After two hours on the red carpet (plus a few more getting ready), the 3.5-hour ceremony, nerves, tight outfits, and aching feet, what you crave most after an event — even one as prestigious as the Hollywood Oscars — is something to eat. Or perhaps a lot to eat. That’s mo problem: guests can eat their fill at the Governors Ball, the annual after-party for the Oscars.
There will be food galore at the after-party, which will take place on the rooftop of the Dolby Theatre. Chef Wolfgang Puck — who has been in charge of the event for the past 32 years — will serve his most classic dishes, as well as a few innovations. There will be champagne, tequila, and sake, and his now-famous chocolate Oscars dipped in gold. A feast that the more than 2,000 guests of the Oscars will enjoy while, in the same room, the winners have their names engraved on the plaques of their brand-new statuettes.
This event has turned Puck — who is 76 years old and has more than 100 restaurants worldwide — into a true celebrity. Now, his 31-year-old son, Byron Puck, who co-leads the family business, is by his side. In excellent Spanish, which he learned after spending six months at El Celler de Can Roca, he explained to EL PAÍS during the party’s presentation, that it was essential for them to maintain the traditional dishes that guests love — the so-called “comfort food,” as he puts it. In other words, food that warms the stomach and the heart after a nerve-wracking night.
That’s why, among the roughly 30 dishes served throughout the evening — desserts aside — they always offer their chicken pot pie, a chicken stew covered with puff pastry that has become so popular that even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has posted the recipe on its website.
Drinks are essential. This year, for the second time, they’re featuring sake from the Japanese brand Dassai, which includes a variety called Blue 23 (meaning it contains only 23% rice), giving it a flavor similar to a smooth white wine; in fact, the alcohol content is very similar, at 14%.
“It’s important for us that people try and enjoy a flavor like this,” say the brand’s representatives, who argue that it pairs perfectly with sushi or wagyu beef.
As for tequila, Don Julio will be present, having gone all‑in by bringing no fewer than a thousand bottles to Los Angeles, along with Lorenzo Antinori from Bar Leone in Hong Kong, considered the best bar in the world in 2025. While preparing a margarita, he explains that he has created five cocktails specifically for the occasion “with the flavors of Mexico and a touch of Italian flavor,” says Antinori.
The feast will also include exquisite ingredients such as caviar and wagyu beef, imported from Japan and served in thin slices with its own juices, French fries, and tartar sauce. One classic from previous years is missing, however: Spanish jamón ibérico. Through the Huelva‑based company Cinco Jotas, the ham had been present at the ball since 2019, with around a dozen legs each year and a couple of professional slicers, but this year it didn’t make the cut. The Pucks proposed including it, as they themselves confirm — as do sources close to the ham company — but the Academy, which has the final say, decided to switch things up and bring in new products from other origins.
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What the stars will eat and drink at the Governors Ball (Spanish)
Sources close to Cinco Jotas say the decision came as a surprise and that, naturally, it’s a loss, because being present at the Oscars “is an extraordinary showcase for the brand — it’s a way of introducing jamón ibérico to the entire world.” But as longtime partners of the Pucks, they’re confident they’ll be back soon.
“I know we don’t have ham this year, and I’m really sorry,” Byron Puck tells EL PAÍS. “I’m not going to lie — Cinco Jotas is my favorite in the whole world,” he laughs. “We weren’t able to have it this year, but we hope it returns. We also wanted to include things that speak to other cultures, to be geographically broad, and you can’t showcase the same cuisine every year. We try to be fair. But it will be back.”
Wolfgang Puck’s right-hand man explains that their menu changes and varies each season. This year, for example, they have a pâté in a crust or vegetarian tacos, as well as crab mousse and pizzas with Caesar or Greek salad. “Because we need something new every year,” says David Puck in his good, measured Spanish. “Many of the people who come to the Ball every year are the same, so we need something new, year after year. That’s why we have a sushi bar, with five sushi chefs, where everyone can order whatever they want. For desserts, we have a new ice cream machine, which is very refreshing and fantastic.”
The ice creams have been set up right next to the chocolate Oscars. The chef who operates the five ice cream machines, Frenchman Kamel Guechida — head pastry chef at Spago, one of Puck’s most successful restaurants in Los Angeles — says they have flavors like vanilla, marzipan, strawberry, pistachio, stracciatella, and his favorite, a smooth hazelnut with pieces of the nut mixed in.
If he could choose, he says he’d love to serve one to nominee — and who knows, maybe winner — Timothée Chalamet, “because he’s half French, right?” Guechida laughs.
He’s sure the actor will stop by, as the sweet, gold‑dusted Oscar statuettes are the hit of every party. Puck’s team, which spends months preparing for this event, has made no fewer than 6,000 of them.
“In the end, everyone wants to take home an Oscar — even if it’s made of chocolate,” says Garry Larduinat, Puck’s executive pastry chef, who is also French. “This year, for example, we don’t have the chocolate cigars. But the Oscars are something we simply can’t stop making,” he explains as he airbrushes the statuette’s golden suit.
The statuette is made of 70% chocolate, with a robust flavor, while the coating — applied on the spot — is made with lemon extract, triple sec, and gold dust. Of those 6,000 mini‑Oscars (they also make about 50 full‑size ones), most will be offered to eat, and several others will be placed in small cardboard boxes for guests to take home. Winning an Oscar is hard, so at the very least, it’s nice to go home with a chocolate one.
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