Oscars

2014 Governors Ball Preview For 86th Academy Awards

By Michelle McCue | February 20, 2014

Members of the press were given a yummy first-hand look at the food and décor of this year’s Governors Ball, which will immediately follow the 86th Oscars ceremony on Sunday, March 2, in the Ray Dolby Ballroom on the top level of the Hollywood Highland Center.

Thursday morning’s preview was a deluge of all the senses and proved why the Governors Ball is Hollywood’s most glamorous post-Oscar party in town.

©WAMG

Nine-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, John Legend, will perform for the Ball’s 1,500 invited guests of Oscar winners and nominees, show presenters and other telecast participants.

Everyone will feast on signature favorites such as smoked salmon Oscars, chicken pot pie with shaved black truffles, and mini American Wagyu burgers with aged Cheddar and remoulade, incorporating local produce and sustainable seafood.

Now that’s a party!

Modern presentations such as crispy lobster shrimp dumplings with five spice and bites of fried chicken with white grits will add excitement, while an expanded selection of vegan dishes, including shots of carrot orange gazpacho, taro root tacos with avocado, and butternut squash with farro and wild rice will have a more prominent focus.

Academy governor Jeffrey Kurland, event producer Cheryl Cecchetto and master chef Wolfgang Puck are returning to create this year’s Governors Ball.

As the chair of the Governors Ball, Kurland will oversee the décor, menu and entertainment planning, as well as design the attire to be worn by the evening’s staff.

Fun Ballroom and Food Facts

1500 guests
950 staff
350 culinary staff
13,000 glasses for beverages
4,000 small plates
4,500 ramekins and verrines
6,000 cocktail forks
800 push pops
4,500 bamboo skewers
1,000 filled mini Oscars
2,000 chocolate truffles
1,200 cupcakes
1,000 pounds of Cacao Barry bittersweet chocolate
10 pounds edible gold dust
5,000 mini chocolate Oscars
More than 80 local farmers for fruits and vegetables
1,350 bottles of Thiénot Champagne
2,400 bottles of Sterling Vineyards Wine

6,500 wood-fired Oscar-shaped flat bread
3,500 miso cones
250 pounds troll-caught Atlantic Bigeye
17 whole US wild-caught yellowtail
1,300 farmed oysters
5 kilos of American farm-raised caviar
600 Maine lobster
7,500 individual US shrimp
250 pounds sticky rice
30 gallons cocktail sauce
50 whole yellowtail snapper
25 gallons spicy mustard
1,250 stone crab claws
1,500 Yukon gold potatoes
10 pounds winter black truffles from Burgundy, France
20,000 pieces of California-grown micro greens
6,000 pieces mini brioche buns
5,000 cage-free eggs
300 quarts heavy cream

Kurland is an acclaimed costume designer whose feature credits include “Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Radio Days,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Collateral,” “Inception,” “The Dictator,” “Beautiful Creatures” and the upcoming film “Tomorrowland,” starring George Clooney. He received an Oscar nomination for Costume Design for “Bullets over Broadway.” This will be Kurland’s fifth year serving as the chair of the Governors Ball.

The design is a garden setting of “Stars Under the Stars” and the LED lights in the ceiling looked great. The plants on the walls make up the vertical gardens that include very tall floral arrangements and trees. The old fashioned street lights are a nice touch.

The food was delicious especially the wild salmon with ginger and almonds and the short rib goulash.

Puck, along with chef Matt Bencivenga, will create the menu featuring more than 50 imaginative dishes, from one-bite hors d’oeuvres to small-plate entrees that will be passed throughout the evening.

This year’s dynamic pastry team includes Della Gossett, Spago’s executive pastry chef; Kamel Guechida, corporate director of pastry for the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group; Romain Lenoir, executive pastry chef of Wolfgang Puck Catering; and Jason Lemonnier, pastry chef for Hollywood & Highland.

Together these chefs will create elegant seasonal desserts, such as chocolate-dipped strawberry cheesecake pops, citrus panna cotta with funky chunky chocolate popcorn, and a celebratory cake to honor Puck’s 20th consecutive year creating the menu for the Governors Ball.

The ballots were also unveiled.

Marc Friedland, creative director of Marc Friedland Couture Communications will once again design the envelopes and announcement awards bearing the names of Oscar winners for the 86th Academy Awards. He began creating the first-ever specially designed envelope and winners cards for the Oscars in 2011.

Friedland’s custom-designed envelope is handcrafted from a high gloss, iridescent metallic paper, treated in an “Oscar” gold, complemented by a red-lacquered lining featuring the Oscar statuette hand-stamped in satin gold leaf. A faint statuette watermarked pattern gives the exterior envelope its distinctive finish and provides for added security against duplication.

The exterior of the envelope and its flap features an Art Deco-inspired satin gold foil-treated frame with an ecru inset panel bearing the name of the award category—each in a richly appointed charcoal ink. The envelope will contain a heavyweight ecru card with iridescent gold accents and gold leaf-embossed Oscar statuette, along with the phrase, “And the Oscar goes to…” For a cohesive and elegant look, the names of the winners will be printed in the same charcoal ink and mounted onto a matching, red-lacquered hand-wrapped frame, while the back of the card will be printed with the award category.

Fun fact: the Academy is sent four sets of cards for the envelopes with every nominee printed on them. Price Waterhouse then puts the cards with the winners in the envelopes, seals them and shreds the rest. They also receive 4 sets of envelopes for each category for safety.