Daniel Boulud makes a mean red carpet, a special cocktail of that name for Oscar night. This, the second year in a row chef Boulud is host to the east coast academy of arts & sciences members, everyone hopes his restaurant, Daniel, will become a tradition; the fare matches the grandeur of the occasion. Daniel Boulud wants to ensure that he is on the East Coast what Wolfgang Puck and Thomas Keller are to the West where those chefs are hosting the parties and dinners. Of course, some diners there will surely have their statues in hand.
Daniel's red carpet features bergamot juice, pear jam, ground Galangal root as well as the requisite Ketel One vodka. The ingredients are given as kind of dare, as if to say, you can try this on your own. And each one is topped with a tiny slip of gold in the form of an Oscar. Director of the East coast academy, Patrick Harrison says there is no Oscar mold to follow, so all is made free hand.
This week, guests were invited to sample some of the treats, particularly the desserts created with the Best Picture nominees in mind. After a breakfast including scrambled eggs with a swirl of caviar, and a nova lox flower on a potato latke bed, the featured desserts made their way to the tables on a tiered platter: Rhum Babe and citrus for American Hustle, and Rocher and Poprocks for Gravity. Wolf of Wall Street gets a Chocolate Financier. You get the picture. Without saying which films were favored, I think it is safe to split your vote. That is, have a favorite movie quite separate from the confection conceived in its honor.
A version of this post also appears on Gossip Central.