President Obama may not be a member of the tribe, but that's not stopping him from holding a Passover seder at the White House next Monday, April 18. This will be the president's third seder since taking office, a tradition started by staffers on the campaign trail in 2008.
Epicurious spoke to Eric Lesser, one of the founders of the White House seder and current Director of Strategic Planning for Austan Goolsbee, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. At the time, the campaign was in the throes of the Pennsylvania primary. "It was considered a really gloomy period in the campaign," said Lesser, who was unable to spend the holiday with his family.
The solution, devised by Lesser and fellow campaign staffers Arun Chaudhary and Herbie Ziskend, was to organize a makeshift seder for the first night of Passover. Lesser got his hands on what he calls "an emergency seder kit" containing a seder plate, a box of matzoh, macaroons, and the other necessary supplies, from the University of Pennsylvania's Hillel center and around 9:30 that night, he, Ziskend, and Chaudhary gathered in the windowless basement of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Sheraton. Just as they were about to begin, Senator Obama appeared and asked, "Is this the seder? Can I join?" Of course!
The menu is still under wraps, but Obama Foodorama today posted the menu from last year's celebration, which includes all the traditional staples:
2010 White House Seder Menu
Gefilte Fish
Charoses
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls
Braised Beef Brisket
Roast Chicken
Sweet Potato-Carrot Tzimmes
Carrot Souffle
Kugel
Spring Asparagus
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Golden Apricot Cake
Brown Sugar Macaroons |
