The first dinner party in a new house is a test for every hostess and an awkward eater is the last thing she needs. In Michelle Obama’s case, not only is her first guest of honour an abstemious vegetarian, but the whole world will be watching.

On Tuesday the Obamas host their first state banquet since taking office in January. After the staid years of President George W Bush, who liked to be in bed by 9pm, Washington is desperate for some glamour.

“Official Washington is hungry for this — it’s an important moment,” said Robert Watson, author of American First Ladies and associate professor of American studies at Lynn University, Florida. “It’s a test for Michelle. Every detail will be looked at, from the menu to the guest list, to who’s sitting next to whom. One faux pas and the critics will pounce.”

As the youngest White House family since the Kennedys, the Obamas draw inevitable comparisons. Everyone will be watching to see how Michelle ranks against Jackie.

For an early Kennedy banquet in 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy sent guests by boat down the Potomac to Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington, America’s first president.

They were served mint juleps made to Washington’s own recipe, while a fife and drum band played. The evening ended with a display of fireworks. Everything had to be cooked at the White House and transported on heated trolleys which were hidden behind painted screens inspired by the Palace of Versailles.

Conscious of the economic crisis, the Obamas are sticking to the White House. Their dinner will be for 130 in the state dining room, followed by dancing in a marquee on the lawn to which a further 200 guests are invited.

While the Kennedys’ banquet was for the president of Pakistan, the Obamas are hosting the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, a strict vegetarian. This enables Michelle to showcase her White House vegetable garden, which has come to symbolise her campaign for healthy eating.

“You can definitely expect vegetables from the first lady’s garden to make a star appearance on the menu,” said Barry Landau, author of The President’s Table, who has been a historical adviser to the White House for 43 years. The goodie bag will include a jar of honey from Michelle’s beehive.

While Jackie Kennedy was a committed Francophile who brought French cuisine into the White House, the Obamas will serve contemporary American “with a nod to the Indian palate”. Curry will be making its first appearance at a White House banquet.

Michelle Obama stayed at home last week planning every last detail while her husband toured Asia. “Mrs Obama is taking a strong personal interest in this — she’s 100% involved,” said Landau.

The banquet comes at a time when her popularity has taken a sudden dip. The latest Gallup poll shows it has fallen from 72% to 61%. Although all previous first ladies have given up their jobs, many of her feminist supporters are disappointed at how traditional she has been in dedicating herself to supporting her husband and running the White House.

Perhaps wary of how she was portrayed as aggressive in the election campaign, she has not adopted a pet project in the way Barbara Bush advocated adult literacy or Rosalynn Carter mental health. Nor has she espoused a political cause as Hillary Clinton did with healthcare. So far she has stuck to safe issues such as the family and war veterans.

Her aides in the East Wing point to her open-door policy at the White House, where she has hosted hundreds of local schoolchildren. Instead of one signature issue, they say, she has chosen several, with the White House garden serving as a symbol for her many passions including community service, fitness, work-life balance, mentoring and good mothering.

Earlier this month she appeared on Sesame Street, the children’s television programme, to promote healthy eating. Staff say she will soon turn her attention to childhood obesity. “My message to women: do what makes you feel good because there’ll always be someone who thinks you should do it differently,” she said in a recent interview with Prevention magazine.

There is little doubt of her influence — Obama recently called her his “most important adviser”. He praised her “broad strokes advice” which brought home to him “what ordinary people are going through”.

Nonetheless, some commentators feel let down. “I want to know how she feels about children killing children back in her home town of Chicago,” wrote Allison Samuels in Newsweek. “Or whether she has any ideas about how to stop the ever-increasing numbers of African-American women falling victim to Aids ... These too-often-neglected issues need a face like Michelle’s.”

Even her critics admit it cannot be easy bringing up two young daughters in the White House fishbowl. Being a hostess is an important part of the role of first lady in a tradition of state dinners which goes back to Martha Washington. Walter Scheib, who was White House executive chef under the Clintons, said: “Michelle will be under a lot of pressure. A state dinner is really like a Broadway play, with 1,000 people working together, well scripted, with everyone playing their part. Everyone working in the White House will be spending a lot of time on every detail from the flowers to her gown, making sure that it all makes a big splash.

“For Michelle it’s like her unveiling. Everyone gets clearly that she’s different and will be watching to see what is her style, what she’s going to do. I’m pretty interested myself.”

Even the choice of china will be carefully scrutinised. Each president chooses his own table service — the Bush set has only just arrived but is unlikely to make its debut at the Obama banquet. Instead they are considering the Woodrow Wilson china, or the Clinton china ordered for the 200th anniversary of the White House.

Desirée Rogers, the White House social secretary, and Sam Kass, a young assistant chef, have been sampling food at various restaurants throughout the summer and invited Marcus Samuelsson, an award-winning African-American chef from the New York restaurant Aquavit, to cook the dinner. He will be working with Cristeta Comerford, the White House executive chef.

“The food has to be excellent and is an integral part, but it’s not the only part,” said Scheib. “The guest list is key. Not many people remember the food, but they do remember they sat next to Sophia Loren.”

The White House has kept a tight lid on who will be attending. Celebrity guests may include Oprah Winfrey, America’s chat show queen, and Caroline Kennedy, Jackie’s daughter, whose family has strong connections with India.

The guest of honour is allowed to request some guests. Landau recalled that when the Queen was given a banquet by President Gerald Ford she asked for Bob Hope to attend.

Times Recommends

• Patty Hearst, the SLA and me
• Palin caught with crib notes scrawled on hand
• Hugo Chávez takes to the airwaves – 24/7