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England State Dinner Dessert - 1991: Pistachio Marquise with Fresh Raspberries

England State Dinner Dessert - 1991: Pistachio Marquise with Fresh Raspberries

"Few dignitaries generate the level of excitement as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. When the dinner was planned, Laurie Firestone, Mrs. Bush's social secretary, gave us the order to "Go all out." . . . I decided to fashion something out of a fairy tale, a chocolate carriage sitting on a marzipan "cobblestone" street. The carriage would be filled with pistachio marquise, a dense mousse, layered with crunchy meringue and nougat. I'd cover the marquise with raspberries so it would look like the carriage was filled with them.

The coach shows how it was designed to remain standing even if the diners snapped off and ate all four wheels. This is the kind of thing I always tried to anticipate, especially with President George H. W. Bush. I had noticed years earlier, when he was vice president under President Reagan, that he liked to taste every single element of the dessert." - Excerpt from "A Sweet World of White House Desserts" by Roland Mesnier.

Date of Work
1991
Medium
Photo
Credit
Collection of Roland Mesnier

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