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Dinner Diplomacy |
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According to the John F. Kennedy Library, when planning a menu, Jackie kept an eye on cost and tried to select foods that were in plentiful supply and in season. She also kept the number of courses to four although the previous White House dinners ran to five and six, and during the Grant administration ran as high as twenty-nine. Jackie’s streamlined menus consisted of either a fish or soup course first, then the main dish, salad and dessert. She followed the same menu pattern for her family meals, except that then, she usually eliminated dessert and ended with salad and cheese. Early on, she had the menus printed in French, but fearing negative feedback, the President encouraged them to be printed in English, unless a "French" word was necessary. René Verdon was the French chef hired by Jackie to work at the White House. He received the title Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur for his contribution to French cuisine. During the Kennedy administration he became an American citizen. Pinkpillbox has launched an extensive effort to catalogue as many of Jackie's White House menus as possible. This is the most comprehensive review of Jackie and Rene's collaboration that exists on the Internet. Most sources only give a few menus from high profile events such as the Nobel Prize dinner. Pinkpillbox will be heading to the JFK Library to pour through Sanford Fox's notes to fill in missing menus. Over time, each menu will have its own web page with detailed pictures, notes, etc. This is a work in progress. The photos from the JFK Library by Robert Knudsen and notes from Evelyn Lincoln, Pam, Tish and Letitia will be used. This has been fun. Please feel free to contribute your notes and ideas. There may be a few typos, so pardon my French LOL. Sources used for research purposes are the JFK Library, In the Kennedy Style by Rene Verdon and Letita Baldrige, White House Parties by Anne Lincoln, White House Chef Cookbook by Rene Verdon, Entertaining in the White House by Marie Smith and White House Chef by Francois Rysavy.
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Working Inventory of Kennedy Menus
September 12, 1953 Wedding Luncheon at Hammersmith Farm
January 20, 1961 Inauguration Day Luncheon at U.S. Capitol
February 14, 1961 Denmark Luncheon (Menu Needed) February 21, 1961 Unknown Dinner (More Information and Photos Needed)
February 24, 1961 Australia Luncheon (Menu Needed) March 15, 1961 Dinner for Prince and Princess Radziwill (private)
March 26, 1961 Family Dinner (First meal prepared for Kennedy’s by Chef René Verdon)
April 5, 1961 Luncheon for Harold MacMillan, Prime Minister of Great Britain (Photos Needed)
April 11, 1961 Luncheon for Ladies of the Press
April 13, 1961 Luncheon for Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany (Menu Needed) April 17, 1961 Luncheon for the Prime Minister of Greece and Mrs. Caramanlis
April 20, 1961 Reception for Wives of Newspaper Publishers (Menu Needed) May 3, 1961 Dinner for the President of Tunisia and Mrs. Bourguiba
Entertainment: Fireworks on the South Lawn May 23, 1961 Luncheon for Congresswomen and the Wives of the Members of the Cabinet and the Congress
May 24, 1961 Luncheon for Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco
June 8, 1961 Luncheon for H.E. Fulbert Youlou, President of the Republic of the Congo
June 12, 1961 Luncheon for Amitore Fanfani, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic
July 11, 1961 Dinner for Mohammed Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan at Mt. Vernon
July 25, 1961 Luncheon for Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Prime Minister of Nigeria Alhaja
July 31, 1961 Luncheon for the Vice President of the Republic of China and Mrs. Chen
September 13, 1961 Luncheon for H.E. Sukarno, President of the Republic of Indonesia
September 15, 1961 Luncheon in honor of the Foreign Ministers of France, Great Britain and West Germany.
