The real Hollywood party begins when the lights at the Dolby Theater go out and the After Party begins. While the world comments on the winners, 1,500 elite guests move into the Ray Dolby Ballroom for the post-Oscar banquet, an event that is, to all intents and purposes, a complex luxury war machine orchestrated by a single legend: Wolfgang Puck. For the 32nd consecutive year, the Austrian chef transforms Oscar night into an unprecedented sensorial experience. Behind i 70 plates on the menu there is not only creativity, but a true army of professionals made up of: 75 chef dedicated to savory dishes, 45 pastry chefs for confectionery creations, Oltre 300 staff members between waiters and room managers.
Oscar 2026, Sean Penn among the favourites: the actor, however, can abandon the awards ceremony
What the stars will eat
The 2026 menu is a perfect mix of starred “comfort food” and Asian innovation. Alongside the traditional ones Oscar-shaped salmon crackers and the timeless Wagyu mini-burgers, this year an oriental soul debuts: a station it will come (inspired by Japanese pubs) and an excellent sushi corner where five masters will prepare nigiri and handroll on the spot. And the dessert? Along with the chocolate figurines, Puck serves it apple strudel following his mother’s original recipe, a heart of tradition in the center of global worldliness. Puck is the king of improvisation. The chef still proudly remembers when Joaquin Phoenixfresh from the Oscar for Jokershowed up with an entirely vegan group: “I took them to the kitchen and we served dedicated dishes. He told me it was the best vegan restaurant in the world”. But excellence does not forget ethics: nothing is wasted. At the end of the evening, all surplus food will be sent to Skid Row, to support the homeless in Los Angeles.
Oscar, the secrets behind the voting: here’s who votes and with what criteria
The detail to personalize the figurine
While the guests relax among the sofas and convivial tables, the winners have one last obligatory stop: a reserved corner of the room where, between one toast and another, they can finally make engrave your name on the base of the figurine. It is in that moment, between the scent of truffles and the buzz of the jet set, that the dream officially becomes history.
