Crafting lunch for prime minister, 2 presidents a nerve-wracking affair cloaked in secrecy
'I'm excited and extremely nervous. I haven't slept in about a week,' Tulips & Maple Catering chef says
No big deal, it's just lunch for the Canadian prime minister, the presidents of the United States and Mexico, and dozens upon dozens of staff and reporters.
The White House food surveillance team — yes, that exists — and officials from Health Canada will be stationed in the kitchen, watching your every move and taking samples to test in a lab in the event that something bad happens to one of the "internationally protected persons" — yes, that designation exists, too.
Timelines are changing.
There will be three separate menus.
And certain very important people do not enjoy carrots or asparagus.
'Overwhelming'
That's the kind of pressure staff at the Ottawa catering company Tulips & Maple are dealing with ahead of the North American Leaders' Summit lunch on Wednesday, where the three leaders will be discussing matters of business.
"I'm excited and extremely nervous. I haven't slept in about a week, and I'm just continuously at work for hours on end," executive chef David De Bernardi told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Monday.
General manager Erin Loney agreed.
"Excited, nervous, apprehensive. The mind starts racing about what we need to do to get ready," she said.
"This is an entirely new experience for most of our team. We've catered everything from special events for 20 people to 2,000; we've served the [prime minister] in his home with his wife ... for small groups, but the scale of this event, in terms of the logistics inside our new home here at the National Gallery of Canada, is pretty overwhelming. But we're just breaking it down piece by piece."
Possible rhubarb use classified
The menu is, for now, a closely guarded secret. De Bernardi said he absolutely can't speculate on whether some late-season rhubarb may make an appearance. But he and Loney can say the menu will be "very Canadian-inspired," with "hints" of the backgrounds of the two presidents.
And Obama likes chocolate, so there will definitely be some chocolate in there somewhere.
De Bernardi said the stress of it all will be worthwhile in the end.
"For me, it's just I'm new to Ottawa. ... It's just to get my name out there. It's a progression in my career and this will just explode that, if everything goes according to plan," he said.
"And that's what I want. I want to be able to say I did this."
Listen to more of the interview with De Bernardi and Loney here.