Close Menu
    Money

    Wolfgang Puck: Behind the Scenes at the Oscars Governors Ball

    Press RoomBy No Comments4 Mins Read

    • Wolfgang Puck leads the culinary team at the Oscars’ Governors Ball, serving nearly 2,000 guests.
    • The menu features luxury dishes like wagyu beef sliders and truffle pot pie.
    • Puck’s team completes about 30,000 small plates in a few hours. We take you behind the scenes.

    Wolfgang Puck has been feeding Hollywood after the Oscars for more than 30 years — and the scale of the operation is staggering.

    As the lead chef behind the Academy Awards’ Governors Ball, Puck oversees the massive post-ceremony dinner that serves nearly 2,000 actors, filmmakers, and industry insiders just minutes after the final statuette is handed out.

    Behind the scenes, his team of chefs work for days transforming the ballroom kitchen into a high-volume operation capable of turning out tens of thousands of dishes in a matter of hours.

    The menu blends luxury ingredients with crowd-pleasing comfort food. Guests can graze on dishes like wagyu beef sliders, sushi, and other high-end bites — alongside one of the event’s most famous staples, Puck’s truffle chicken pot pie.

    We went behind the scenes with Puck and his culinary team as they prepared for the Governors Ball, where hundreds of staff members work together to plate roughly 30,000 dishes for Hollywood’s biggest stars.

    See behind the scenes of the 98th Oscars Governors Ball in the video below, and keep reading to learn about some of the most expensive dishes on the menu.

    The smoked salmon lavosh, topped with caviar and shaped like an Oscar, has been on the menu for decades. The team went through $24,000 of the fish eggs.


    smoked salmon lavosh oscars

    Eric Klein, the vice president of culinary at Wolfgang Puck Catering, told Business Insider that this black Kaluga caviar costs $50 per ounce. They go through nearly 30 pounds of the fish eggs. 

    Michael Buckner/Penske Media via Getty Images

    180 pounds of wagyu beef are flown in from Miyazaki, Japan. Chefs cut it into small slices, sear it at the last minute, and serve it with a little ponzu, fresh scallions, and fresh grated wasabi.


    A giant slab of Miyazaki wagyu beef

    Chef Eric Klein said this wagyu is like snowflakes because it melts in the mouth. 

    Business Insider

    The truffle chicken pot pie is a Hollywood favorite. Puck says they’ve been on the menu for about 25 years. “This is one of our most important dishes, one of the dishes everybody asks for.”


    Stock being added to a giant vat of vegetables for chicken pot pie at Governors Ball.

    Puck said if he ever dared to get rid of the chicken pot pie, there would be “no more Hollywood after.” 

    Business Insider

    Chefs fill 1,200 ramekins with the pot pie base and then top each with black truffle shavings and a circle of puff pastry before hitting the oven.


    Someone shaving truffle on top of shicken pot pie.

    The puff pastry lid seals in the heat so they don’t get cold, Puck said. 

    Business Insider

    One chef said this bowl contained about $4,000 worth of black truffles, which are used in the chicken pot pies and the smoked salmon lavosh.


    A bowl of truffles worth thousands of dollars.

    Chefs were doing bumps of this black Kaluga caviar in celebration after the ball was over. 

    Business Insider

    Wolfgang Catering also flies in 100 pounds of ahi tuna from Hawaii.


    Someone slicing ahi tuna flown in from Hawaii for Governors Ball.

    The chef who butchered it, Hiroyuki Fujino, also came in from Hawaii. 

    Business Insider

    These American wagyu New York strip steaks cost $55 a pound at retail.


    Steaks on a grill.

    Snake River Farms in Idaho provided the strip steaks and the beef for the housemade pastrami. 

    Business Insider

    Everything’s made from scratch, including the buns for the wagyu sliders.


    burgerbuns oscars

    Every bun weighs in at 35 grams and then chefs roll them into perfect balls. 

    Pablo Lagodantas

    Puck’s team pours dark chocolate into molds to make 3,500 mini Oscar statues. Every guest gets one, whether they won or lost in the competition for the real ones.


    chocolate statue oscar

    Each statue is sprayed in 24k liquid gold. 

    Conner Blake

    Once “best director” is announced, it’s a mad rush in the kitchen for chefs to plate and add garnishes to every one of the 30,000 small plates.


    Spicy Tuna Tartare in a Sesame Miso Cone. Master chef Wolfgang Puck creates the dishes that will be served at the Governors Ball, the post-telecast celebration following the 78th Academy Awards® on Sunday, March 5, 2006.

    This is the spicy tuna in a sesame miso cone. 

    Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images

    Leftover food is packed and sent to a downtown mission, Puck said. The mission then distributes it to people who need meals.


    wolfgang puck oscars

    Wolfgang Puck stands in front of a press showcase of the Oscar dishes. 

    Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

    Share.

    Related Posts

    Leave A Reply