White House kitchen prepares meal fit for a Queen

By Deborah Lutterbeck

WASHINGTON (Reuters) The flags are in place outside the White House on a crisp summer day, just part of the welcome for the Queen. Inside all hands are on deck in the White House kitchen, where every pot must shine and cutting vegetables is treated like an art form.

Monday night's state dinner for the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, will seat 134 people in the State Dining Room. The attire is white tie.

Just what will be on the menu is still a tightly held secret, although the White House Chef Cristeta Comerford says it will be include five courses and reflect both nations.

"Actually what we try to do when we have a state dinner, we cook everything in an American fashion and we use American ingredients. But, at the same time we want to highlight some English part of it also so we found this farm house cheese maker that makes good English cheeses so we are incorporating that into our menu," she said.

The Philippine-born chef credits her upbringing with helping her prepare a state dinner fit for a queen.

"I am nervous, don't get me wrong. But it helps to have that solid foundation -- solid ground so I am evenhanded even if there are twenty things going on right now, my mind is still very much focused."

The kitchen itself is no larger than those found in many American homes. The pots hang from the ceilings, and the refrigerator is covered with the same kind of paperwork and photographs found in many homes.

For the White House florists it has been an arrangement marathon. They estimate there will be thousands of flowers on display, including babies breath and wild roses, thought to be among the queen's favourites.

The only one who seems unperturbed by the royal presence is Barney, the presidential dog, who enjoyed the afternoon on the South lawns of the White House. But perhaps that's because he has Corgis on his mind.