Wolfgang Puck’s Sparkling Palate Pleasers for 91st Oscar Winners

Photos: (Wolfgang Puck) Oscars 2019: First look at Wolfgang Puck Governors Ball menu

By Bonnie Carroll

The 91st Academy Awards on Sunday 24 February 2019 are being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, with the red carpet walk beginning at 5 pm. ET. The awards ceremony begins at 8 p.m. ET. ABC is broadcasting the show, and can be viewed on the live stream on ABC Go and the ABC app, or stream the Oscars through YouTube TV, Sling TV, DirecTV and PlayStation Vue. The gala dinner following the awards is always a huge night for the Wolfgang Puck cast and crew behind the extraordinary gala dinner. 

The nominees for awards this year represent a lineup of outstanding contenders including Rami Malek, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, Viggo Mortensen, Sam Elliot Glenn Close, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Adams, Emma Stone, Yalitza Aparicio, Olivia Coleman, Lady Gaga, Rachel Weisz and more. Best picture nominees include “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “The Favourite,” “Green Book,” “Roma,” “A Star Is Born,” and “Vice.” 

With five great directors being nominated for awards it will be a scintillating evening of talented directors, filmmakers, actors and an army of filmmaking specialists. Congratulations to the five Oscar-nominated directors, who accepted the SBIFF Directors of the Year Award during the 34th Santa Barbara International Film Festival earlier in February.   I was delighted to meet and interview many of them and will be on the edge of my seat waiting for the Oscar winner in directing to be announced. 

Directors honored included Alfonso Cuaron (Roma), Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite), Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman), Adam McKay (Vice), and Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War). This SBIFF Awards event was the only opportunity for any audience to see all five Oscar-nominated directors on stage other than guests who will be in attendance at the actual 2019 Oscar Awards. Each one shared their views on their own work as well as the other directors on stage with them and gave up some very interesting details on the making of their individual films. 

Oscar presenters this year will include Awkwafina, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Tina Fey, Allison Janney, Brie Larson, Jennifer Lopez, Frances McDormand, Gary Oldman, Amy Poehler, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Amandla Stenberg, Charlize Theron, Tessa Thompson and Constance Wu, Javier Bardem, Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman, Emilia Clarke, Laura Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, Stephan James, Keegan-Michael Key, KiKi Layne, James McAvoy, Melissa McCarthy, Jason Momoa and Sarah Paulson.

The Governor’s Ball is the official post-Oscars celebration, which immediately follows the awards ceremony. It is hosted by Academy Governor Lois Burwell, event producer Cheryl Cecchetto, and  Master Chef Wolfgang Puck. It is always a world of culinary sparkle at the Governor’s Ball, the official after-party of the Academy Awards, held in the Ray Dolby Ballroom. An estimated 1,500 guests attend this annual event, including all the VIPs, nominees and presenters. 

Included among the unique dishes being served by Chef Puck and his staff of 200 are caviar parfait bites dusted with 24-carat gold, and caramel passion fruit lollipops as well as a variety of chocolate bonbons created by pastry designers Kamel Guechida, Garry Larduinat, and Jason Lemonnier, and Affogato with housemade ice cream and Stumptown Nitro Cold Brew to savor with vegan and gluten-free sweets like Cashew Vanilla Tiramisu. The grand finale of this dinner is always those famous chocolate Oscars – handmade by Wolfgang’s team and covered in 24-carat gold dust. 

The evening gourmet bites begin with delicious nibbles such as wagyu beef tartar, puffed black rice, and spicy tuna tartar. The stars feast on small plates including white asparagus soup, caviar, chicken pot pie which he says is a favorite of Barbra Streisand, black bass, and scallops. The renowned raw bar offers oysters, sea urchin, caviar parfait, and crab claws. Once the Oscar party gets going it is estimated that more than £1,400 bottles of Piper Heidsieck Cuvee Brut will be poured.

Stars attending this year’s Oscars Governors Ball will be treated to four different signature cocktails crafted by Mixologist Charles Joly. All of the cocktails feature Don Julio Tequila as the main ingredient and we’ve got the recipes. That means even though our Academy Awards invite got lost in the mail this year, we can at least have a party of our own. 6,000 specialty cocktails will be served. The Rosella is named for the vibrant and elegant hibiscus flower.

The 91st Oscar Awards Rosella Cocktail by Charles Joly

Ingredients
1 hibiscus flower
1½ oz blanco tequila (such as Don Julio)
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz white vermouth
½ oz simple syrup
5 drops lavender bitters (such as Scrappy’s)
1½ oz ginger beer (such as Fever Tree)
Orange oil (such as Now Foods) 

Directions
Place hibiscus flour in a Champagne flute. Combine tequila, juice, vermouth, syrup and bitters in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake gently; strain over flower. Top with ginger beer and mist with orange oil. Serves 1 – 5 minute prep time.

2019 Governors Ball Menu

Compressed Cucumber Crostini
Mini Tuna Nicoise
Tiny Taro Taco with Spiced Eggplant and Lime Pickle
Miyazaki Wagyu Beef Tartare
Puffed Black Rice, and Spicy Tuna Tartare
White Asparagus Soup
Chicken Pot Pie which he says is a favorite of Barbra Streisand
 Mini Ravioli of Pea and Carrot with Black Truffle and Cipollini Onions
Black Bass with Eggplant
Salsa Verde and Teardrop Peppers
Asparagus Salad
The Raw Bar Features Oysters, Sea Urchin-Passion Fruit Caviar, and Crab Claws 

Dessert
Caviar parfait bites dusted with 24-carat gold
Caramel Passion Fruit Lollipops
 Chocolate Bon Bon by Kamel Guechida, Garry Larduinat, and Jason Lemonnier Affogato  Housemade ice cream and Stumptown Nitro Cold Brew
Vegan and gluten-free sweets like Cashew Vanilla Tiramisu
Mango-Lime Pate
Fruit with Tajin Pop
Chocolate Oscars

As Chef Puck points out, by the time the honorees get to dinner, they’ve been so busy getting ready they have not eaten all day. He said: “They might have had an espresso, a cup of tea in the morning, and that’s it. So they are all really hungry.” Kudos to Wolfgang and his staff and congratulations to all the talented winners, presenters, and nominees attending the 2019 Oscars dinner. Once again it promises to be a delicious and memorable evening.  Enjoy these recipes to create your own home Oscar party. Visit: www.wolfgangPuck.com. For a complete list of this year’s nominees please visit: www.oscars.org