“If the First Lady was coming over for dinner, what would you cook for her?” former White House chef Sam Kass asked 30 teen girls, ages 13 to 18, at the Lower Eastside Girls Club early Saturday afternoon as they huddled together. First, someone clarified that Kass meant First Lady Michelle Obama, indicating this could make a difference in the menu. He confirmed. “Baked ziti,” one girl quickly volunteered, before adding that she would throw in some garlic bread and serve her water to drink.

Minutes later, in what has become her signature move ahead of speeches on her Becoming book tour, Obama made a surprise appearance, and was met with squeals, screams, and tears from the surprised bunch.

After a few minutes of face-wiping and nervous laughter from the girls, the First Lady pulled off another signature move: she served them prepared grain bowls with kale and the option of green beans, sweet potatoes, beets, eggs, and more—a meal the Let’s Move! campaign would certainly approve of.

The group then sat around a set of tables positioned not unlike those in Judy Chicago’s famous “Dinner Party,” and shared their names and ages: “I’m Michelle, and I’m 54.” Once the conversation started, Obama listened to stories about struggles with finding healthy food choices, making a difference in their communities, and being the only girls’ club in a city with three for boys, according to those who organized the event. “Mhmmm,” she said with her famous raised eyebrow to that last statistic.

It wasn’t long before a familiar question came from a quiet participant, some form of: “Why don’t you want to run for president?” Obama’s equally familiar answer came gently and with three points: Sasha and Malia are “starting to get their own lives back,” she said, as the girls nodded sympathetically. Secondly, she stressed, “It’s important for leaders to do their thing—and then move aside and make space for the next generation.” The third point was brief and maybe more direct than usual: “I don’t wanna be president!”

After that, the press was ushered out of the room in a noisy mass, but not a single girl looked up. They were, after all, sharing a meal with Michelle Obama.

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