Donald Trump’s Gourmet State Visit Continues at Fancy Lunch With Theresa May

Donald Trump’s U.K. visit continues with a fancy lunch at the invitation of Prime Minister, Theresa May at 10 Downing Street today. Following talks on U.K.-U.S. trade policy, described variously as “tense,” “difficult,” and “crunch” but which are also fairly pointless considering May will resign on Friday, the visiting president will be served lunch. As revealed by the Sun, it will be cooked by Jason Atherton, former Gordon Ramsay partner and chef-restaurateur behind the Michelin-starred Pollen Street Social, Berners Tavern, and an empire which isn’t quite what it was.

Following Trump’s royal banquet with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, where the menu included Windsor lamb, asparagus, and strawberry sable, the U.S. president will continue his state visit with Lake District beef fillet after a crab starter. It might not have the royal pomp of a Buckingham Palace banquet, but Atherton’s Michelin pedigree and international reputation should put a glint in Trump’s prestige-infatuated eye.

There is a potential stumbling block: As Helen Rosner has observed, Donald Trump loves well-done steak; well-done steak from his own Trump steakhouses. It’s a mark of his intransigence as much as an affront to quality beef — “A person who won’t eat his steak any doneness but well is a person who won’t entertain the notion that there could be a better way.”

What’s more, Eater understands that the beef is from Lake District Farmers — one of the most prestigious meat suppliers in the country, whose prize product is its aged fillet. This is the pinnacle of grass-fed beef. In other words, an Atlantic and more away from the commodity product Trump thinks of as steak. Trump, of course, once sold steaks called Trump Steaks: the product lasted two months before being discontinued over lack of sales.

More soon on Donald Trump’s gourmet tour of London — the first hamberder still pending.