If you watched the opening ceremony of this year’s Olympics, you know that France knows how to throw a party. One of the biggest events the country spent money on last year was a state dinner for Britain’s King Charles III, which ended up costing nearly €475,000 ($515,000 in U.S. dollars), according to the French Court of AuditThe event came on top of France’s national debt and budget deficit of €154 billion in 2023, and plunged the country into conflict with the European Union over financial recklessness.
So, what was on the menu to rack up such a bill? Delicacies and curiosities galore. Royal Correspondent at GB News Cameron Walker posted on X (formerly Twitter), a look at the menu on the day of the event. To start, the menu included freshly caught blue lobster and crab cake. The communications manager of a French fish company, Clémentine Fortineau, confirmed to The Daily Express that this unique crustacean is “one in a million to one in two.” According to Walker, the main course that followed was Bresse poultry and cep (wild mushroom) gratin and a cheese spread made with 30-month-old Comté cheese. If you’re not familiar with Bresse poultry, think of it as the champagne of chickens, as it’s only produced in a specific region and its characteristics are influenced by the terroir. The party concluded with Pierre Hermé’s Ispahan, a rose macaroon topped with lychee, raspberries and rose petal cream.
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A meal fit for a king
Besides the royal dinner, the expensive wines and real (even expensive) champagne bottles were linked to the courses. Daily Mail Royal Editor Rebecca English posted on X (formerly Twitter)“@peterallenparis reports that wines costing more than £400 a bottle will also be on the menu at Versailles tonight,” with labels including 2018 Batârd-Montrachet Grand Cru and 2004 Château Mouton Rothschild. The French audit of the palace budget revealed that drinks alone at the dinner cost more than €42,000 ($45,467). Reportedly, the food with a disturbing truth, foie graswas not served, which makes sense since King Charles banned the French delicacy from the UK’s royal residences over animal cruelty concerns (and it’s not listed in what he eats in a dayor). Since the state dinner was held in the opulent Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, the location was also an important event.
A host of celebrities were in attendance for dinner with the king and French President Emmanuel Macron, including big names like Mick Jagger, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Hugh Grant, and Emma Mackey. It seems at least part of the lavish display was about keeping up with the Joneses, so to speak. The Élysée Palace explained some of the extravagant spending by saying, “France maintains close diplomatic relations with a large number of countries, which organize similar events when they receive the head of state” (via Politics).
Read the original article on Mashed.
