Inside White House's Lavish State Dinner for China's President

— -- Lamb, lobster and Grammy Award-winning artist Ne-Yo. That's what Chinese President Xi Jinping will be treated to at a lavish State Dinner hosted by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House tonight.

The event comes at the end of President Xi and First Lady Madame Peng Liyuan's official State Visit -- an occasion which led to a critical U.S-China agreement to stop cyber theft for commercial gain and even the naming of a new Panda.

The presidents, their wives, and their 200 guests will gather for a soiree in the East Room of the White House. The White House keeps the guest list a secret until a few hours before the event, but the diplomatic dinners tend to attract high-profile politicians and celebrities with ties to the country being honored.

Guests will dine on a mouth-watering four-course meal crafted and prepared by Guest Chef Anita Lo, a first generation Chinese American and chef and owner of Annisa in New York City, White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison.

The fall-inspired menu will feature ingredients harvested from the White House Kitchen Garden as well as local farmers. Prior to the dinner, guests will nibble on canapes reminiscent of dim. The four-course meal will start with a wild mushroom soup with black truffles.

Next up: the fish course, which will include Maine lobster with traditional rice noodles from a local noodle maker in Washington, D.C. rolled with spinach, leeks and mushrooms. The guests will then turn to the main course –- a grilled loin of Colorado Lamb accented with garlic fried milk and sautéed baby broccoli from a local farmer’s market.

For dessert, guests can choose from a poppyseed bread-and-butter pudding with Meyer lemon curd and lychee sorbet or tiny pastries from an elaborate dessert display, called “A Stroll Through the Garden."

Each table will have an elaborate floral centerpiece, featuring orange- and pink-hued roses -– a “flower that is precious to the east and west,” which will serve as the emblem for the State Dinner, the White House says.

Comerford says the biggest challenge for any chef at State dinner is making sure the food “comes out wonderfully, nice temperature, beautiful,” and most importantly -- on schedule.

“In the matter of 45 minutes, we are going to be handing out 800 plates and that's not a small logistical matter to deal with,” she said. “We have to be very very methodical with what we do and with our logistics to make sure everything comes out at time.”