EIGHT AMERICAN PEWTER ASPARAGUS MOLDS, LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY, MADE FOR THE VISIT OF SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT JUNIUS RICHARD JAYEWARDENE TO PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN

EIGHT AMERICAN PEWTER ASPARAGUS MOLDS, LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY, MADE FOR THE VISIT OF SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT JUNIUS RICHARD JAYEWARDENE TO PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN The two-hinged molds shaped butter, marzipan, and ice cream into asparagus. Chef Mesnier created a dessert with these molds to welcome the president of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the White House during the Reagan administration in 1984. Once filled with homemade sorbet, the molds were then positioned in a circular ring around a bed of sugary cherries and sauce. The sorbet at the tip of the asparagus was dyed green and the ends remained white to give the sorbet a more realistic appearance (8) - h:6.50 w:1.25 in.

Provenance: Private collection of Former White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. First Lady Rosalynn Carter hired Mesnier, who served 26 years under five presidents: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. According to Creating the Sweet World of White House Desserts: A Pastry Chef's Secrets, Mesnier created stunning desserts for more than 40 queens, kings, princes, princesses and heads of state.

Literature: Roland Mesnier and Mark Ramsdell, Creating the Sweet World of White House Desserts: A Pastry Chef's Secrets (Washington, D.C.: The White House Historical Association, 2019), pp. 64-65.