September 19, 1961 Dinner for the President of the Republic of Peru and Senora De Prado
September 20, 1961 Tea for Wives of Diplomatic Corps (Menu Needed) October 4, 1961 Dinner for H.E. Ferik Ibrahim Abboud, President of the Sudanese Republic
October 16, 1961 Luncheon for President Urho Kekkonen, President of Finland
October 24, 1961 Luncheon for United Nations Day (Photos Needed)
November 1, 1961 Dinner for President and Mrs. Truman
November 7, 1961 Dinner for Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru
November 11, 1961 Dinner for Princess Lee Radziwill (Menu and Photos Needed) November 13, 1961 Dinner for Luis Munoz Marin, Governor of Puerto Rico
Entertainment: Cellist Pablo Casals, Violinist Alexander Schneider and Pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski. November 21, 1961 Luncheon for Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany
February 5, 1962 Luncheon for the President of the Congo
February 20, 1962 Dinner for the Vice President and Chief Justice
March 13, 1962 Luncheon for the President of Cameroon (Menu Needed) March 20, 1962 Luncheon for the President of Togo (Menu Needed) April 3, 1962 Luncheon for the President of Brazil (Menu Needed) April 11, 1962 Dinner for the Shah of Iran
Entertainment: Jerome Robbins Ballet April 26, 1962 Dinner for the Nobel Prize Laureates
“This is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” --President John F. Kennedy. Entertainment: Readings by Fredric March May 3, 1962 Luncheon for the President of Austria (Menu Needed) May 9, 1962 Luncheon for the President of Norway (Menu Needed) May 11, 1962 Dinner for Andre Malraux, Minister of State for Cultural Affairs for the Republic of France
Entertainment: An evening of music, including Schubert's "Trio in B Flat Major, Opus 99" in four parts played by Eugene Istomin, pianist; Isaac Stern, violinist, and Leonard Rose, cellist. May 22, 1962 Dinner for the President and Mrs. Houphouët-Boigny of the Ivory Coast
May 23, 1962 Luncheon for Congressional Wives
June 5, 1962 Luncheon for President of Cyprus (Menu Needed) June 25, 1962 Luncheon for President of Colombia (Menu Needed) October 2, 1962 Reception for Latin Representatives (Menu Needed) October 15, 1962 Luncheon for President of Algeria (Menu Needed) October 16, 1962 Luncheon for President of Libya (Menu Needed) November 14, 1962 Luncheon for Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany
November 27, 1962 Luncheon for President of Somali (Menu Needed) November 30, 1962 Luncheon for President of Honduras (Menu Needed) December 11, 1962 Luncheon for President of Chile
January 16, 1963 Luncheon for Amintore Fanfani, Prime Minister of Italy
January 21, 1963 Dinner for Executive and Judicial Branches (Menu Needed) February 19, 1963 Luncheon for President of Venezuela (Menu Needed) February 26, 1963 Luncheon for Prince of Belgium (Menu Needed) March 8, 1963 Dinner for Eugene Black
March 12, 1963 Luncheon hosted by President Kennedy for AFL-CIO (Menu Needed) Luncheon hosted by Mrs. Kennedy for the American National Theatre and Academy
March 19, 1963 Luncheon at Ambassador's Residence, San Jose
March 27, 1963 State Visit for Morocco Visit (Menu Needed) April 30, 1963 Dinner for the Grand Duchess and Prince of Luxembourg
May 13, 1963 Dinner for Harvard Governing Board
June 3, 1963 Dinner for Dr. Sarvepal Radhankdin, President of India
June 24, 1963 Dinner for Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of the Federal Republic of Germany at the American Embassy Club in Bad Godesberg, Germany.
July 8, 1963 Luncheon for President of Australia (Menu Needed) July 16, 1963 Luncheon for President of Tanzania (Menu Needed) September 5, 1963 Dinner for King Mohammed Zahir Shah and the Queen of Afghanistan (Hosted by Eunice Kennedy Shriver)
Entertainment: 20 minutes of fireworks – in 15 minutes October 1, 1963 Dinner for Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia (Hosted by Mrs. Rose Kennedy)
Entertainment: Robert Joffrey Ballet October 16, 1963 Dinner for Sean Lemass, President of Erie (Hosted by Jean Kennedy Smith) (Menu Needed) Entertainment: U.S. Air Force Band (selections by President Kennedy featuring bag pipes) October 17, 1963 Luncheon for Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (Menu Needed) October 22, 1963 Luncheon for President of Bolivia (Menu Needed) November 20, 1963 (Last Formal Event Hosted by Kennedys) Reception for Judicial Branch (Menu Needed) November 21, 1963 Dinner in Houston, Texas (Sam Houston Coliseum)
November 22, 1963 Breakfast in Fort Worth, Texas (Hotel Texas)
November 25, 1963 Planned Dinner for the Chancellor of Germany (The day of President Kennedy’s burial)
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