Barack and Michelle Obama packed a lot of top-tier diners into a short stay, with daytime meals at Stokehouse and Pt. Leo Estate, and dinners at Embla and Gimlet. Read on for Broadsheet’s MAX VEENHUYZEN account.
We are thrilled to share the article written by Broadsheet’s Max Veenhuyzen who wrote of Barack and Michelle Obama’s visit to the Mornington Peninsula.
Veenhuyzen explained, “On Friday, they travelled to the Mornington Peninsula to eat lunch at Laura, the polished 40-seat fine diner at Pt. Leo Estate. According to Roger Lancia, the estate’s general manager, team Obama lunched without upsetting the flow of anyone else’s day, whether guests or staff.
“It wasn’t a Hollywood detail with people talking into watches, but more like having some extra staff rostered on,” says Lancia.
Cameron McCullough of MP News shared a local article reflecting on the experience for the Pt. Leo Estate team; “It started with a simple phone call. A person wanting to book their “guests” into Pt Leo Estate’s fine dining restaurant, Laura. Nothing that would alert the venue’s general manager, Roger Lancia, that anything was out of the ordinary.
Until it was mentioned that before these “guests” could visit, a team would need to attend to inspect the property.
The inspection happened and the team loved what they saw. It would be a perfect place for their “guests” to come for lunch and a wander in the sculpture park.
“Still no names had been mentioned at this point, but I had my suspicions,” said Lancia.
It was only a couple of days before the lunch on Friday 31 March that he was finally told who their “guests” would be. The 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, and his wife Michelle.
“My first emotion when I found out was pride in our staff,” said Lancia.
“It was only that we’d made a great impression with a member of Obama’s Australian team during a summer visit that they’d recommended it as the place to come.
Read full MP News article here.
