Pope Francis and Melania Trump Had a Lighthearted Exchange About Slovenian Food

When Pope Francis met First Lady Melania Trump, he had one culinary question about the President for her.

Pope Francis welcomed President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania to the Vatican on Wednesday for the first meeting between the two leaders.

When he greeted FLOTUS, through a translator he asked cordially in Italian, “what are you feeding him, potica?” a well-known dessert from the First Lady’s native Slovenia. The translator offered this remix: “what do you give him to eat?” The First Lady seemed to ask either “potica” or “pizza” before smiling and confirming “yes” with a laugh.

Melania Trump’s staff confirmed later to AFP that she appreciated the papal figure’s special made joke for the meeting. A press spokesperson also said that potica is a favorite of the Pope who loves to mention it whenever he meets anyone from Slovenia.

Pronounced “potteezza,” the time-honored Slovenian holiday dish is a pastry bread made by rolling dough until it’s paper thin, and filling it with a spread made from ingredients like ground walnuts, honey and cream.

The leaders have long had a tense relationship, but according to a Vatican statement the leaders spoke about education, health care, assistance for immigrants, as well as promoting world peace “through political negotiation and interreligious dialogue.”

In his Twitter remarks, Trump said that their audience was “fantastic,” and “an honor.” He also changed his Twitter banner to a photograph of the meeting.