The celebration following the 79th Academy Awards on Feb. 25, 2007, will capture the relaxed intimacy of an elegant supper party evoking the rich and vibrant textures of the Tuscan countryside, with an archway and five decorative pergolas lined with a living canopy of woven vines, flowers and ivy. Here's a sneak peak at the food and decor for the Governor's Ball.
The party following this year's Academy Awards will trade the traditional reserved seating for first-come, first-served; a formal sit-down meal for appetizers. The open format will allow the 1,500 guests to choose among a variety of seating configurations while enjoying cuisine created specifically for the event by master chef Wolfgang Puck.
Master chef Wolfgang Puck gives a thumbs-up on Feb. 1, 2007, as he shows off an array of hors d'oeuvres and tapas platters created specifically for the Governor's Ball. This is Puck's 13th consecutive year catering the party that follows the Academy Awards. The entire menu, from seafood to chocolate, will be prepared with organic and humanly treated products.
Executive chef Matthew Bencivenga puts the final touches on beet and goat cheese napoleons with toasted hazelnuts and citrus shallot vinaigrette during a preview of the food and decor for the Governors Ball on Feb. 1, 2007, in the Governors Ballroom of the Hollywood & Highland complex in Los Angeles.
Buffets and bars stationed throughout the room will be complemented with tableside service by the Wolfgang Puck team, passing an array of hors d'oeuvres and tapas platters. Shown are celery root-apple soup with black truffles, foreground, and miso glazed black cod with sticky rice and cucumbers accompanied by Sterling wine.
Master chef Wolfgang Puck again will supply the food for the Governor's Ball, the elegant dinner party that follows the Academy Awards. This year, the atmosphere will be more relaxed, with food stations set up around the ballroom taking the place of a sit-down dinner. Among the items on which the stars will feast is spicy tuna tartare in a sesame miso cone, top, with bruschetta and homemade grissini.
Besides a more relaxed atmosphere this year, the Oscars are going organic. The entire Governor's Ball menu, seafood, poultry and produce, will be prepared with organic and humanly treated products. Shown here is an assortment of Nigiri sushi.
Among the treats that will be prepared and served prepared by Wolfgang Puck and his staff are mini gold-wrapped baked potatos with French farm-raised Osetra caviar and creme fraiche, left, beet and goat cheese napoleons, foreground, chinois chicken salad, back left. and Caesar salad.
Master chef Wolfgang Puck, left, and executive chef Matthew Bencivenga prepare risotto with black truffles from Perigord, France, a dish that was created specifically for the event. This year, Puck and his staff will be prepare and serve food in the ballroom. They will even wear specially designed Oscar jackets.
In all, 300 pounds of smoked wild salmon will be used on Oscar night. The traditional Oscar-shaped salmon entrees are part of the dinner menu for the Academy Awards Governors Ball, displayed during a press preview at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2007.
As the evening progresses, buffets and bars throughout the room will transform into decadent dessert extravaganzas, featuring hazelnut Marjolaine, left, Valrhona organic chocolate, center, and Meyer lemon bars.
Master chef Wolfgang Puck points to a chocolate Oscar covered with 24 carat gold at a presentation of the dinner menu for the Academy Awards Governors Ball during a press preview at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007.
Sherry Yard, executive pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, dusts a chocolate Oscar with 24-carat gold as part of the decoration of the dinner menu for the Academy Awards Governors Ball, during a press preview at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2007.
This year's Governors Ball, the celebration following the 79th Academy Awards, will capture the relaxed intimacy of an elegant supper party with buffets and bars stationed throughout the room. As the evening progresses, buffets will transform into the decadent dessert extravaganzas pictured here.
Laurent-Perrier champagne is shown at the Oscar Governor's Ball Press preview, held at the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2007. Five-hundred bottles of the bubbly will be on hand for guests to enjoy.