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Japan State Dinner Dessert - 1994: Cherry Sherbet with Almond Milk Ice Cream, California Cherries and Wild Strawberry Sauce

Japan State Dinner Dessert - 1994: Cherry Sherbet with Almond Milk Ice Cream, California Cherries and Wild Strawberry Sauce

"It had been sixteen years since the last State Dinner for the Emperor of Japan, Hirohito. So it was a very big deal when this one, to honor his son, the Emperor Akihito, was announced . . . For my part, I wanted to make a dessert like nothing I had ever made before. I thought about the friendship between Japan and the United States that is symbolized by the famous cherry trees in the Tidal Basin of Washington . . . I asked Mrs. Clinton for permission to make large platters instead of individual plated desserts . . . When Mrs. Clinton agreed, I got to work.

I blew some big red sugar balls, each one the size of a football. After I cut them in half using a special Dremel saw, I fixed the open balls, which resembled open cherries, onto white chocolate bases. Each cherry was decorated with some sugar cherry blossoms on a stem. White almond ice cream balls filled with red cherry sorbet were placed inside each opened cherry . . . The base of the big cherry was garnished with hand-pitted fresh cherries flown in from California specially for this occasion. Poached kumquat tartlets were served on the side with a wild strawberry sauce." - Excerpt from "A Sweet World of White House Desserts" by Roland Mesnier.

Date of Work
1994
Medium
Photo
Credit
Collection of Roland Mesnier

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