Team luncheons were planned for immediately after the Physics lectures. The High Z Supernova search team held its luncheon in a private room in one of the best restaurants in Stockholm. The laureates, arriving after a photo shoot, were greeted with applause. The sommelier had prepared wine parings for each course. Brian Schmidt who, in all his spare time, is a vintner approved the list and the party took flight. We started with a Champagne toast. Adam Riess and his wife, Nancy, had arrange for silver cufflinks to be engraved with:
q0 < 0
(q naught is the deceleration parameter the team was originally planning to measure using supernovae as distance indicators.) The whole team was to wear them at the Nobel ceremony and the King’s banquet. Each team member was came forward to collect their cufflinks to raucous applause. Brian has arranged to have a permanent testimony to the role of the team in the discovery that led to the Nobel prize. (More on this later when this is officially announced.) All team members signed books, preprints, the first page of the paper that led to the Nobel, and a limited edition re-print of the paper. We dined on a delicious meal of:
SHIITAKE CONSOMMÉ with poached farm egg and tarragon
SALMA SALMON TARTARE with oyster and samphire
APPLE SMOKED WAGUY RIBS with wine braised winter cabbage
MANDARIN SOUFFLÉ with chocolate ice cream
We almost caused the chef to have a nervous breakdown when the team left the restaurant just before dessert was served to take advantage of the last few minutes of sunlight for a group picture. But we were soon called to order by Brian’s injunction not to mess with a chef and his soufflé.
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The team before sundown
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The Filippenkos gave a t-shirt to each team member
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Bob Kirshner signs his book
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The Announcement
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The Toast