Our magazine visits the Delegates Dining Room at the UN

It isn’t every day that the public get to sit with ambassadors, delegates, and other international dignitaries, but that’s precisely what the Delegates Dining Room at the United Nations offers.

This week FoodWineArt magazine visited the newly refurbished Delegates Dining Room and enjoyed eclectic and globally inspired cuisine with breathtaking views of the East River, including Roosevelt Island with its new Four Freedoms Park, and the Long Island City waterfront.

The food was spectacular: from the starters to entrées to desserts. For full details click HERE for a slideshow. We also enjoyed the historic artifacts. For example, the entrance to the dining room includes a silver Dallah (Omani-style Coffee Pot) from the Sultanate of Oman in 1973.

We also toured the United Nations building, where UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was speaking to delegates. The tour included a visit to Security Council Chamber, the Trusteeship Council Chamber, and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber in the newly renovated Conference Building. We learned about how the United Nations addresses issues such as disarmament, peace and security, human rights, and the Millennium Development Goals.

The Delegates Dining Room offers a unique and upscale dining experience. Executive Chef Dan Lopez and his highly trained culinary team feature recipes from Greece, Italy, China, Germany, Spain, Morocco, and other nations, as well as authentic, high-quality ingredients, to high-profile guests such as President George W. Bush, Kofi Anan, Jacque Chirac, and 191 Ambassadors, Kings and Queens from around the world.

Lopez is a graduate and a guest instructor at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, where he teaches preparation techniques and kitchen operations management, along with French cuisine. Lopez also was Senior Executive Chef at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he served over 36,000 meals a day for the most diverse collection of people in the world.

For security reasons, all guests must be escorted to and from the Delegates Dining Room. The Dining Room also requires proper attire, including jackets for men and no jeans nor sneakers. The Delegates Dining Room is open Monday to Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.