The Golden Globes are over – award season has begun! There is one constant every award season – Wolfgang Puck. For the last ten years, Wolfgang Puck has been in charge of one of the most important events of the Academy Awards – the banquet for the Governor’s Ball. The Governor’s Ball is one of the biggest after-show parties and the celebs that attend know they are in for a fantastic meal with Puck at the helm. Last year, he served roasted filet mignon and Maine lobster with celery root puree and two different truffle sauces. Just thinking about it makes me want to go to acting school!
Each year, Wolfgang Puck oversees the post-ceremony party where celebs gather to celebrate, toast each other, and dine on delicious food. One of the highlights of the 2004 ball was when Puck made 3,000 chocolate Oscar statuettes, allowing each actor to get his or her own little golden man, one way or another. Another yearly staple of the Governor’s Ball is the smoked salmon carved into Oscar silhouettes.
Puck is in charge of coming up with a new menu each year, but that is about the only thing he does on his own. The banquet itself is conducted like warfare, with everything well organized and precisely timed. There are 200 cooks, over 450 waiters and 50 bartenders, but that does not mean that Puck gets to lounge around while others work. Throughout the day, he is busy cooking, chopping, grating, and most importantly, taste testing the food. Another yearly worry is exactly when his clientele will arrive. Because the ceremonies never end when scheduled, he must choose food that can be ready at a moment’s notice. By the end of the night, he celebrates as most do, with a much-deserved glass of champagne for doing another job well done.