First stop for Oscar winners and invited guests after the show ends is the Governors Ball. They’ll ride escalators up to the Ray Dolby Ballroom atop the shopping and entertainment complex where the ceremony is held.
The show typically runs three hours or more, creating a powerful need for immediate food and drink after sitting that long.
Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck is in his 32nd year catering the party. He’s supported by 75 savory chefs and 45 pastry chefs.
Winners can sip on signature cocktails like “The Sequel” with tequila and “After Glow” without booze while waiting for their names to be engraved on their golden statues.
This isn’t a sit-down dinner. It’s the first chance for Oscar-goers to let their hair down on the night’s party circuit, gossip about the show over the din of a live band and move on to the next bash. Over 300 servers swarm the crowd with food on trays and small plates. More elaborate grazing stations feature cheese and charcuterie, wood-fired pizzas, Japanese izakaya, and hand-carved wagyu and steak frites.
A slider bar serves ribeye burgers, Thai sausage dogs, pastrami and fried cod to go with tempura onion rings. A handroll and sushi bar includes spicy ahi tuna, sea bream and salmon. Need to soothe your incurable sweet tooth? Hit the tables featuring patisserie, madeleine and tiramisu, chocolate decadence, and gelato.
Vegans will feel at home since the party has offered over 50% plant-based and vegetarian dishes since 2013.
Everyone leaves feeling like a winner after picking up one of the 2,000 mini chocolate Oscars airbrushed with 24-karat edible gold dust.