White House state dinners offer the most glamorous American hospitality. Served when a U.S. president hosts another leader during a state visit, the formal dinners also put diplomacy on the menu. “It isn’t just about food and entertainment, but about keeping America’s alliances together,” says Matthew Costello, senior historian at the White House Historical Association.
The dinners bring allies and even adversaries closer. They celebrate triumphs too, such as in 1979, when President Jimmy Carter hosted the leaders of Israel and Egypt after they signed a peace treaty.
The first state dinner was served in 1874, when President Ulysses S. Grant hosted the last king of Hawaii, David Kalākaua. There have been more than 300 since. Ronald Reagan takes the prize for hosting the most — 59 during his presidency. Not all state dinners hosted by the White House are served there. For instance, the Reagans hosted a state dinner (according to Reagan’s diary) at the M.H. de Young Museum in San Francisco, and the Kennedys once hosted at Mount Vernon, the Virginia home of George Washington.
Are you ready to experience a state dinner? Throughout, you will respond to questions that many a White House staffer or VIP invitee contemplates leading up to one of these historic events. Your decisions may unlock some surprises and put you front and center in the White House dining room.
