Liam Conner
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host Kenyan President William Ruto and his wife, First Lady Rachel Ruto, for an elaborate state dinner on Thursday night.
It is the first state visit that a US president has paid to a president of an African nation since 2008, although Biden has not yet fulfilled his promise to visit Africa as president. Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he plans to leave in February, “after he is re-elected.”
The two leaders will hold a joint press conference on Thursday, after the meetings and before the state dinner.
“The world is safer when Kenya and the United States work together,” Biden said upon Ruto’s arrival.
“I am as optimistic and hopeful today as I was years ago when patriotic Kenyans raised that new flag high in that midnight sky,” Biden said. “Because Kenya and the United States are united, committed to each other, committed to our people and committed to building a better world.”
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The evening’s musical guest will be country music star Brad Paisley.
The food
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Thursday’s menu and decor are designed around a seasonal theme, according to the White House’s executive chef.
The first course consists of chilled green tomato soup, with marinated onion and cucumber marinated in white balsamic vinegar.
“We welcome the beginning of summer,” White House executive chef Cris Comerford told reporters on Wednesday.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The starter is lobster poached in butter, along with marinated and lightly smoked ribs.
These dishes will be served with kale, roasted corn, mashed corn, roasted turnips, sweet potatoes and pumpkin.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
And for dessert, Casa Branca serves a homemade white chocolate basket, with nectarine paste inside. It will also have banana ganache, fresh raspberries and peaches. Surrounding the basket are fresh strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. The US and Kenyan flags are printed on the lid of the basket, in front of the dessert plate.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The scene
White House social secretary Carlos Elizondo said a cocktail party on the terrace will take place before dinner. As the sun sets, visitors will enter the transparent pavilion, where more than 1,000 candles on the walls will frame the Washington Monument. The first lady loves candlelight and the gesture is intended to make visitors from abroad feel at home.
The gifts
The Bidens are also gifting the Kenyan couple a set of rocking chairs made in North Carolina with personalized inscriptions. They are also giving the Rutos a first edition of “The Trumpet of Conscience” by Martin Luther King Jr. Biden will give his Kenyan counterpart a personalized pearl and peridot gemstone necklace made in Philadelphia.
