Crafting lunch for prime minister, 2 presidents a nerve-wracking affair cloaked in secrecy

No big deal, it's just lunch for the Canadian prime minister, the presidents of the United States and Mexico, and dozens upon dozens of staff and reporters.

The White House food surveillance team yes, that existsand officials fromHealth Canadawill be stationed in the kitchen, watching your every move and taking samples to test in a labin the event thatsomethingbad happens to one of the "internationally protected persons" yes, that designation exists, too.

Timelines are changing.

There will be three separate menus.

And certain very important people donot enjoycarrots or asparagus.

'Overwhelming'

That's the kind of pressure staff at the Ottawa catering company Tulips &Maple are dealing with ahead of the North American Leaders' Summit lunch on Wednesday, where the three leaders will be discussing matters of business.

"I'm excited and extremely nervous. I haven't slept in about a week, and I'm just continuously at work for hours on end," executive chefDavid De Bernardi told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Monday.

General manager Erin Loney agreed.

"Excited, nervous, apprehensive. The mind starts racing about what we need to do to get ready," she said.

"This is an entirely new experience for most of our team. We've catered everything from special events for 20 people to 2,000; we've served the [prime minister] in his home with his wife ... for small groups, but the scale of this event, in terms of the logistics inside our new home here at the National Gallery of Canada, is pretty overwhelming. But we're just breaking it down piece by piece."

Possible rhubarb use classified

The menu is, for now, a closely guarded secret. De Bernardisaid he absolutely can't speculate on whether some late-season rhubarb may make an appearance. But he and Loneycan say the menu will be"very Canadian-inspired," with "hints" of the backgrounds of the two presidents.

And Obama likes chocolate, so there will definitely be some chocolate in there somewhere.

De Bernardi saidthe stress of it all will be worthwhilein the end.

"For me, it's just I'm new to Ottawa. ... It's just to get my name out there. It's a progression in my career andthis will just explode that, if everything goes according to plan," he said.

"And that's what I want. I want to be able to say I did this."

Listen to more of the interview with De Bernardi and Loney here.