When Barack Obama’s love for cheese could have triggered a diplomatic incident with Russia… This is what is revealed, among other things, by an exhibition of French presidential and royal menus, auctioned on Friday in Paris.
From Napoleon III to Elizabeth II through Vladimir Putin, the Millon auction house offers this collection of 4,000 menus by Lyon chef Christophe Marguin, a “world first”, according to it, which reveals some tasty anecdotes.
Among these menus, presented to the public since Wednesday in Paris before the sale, is that of a dinner on June 5, 2014 that could have led to a diplomatic incident. During the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, President François Hollande receives his American counterpart Barack Obama in a Michelin-starred restaurant run by chef Guy Savoy.
Seven kilometers of tablecloth
After a blue lobster salad and grilled flaky sea bass, Barack Obama “delayed the dinner program by ordering a cheese plate before dessert,” which could have been problematic because François Hollande had to return to the Elysée to a second meal. with Russian President Vladimir Putin, says Alexandre Millon, auctioneer.
Even more spectacular: a meal served to 23,000 mayors in the Tuileries gardens, near the Louvre, on the occasion of the Universal Exposition of 1900, which required 7 kilometers of tablecloth, 125,000 plates, 600 cooks and shop assistants, 2,200 waiters, 2 tons of salmon, 1,200 liters of mayonnaise and 39,000 bottles of wine.
The collection, which covers 150 years of diplomatic and gastronomic history, begins with a dinner hosted by Napoleon III in 1868 with an abundance of excellent wines. This was followed by countless state dinners in which the Emperor of Japan, Hirohito, but also Nelson Mandela and Saddam Hussein participated.
These menus, estimated between 10 and 1,500 euros each, are printed on silk or precious papers, illuminated and decorated by famous artists, such as the one made for American President Jimmy Carter with a lithograph by Marc Chagall.
Subliminal messages
“Over the years, we witnessed the evolution of international relations with visits in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that were much rarer, so they were increasingly marked by exceptional events with parades of various meals in the Elysée, sometimes a meal at Versailles and often military maneuvers and evenings at the opera or theater,” reports Millon.
Some menus also contain subliminal messages.
When France attempted to strengthen ties with Russia and Britain in 1897, the dinner given in honor of Tsar Nicholas II included “Muscovite-style Volga sturgeon” as well as “pineapple for victory,” a dessert named after the Queen of England. At the time.
Normally, it is the French president who has the final say on the choice of the menu, much discussed beforehand so as not to make a diplomatic mistake, according to Millon.
On the occasion of one of Queen Elizabeth II’s numerous visits, France, for example, offered a menu “with or without foie gras” for fear of offending her son Charles, a defender of animal welfare.
“But it was the queen, who loved foie gras, who had the last word,” reveals the auctioneer.
Source: BFM TV
