Maple Leaf Duck To Be Served At Inaugural Day Luncheon In D.C.
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
MILFORD - Maple Leaf Farms, Milford, will send 100 pounds of its duck breast to Washington, D.C.
The duck will be a part of a three-course inaugural day luncheon to be served to President Obama and members of Congress.
The luncheon will be on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, in the Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol and will be hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.Design Cuisine, a Virginia-based caterer, won the contract to prepare the meal.
The company has served Maple Leaf's ducks on a regular basis for other functions in the past, said Nora Macon, Maple Leaf Farms director of corporate communications, during a phone interview Friday afternoon.
"Our employees are very excited and honored. This is a great opportunity," Macon said.
Eric Essig, Maple Leaf Farms vice president of sales and marketing, said duck has previously played an important role in special occasions at the White House.
Essig said the company's duck has been served at the White House under the Clinton and Bush administrations and on Air Force One.
"We're honored to partner with Design Cuisine and are excited to play a part in this very important day," Essig said.
The luncheon will follow the swearing-in ceremony Jan. 20 in Washington and will be attended by more than 200 people.
Besides Obama, guests who will participate in the luncheon include Vice President Joe Biden, members of their families, the Supreme Court, Cabinet designees and members of congressional leadership.
The first course will be seafood stew; the second course will be a brace of American birds (pheasant and duck) served with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potatoes.
The third course will be apple cinnamon sponge cake and sweet cream glace.
Macon said this will not be the first time Maple Leaf's duck has been served at a national event.
Maple Leaf's duck has been served the past six years at the Taste of the NFL by various chefs with money raised going to local and national hunger relief. Other events where the duck has been served include Share Our Strength Taste Of The Nation; Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States that provides emergency food assistance through a network of more than 200 food banks and food rescue agencies; and Windy City American Culinary Federation, Chicago, that raises funds for scholarships.
For more information about the inaugural luncheon, visit http://inaugural.senate.gov/luncheon/
