Yes, that’s right. The caterers.
At least, that’s what one of the organizers told me, hinting that they had to resort to a last-minute change of plan to feed ravenous attendees.
Food eventually did make it into the venue — smuggled, some whispered — but maybe it should have stayed outside.
Lunch on both days for the hundreds of participants was a series of golf-ball-sized appetizers, all of which had some type of creative (and, in my opinion, unwanted) twist. Say goodbye to sandwiches, salads and pasta bowls; that’s not how the right wing rolls.
Imagine instead a sprawling feast of raw fish — smoked salmon, tuna tartare; raw meat — beef carpaccio with parmesan scales and arugula; and even a mostly raw egg. Cooking food is for liberals, apparently. It wasn’t all bad though, my POLITICO colleague wolfed down a “tasty and tangy” plate of courgette with pomegranate accompanied by some leaves and yellow stuff.
The menu got real Looney Tunes, with one Bugs Bunny-inspired dish comprising a whole, gigantic carrot — which a conference attendee generously described as “bland” — mashed potatoes and chicken (cooked, thankfully).
