Obama's Dinner With German Chancellor Angela Merkel

A state dinner hosted by President Obama for German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday, using his first lady’s favorite real estate the Rose Garden for the soiree. There were also 206 guests. Notable guests included architect Helmut Jahn and conductor Christoph Eschenbach, plus diplomats and members of the Cabinet, Congress and Bundestag.

Obama presented Merkel a Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor for a president. He told Merkel he chose the Rose Garden because of the 2008 rally, during his presidential run, in Berlin’s Tiergarten.

The dinner menu, centered on petite filet with Maryland crab ravioli, featured a nod to Obama's heritage and Merkel's apple strudel and schlag, which is unsweetened whip cream, for dessert."A spring harvest dinner," it was dubbed, a tribute to the White House herbs, vegetables and honey interspersed in the cuisine.

Look in vain for the likes of Project Runway star, German-born Heidi Klum. The only well-known name from the entertainment world, besides singer James Taylor who will perform for the guests, is Bryan Lourd, the big-time Hollywood agent famous for once being married to Carrie Fisher. About 30 musicians with the larger National Symphony Orchestra were to perform, but, alas, Merkel’s favorite composer, Wagner, wasn’t on tap. Instead: Beethoven, Handel and Mendelssohn.

From the media world, Diane Sawyer, is on the list, but without husband, director Mike Nichols.
First lady Michelle Obama selected again Indian-American designer Naeem Khan to design her dress, a glimmering, cream-colored, sleeveless gown.

The dinner was a critical test for the Obamas' new social secretary Jeremy Bernard, the third person to hold the post in less than two-and-a-half years.

Dinner guests sat at round or rectangular tables adorned with gold-rimmed china from the George W. Bush administration, yellow Calla lilies, green viburnum and yellow oncidium orchids.

Merkel is a closest partners of Obama, since 2005, on the world stage. Her trip this week, technically, an official visit, not a state visit, represented her 10th meeting with him, White House officials said.

'That was an enjoyable party and a symbol of better relation' White House officials said.