Oscar Cooking Numbers: 204 kilos of smoked salmon to start

Smoked salmon with caviar, agnolotti with black truffle, golden chocolate figurines: in front of the Oscar kitchen 25 years There is the leader Wolfgang Puck, who knows very well the likes of the stars who meet during the most important night of Hollywood.

"It's wonderful," said Puck when he received AFP in his own kitchen that will light his cook Sunday for the big movie night. "I remember the first time I did them, it was in the sanctuary auditorium. a kitchen in the parkingIt was raining, there was a lot of wind, it was very difficult, "he continued.

"We now have two very high quality kitchens, which makes things much easier," said the 69-year-old Austro-American chef.

Puck runs a "gourmet" empire, with dozens of restaurants around the world, from Bervely Hills to Las Vegas, from Singapore to Britain.

Over the years, Puck has developed "Conventional" which are a success with the 1,500 guests of the Governors Ball, the party organized by the United States Film Academy after the ceremony of the most prestigious awards of the sector.

"One of our traditional dishes, a crisp flat bread with fresh cream [crema fresca], smoked salmon and caviar. The bread is cut in the shape of an Oscar and we make 3,500 of them. So you can imagine, it's a lot of smoked salmon "… More precisely, 204 kilos.

Of the 60 dishes that make up the menu, there are current creations such as "Nashville style fried quail ", inspired by a traditional recipe from the southern United States, or agnolottis (a kind of ravioli) with peas seasoned with black truffles.

"People love the smell of truffles, we make thousands and smell in the dining room," said the chef, familiar with TVs.

Truffles from France, ham of Spain

Black truffles (16 kilos), olive oil (almost 8 liters), Espelette pepper and champagne (almost 1,400 bottles of Piper Heidsieck) come directly from France, where the chef studied in one of the most prestigious restaurants before emigrating to the United States.

Caviar (15 kilos) it will be American and Iberian ham (5 legs), of Spain, not to mention the Japanese wagyu meat.

"The film industry is global, there are films in France, Italy, England and now in Mexico, it is very strong, they have" Roma ", the film of Alfonso Cuarón, nominated in 10 categories and among the favorites to win the best film award, the most important of the night.

"And our cooking," he continued, "has a lot of that, we have an influence from Asia, Italy, France, as for example we have a wolf" Grilled sea & # 39; [lubina a la parrilla] like in France "

In total, the full menu includes 16,000 single servings, with vegan and gluten-free versions for those who like it. To serve the stars, Puck has 200 employees in the kitchens and 850 servers, supervised by 10 butlers.