THE GOVERNORS BALL IS IN WOLFGANG PUCK'S COURT.Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor Light and water will play a prominent role in the decor of the Governors Ball, the dinner following the 78th annual Academy Awards ceremony on March 5. The elaborate dinner, attended by most of the winners, nominees and guests, will be held in the ballroom on the top level of the Hollywood & Highland Center adjacent to the Kodak Theatre The Kodak Theatre is a live theatre in the Hollywood and Highland retail, dining, and entertainment complex on Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. , where the Oscars are held. The dinner will be orchestrated by master chef Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johann Puck (born Wolfgang Johann Topfschnig on July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and businessman based in Los Angeles. , who offered a sneak peek at the food and decorations last week. Guests will travel though a rainbow of colors into a room with a spectacular, Zen-inspired feeling that's also high-tech and modern. ``The inspiration for the design was a pedestrian walkway in the Vancouver Airport to the Fairmont Hotel that had a plexiglass ceiling treatment,'' noted Cheryl Cecchetto of Sequoia Productions, which is producing the Governors Ball for the 17th consecutive year. ``That ticked everything off for this magnificent, elegant, surreal ball.'' Her ideas over the years have come from a variety of sources, she said - travel, a piece of jewelry, etc. The extraordinary design will be using a massive amount of lighting - including 10,000 florescent flo·res·cence n. A condition, time, or period of flowering. See Synonyms at bloom1. [New Latin fl tubes (that appear like crystal cylinders) suspended from the ceiling in 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-foot lengths. Using color faders, the ceiling and color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour the room - red, blue, green, magenta, orange, purple, gold, teal green - will change every minute, noted Lawrence Oberman, a lighting designer with Exhibit Lighting Group in West Hills. The ceiling tubes will have wave action and movement created by air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. . ``This year, people are definitely going to notice the lighting, with the room constantly changing colors,'' added Oberman. The ballroom layout will have tiered levels with rectangular dining tables and banquette ban·quette n. 1. A platform lining a trench or parapet wall on which soldiers may stand when firing. 2. also ban·kit Southern Louisiana & East Texas A raised sidewalk: seating, up-lit columns and a huge water wall on one end that will create movement while glowing. Chairs and banquettes will be upholstered in soft, chic, white Ultrasuede cloth, and glass tabletops will be set with inlaid in·laid v. Past tense and past participle of inlay. adj. 1. Set into a surface in a decorative pattern: a mahogany dresser with an inlaid teak design. 2. mother-of-pearl silverware, clear textured glass plates and glassware with frosted glass Frosted glass is produced by the acid etching of clear sheet glass, or sand-blasting. It has the effect of rendering the glass translucent, obscuring the view while still passing light. Applications:
Half of the tables will feature Zen-like waterfall fountain floral arrangements with sprays of white Phalaenopsis and green Cymbidium orchids, horsetail horsetail, any plant of the genus Equisetum [Lat.,=horse bristle], the single surviving genus of a large group (Equisetophyta) of primitive vascular plants. , moss and lichen lichen (lī`kən), usually slow-growing organism of simple structure, composed of fungi (see Fungi) and photosynthetic green algae or cyanobacteria living together in a symbiotic relationship and resulting in a structure that resembles neither , while others will have two other design variations of either multiple square or oblong glass containers with the same floral components - all by Mark Held, co-owner of Mark's Garden in Sherman Oaks. ``The water sculpture (or waterfall on a pump) lends a soft, restful rest·ful adj. 1. Affording, marked by, or suggesting rest; tranquil. See Synonyms at comfortable. 2. Being at rest; quiet. rest quality - and is neat and different,'' said Held, adding that he's flying in flowers - some 5,000 orchids - from Thailand, Holland and Oregon - and will have 50 people working on the arrangements. Polished rocks and moss will flow onto the table for an exotic landscape. ``It's always a challenge to create something new each year,'' said Held, adding that ``it has to be fabulous and extraordinary.'' The room exterior will resemble a Japanese garden Japanese gardens (Kanji 日本庭園, nihon teien), that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, at Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines, and at historical landmarks such as old castles. , and ice bars (backed by illuminated wall panels) will add a touch of drama. Chef and restaurateur res·tau·ra·teur also res·tau·ran·teur n. The manager or owner of a restaurant. [French, from restaurer, to restore; see restaurant. Puck and his catering team (composed of 300 people) will be serving passed hors d'oeuvres and a multicourse sit-down dinner featuring an entree of chicken and black truffle truffle (trŭf`əl) [Fr.], subterranean edible fungus that forms a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship with the roots of certain trees and plants. The part of the fungus used as food is the ascoma, the fruiting body of the fungus. risotto ri·sot·to n. pl. ri·sot·tos A dish of rice cooked in broth, usually with saffron, and served with grated cheese. [Italian, from riso, rice, from Old Italian; see rice. for the motion picture academy's 1,600 guests. ``This is the biggest party in Los Angeles and America - bigger than the presidential inauguration,'' said Puck (who started thinking about the menu last week), joking, ``the president can't afford us, but the academy can. ``It's still as exciting today (to create the menu and cook for the ball) as it was for the first one (this is his 12th consecutive year). I like every part of it. I love the pressure and thrive on it. The food has to be simple, delicious and of great quality. The secret is to get the food out fast and hot. ``The challenge this year will be to make risotto for 1,600. I'll have 15 people cooking it.'' The menu also features an antipasto platter and classic favorites such as smoked salmon pizzas (450 of them) with caviar and 3,000 gold-dusted chocolate Oscars made with Valrhona chocolate (in a mold kept under lock and key). The menu theme is Oscar, noted Puck - and it will be showcased several times throughout the menu - a smoked salmon Oscar on a baked cracker Oscar (adhered with a little dill cream), a pastry Oscar on the entree plate, a white sugar Oscar on the dessert plate and gold-dusted Oscars wrapped for guests to take home. Puck will be using 400 pounds of smoked salmon, 30 pounds of black truffles from France (at a cost of $30,000) and $40,000 worth of Osetra caviar. Executive pastry chef Sherry Yard has created a beautiful white dessert to complement the room and table decor for the grand finale. It will feature a chocolate/mocha opera cake nestled in a white chocolate box, topped with a rectangular sheet of white chocolate with a coconut macaroon and coconut filling, a white sugar ice cream cone An ice cream cone or cornet is a cone-shaped pastry, usually made of a wafer similar in texture to a waffle, in which ice cream is served, allowing it to be eaten without a bowl or spoon. with a scoop of pineapple sour cream ice cream and a white sugar Oscar. Chopped mango, pineapple and passion fruits will be sprinkled around the base. ``For me, it's an Asian-inspired Zen fantasy,'' said Yard. The dinner will be accompanied by a special Sterling Vineyards 2004 Gold Standard Reserve Chardonnay (made of 100 percent chardonnay grapes) and a 2002 Red Carpet Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (made from a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petite verdot and cabernet franc grapes), 300 cases of each, created especially for the event along with Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Champagne from France. Patron Spirits also will be providing other beverages. For the Oscar preshow, guests can enjoy Sterling Vineyards 2005 Sauvignon Blance (about $15 retail per bottle) and Sterling Vineyards 2002 Merlot (about $22 per bottle). ``The most fun,'' said Puck, ``is at the end of the night when I can sit down with my crew and have a glass of wine.'' Natalie Haughton, (818) 713-3692 natalie.haughton(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Wolfgang Puck will serve an assorted antipasto platter, right, at the March 5 Governors Ball. (3 -- color) no caption (Orchid) David Sprague/Staff Photographer Box: The post-Oscar spread |
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