Seems the Obamas are going out with a bang — what is expected to be the last state dinner of the administration, a black-tie soiree on Tuesday for Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife, Agnese Landini, looks to be a glittery one.
First Lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday offered the first sneak peek into the dinner via Snapchat, revealing that celebrity chef Mario Batali would provide an assist to the White House chefs and that Gwen Stefani would be performing. The high-profile additions hint that the dinner will tend more toward the splashy end of the state-dinner spectrum than the sedate one.
The picks follow the frequent state-dinner pattern of highlighting ties between the guest and host nations: Batali is the orange-Croc-ed American chef and TV personality known for regional Italian cuisine, and Stefani is of Italian-American heritage.
No word on who will be there (perhaps Stefani’s The Voice co-host Blake Shelton?), since the White House tends to keep its guest list close to the cummerbund.
