Saskatoon chef proud to cook for U.S. President Joe Biden during state dinner
Global News
Born and raised in Saskatoon, Chef Kenton Leier and his team handled the catering for Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and 400 other international guests.
A Saskatoon chef had the honour of a lifetime, when he cooked for U.S. president Joe Biden, during his recent state visit to Canada.
Born and raised in Saskatoon, Chef Kenton Leier and his team at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa handled the catering for Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and 400 other international guests.
The gala dinner concluded President Biden’s state visit and was hosted in the Canadian Aviation and Space Musuem in Ottawa. The menu included yellowfin tuna from the East Coast, Alberta beef braised short rib, Quebec maple mousse cake and cabernet from an Ontario winery.
It wasn’t the first time Chef Leier catered for Joe Biden. He previously cooked for Biden when he was still vice-president during the Obama administration in 2016 — which, coincidentally, was Biden’s previous official visit to Canada.
Leier is no stranger to cooking for high-level events with foreign dignitaries. In January, he cooked for the prime minister of Japan and he will provide the meals during the upcoming visit of the German chancellor, but he said that cooking for the U.S. president was special.
“My staff and I were all a bit starstruck. It was such a great honour to cook for the U.S. president and everyone else,” Leier said.
“The venue of the Aviation Museum was also amazing. Having dinner surrounded by all these historic planes was very unique. My staff took home the menus with the official stamps on them as a souvenir.”
Leier, unfortunately, was not able to meet President Biden himself.
