the evening included performances by United States military musicians.
Full Menu Summary
- First course: Garden vegetable veloute, hearts of palm salad, toasted shallots, micro mint.
- Second course: Spring herb ravioli, ricotta cheese, morel mushrooms, light parmesan emulsion.
- Third course: Dover sole meuniere, spring ramps, snow peas, potatoes pave, parsley oil.
- Fourth course: White House honey and vanilla bean cremeux, flourless chocolate gateau, almond jaconde, creme fraiche ice cream.
