Pasta on menu at state dinner for Italian PM

WASHINGTON — A little more than 24 hours before President Barack Obama hosted his final White House state dinner Tuesday, for Italy’s prime minister, guest and celebrity chef Mario Batali appeared as cool as the sweet potato purée that would be stuffed inside of hundreds of pasta pockets and turned into a ravioli appetizer.

After all, Batali said he has prepared meals for crowds as large as 7,000 people. So serving dinner to 400 guests in a tent on the South Lawn, many more steps away from the kitchen where the meal would be served if dinner were inside the White House should be a piece of cake then, right?

“My only worry is, logistically, I really like hot plates and hot food,” Batali said Monday at the White House, where he and the four chefs who accompanied him from New York had already started on the prep work. In an attempt to soothe his concerns, he said the White House had “shown me an alarming number of hot boxes” to keep the meal, well, hot.

“They assured me that even though the kitchen is 200 yards from where we’re going to plate it, that they have it all covered. And I look at them and I understand their experience. I’m not that worried,” Batali said, before adding: “If there’s one thing that I’m not going to sleep well about tonight, it’s only going to be the hot plate.”

After the ravioli course, guests dined on a roasted butternut squash salad before slicing into pinwheels of beef, a classic Italian dish that the White House was making with American Wagyu beef.

Desert was a green apple crostata, or Italian tart, served with buttermilk gelato, or Italian ice cream.

Grammy Award-winning singer Gwen Stefani, co-founder and lead vocalist of No Doubt, was set to perform after dinner.

Batali, who sported his trademark ponytail and orange Crocs as White House officials previewed the menu and decor for the 13th and final Obama state dinner, said he collaborated on all four courses with White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and pastry chef Susie Morrison.

An expert on Italian cuisine, Batali said he wasn’t as worried about serving Obama and his wife, Michelle, as he was about serving Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife, Agnese Landini.

“You generally don’t worry that much about Americans when you’re cooking pasta. You’re worried about the Italians,” he said.