Formal Entertaining: Obama-Style

It's hard to avoid being seduced by the glamour of a White House state dinner. Who's invited? What's being served? How did they decorate?

All those questions were answered in glitzy fashion Tuesday evening, as the Obamas held the first state dinner of their administration to honor Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and his wife, Gursharan Kaur.

But I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the event was not a celebration limited to A-list invitees, it was a teachable moment, and the Obamas seized on it to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience for dozens of schoolchildren invited to take part in the day's festivities.

First Lady Michelle Obama met with a group of young women — some dressed casually in sneakers and short sleeves — in the State Dining Room and helped them learn about the history of state dinners, and sample some yummy pumpkin pie.

"These events probably seem like they're miles and miles away, like they're just untouchable," Mrs. Obama said to the girls, who likely nodded in agreement, according to The New York Times. But then she really encouraged them to think big about their future.

"Who knows, maybe one of you all sitting at this table, one of our little mentees, will be living and studying somewhere in India — maybe New Delhi or Mumbai or Bangalore. Just imagine that. Start thinking about your future in that way. This visit at this table is the beginning of that for all of you."

In addition to including local school kids in the big day, the dinner allowed the public at large to discover the Obama brand of formal entertainment. First of all, it was yet another way to showcase a theme dear to Michelle Obama's heart: healthy eating. The dinner featured arugula, honey and sage from the White House garden and a menu that catered to their vegetarian guest of honor. They also offered a nod to their African-American heritage, serving collard greens, okra and cornbread, as well as to the cuisine of their honorees, with several Indian dishes, a move typically forbidden in the past.

"You wouldn't try to outdo the Indians; that would not be typical," said Anita McBride, Laura Bush's former chief of staff, who nonetheless praised Mrs. Obama for thumbing her nose at tradition. "It's the perfect combination of American food with a nod to the visiting country."

The dinner was held outside in a tent decorated with locally-grown, sustainably-harvested magnolia branches and ivy and, in a bi-partisan gesture, they served the meal on a mix of dishes from the Clinton and Bush administrations.

By and large the dinner was deemed a success, and offered average Americans a glimpse at glamour Obama-style.

Photo courtesy of White House via Wikimedia Commons.