Every year, Hollywood’s biggest stars spend months preparing for the Academy Awards—not just memorizing speeches, but perfecting their red-carpet looks. That means weeks (sometimes months) of fasting, dieting, and carefully curated workouts to fit into designer gowns and tuxedos. But once the Oscars wrap, a different kind of spectacle unfolds: the annual Governors Ball, where Wolfgang Puck and his team serve more than 20,000 meticulously prepared plates to A-list guests.

For nearly 30 years, Puck has been the man behind Hollywood’s most exclusive dinner party. The legendary chef and restaurateur, known for revolutionizing fine dining in Los Angeles with Spago, has built a post-Oscars menu that balances luxury and comfort—because after hours of sitting through speeches on an empty stomach, celebrities don’t just want champagne and amuse-bouches. They want to eat.

“They don’t want just a little salad or vegan soup,” Puck said. “They want real food.”

The Chaos Behind Hollywood’s Biggest Feast

While the Academy announces its nominees in January, Puck’s planning starts well before that. He brainstorms with his team, executive chef Eric Klein and pastry chef Garry Larduinat, to craft the menu. But if you think everything is neatly set in stone, think again.

“I come up with ideas all the time, and then we change them,” Puck admitted, laughing. “Two days ago, I told Eric, ‘I don’t have anything.’”

Each year, he adds a few new surprises to the menu while keeping fan favorites that have become synonymous with the event. His smoked salmon pizza with caviar, spicy tuna tartare, and black truffle chicken pot pie are non-negotiable mainstays.

“Macaroni and cheese—we have to have that all the time,” Puck added.

Despite the scale of the operation, the night is tightly orchestrated. The kitchen team doesn’t just start firing dishes at random—they time their service to the Oscars telecast, carefully watching as the final awards are announced.

“We don’t want to put the chicken pot pie in at 5 p.m.,” Puck explained. “We know when Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture happen. So, when it’s about 30 minutes out, we start cooking.”

And with more than 20,000 plates to serve, precision is key. The food is prepared across multiple stations—guests can walk up and grab dishes like crispy duck bao from a station that resembles a Beijing street food stall, complete with whole ducks hanging behind the chefs. Other highlights include lobster-filled ravioli, vegetable paella, and slow-braised beef cheeks with paprika.

Celebrity Cravings & Hollywood’s Most Extravagant Bites

Some stars come straight from winning their Oscar to find a favorite dish waiting for them. Puck has personally catered to some of the most famous palates in Hollywood—whether it’s Ang Lee requesting a classic Chinese steamed fish, Martin Scorsese wanting a simple tomato-basil pasta, or Barbra Streisand demanding not one but two servings of chicken pot pie with black truffles.

“She came to the restaurant and said, ‘Wolfgang, I’m coming to the Oscars—will you make the chicken pot pie again?’”

Puck makes sure to include a variety of cuisines each year. For 2025, he is incorporating English-inspired dishes like fish and chips and beef Wellington, thanks to guest chef Elliot Grover from Cut in London. Other stations will feature Spanish flavors, including vegetable paella and carabinero shrimp with cherry sauce.

The most extravagant bites of the night? Japanese Miyazaki beef with wasabi mashed potatoes and ponzu sauce. There will also be tortellini with black truffles and an Austrian-inspired freshwater shrimp Pad Thai—a nod to Puck’s own heritage.

“We balance it out,” he explained. “You can’t have everything with caviar and truffles—then it gets too expensive.”

While most stars wait for the food to be served, Joaquin Phoenix had a different approach. The longtime vegan skipped the formalities altogether and walked straight into the kitchen.

“He came in with his fiancée and some people from the movie, and he was eating in the kitchen,” Puck recalled. “All the vegan dishes we had, he said, ‘I have never been to a restaurant where you get food like that.’”

Why Puck Keeps Coming Back to the Oscars

Puck has nothing left to prove. His restaurant empire spans the globe, and at 74 years old, he could easily step away from the Oscars kitchen. But he chooses to return each year, not just for the prestige, but because he loves seeing Hollywood’s biggest names light up when they taste his food.

“If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t do it,” he said. “At my age, I do what I want to do.”

And while his legacy is cemented in the world of fine dining, the Oscars remain his most high-profile gig.

“People know me from the Oscars more than my restaurants,” he admitted. “If I go to South America or Japan, they love it.”

For one night a year, after months of preparation, Wolfgang Puck becomes the most important chef in Hollywood. While actors may go home with golden statues, the real winners are the ones who finally get to eat.