I tasted the Oscars 2024 menu curated by Wolfgang Puck’s British executive chef – here’s my verdict

Hanging on the oak-panelled walls of Bar 45 are moody portraits of Ian McKellen, Robert De Niro, and Kate Winslet.

They were taken by photographer Andy Gotts MBE – and the images of three esteemed actors are fitting for the occasion as I’m here to sample the menu A-list stars will enjoy at the 96th Academy Awards tonight.

I visited the intimate Park Lane bar as Wolfgang Puck, who has catered the glittering awards ceremony for three decades, invited executive chef, Elliott Grover, to cook at the annual Governors Ball Oscars Party in Los Angeles this week.

The event will take place in Tinseltown, but Grover, 32, proves how British influences only make it better.

The objective is simple: bring three dishes to the cinema’s most prominent event that tastes extraordinary, looks even better, and won’t make a mess on Emma Stone’s expensive dress.

So how did the Oscars dishes hold up under scrutiny? I tried them out to find out for myself…

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding 

Now, this is the real star of the show. Wolfgang also knows it because he’s paired the dish with the official (and currently undisclosed) cocktail of the Oscars 2024.

The generous slice of wagyu beef is served medium rare and complemented by a surprisingly delicate horseradish sauce.

A watercress garnish sits on top of it all, making it look pretty rather than complementing the overall taste.

Yorkshire puddings and roast beef aren’t what first springs to mind when you think of a small bite, but Elliott manages to somehow pull it off, though napkins on hand are advised.

Prawn cocktail roll 

Elliott glammed up a typical British dish in his second small bite. A prawn cocktail doesn’t scream exciting, but a generous dollop of beluga caviar certainly helps.

And the addition of a crispy bread roll transforms the dish into an ideal finger food, especially good for soaking up the champagne. He stuck to tradition with the sauce and crafted a classic Marie Rose.

The prawn is juicy and fresh – challenging my preconceptions of the typical frozen prawns one might usually find in this dish.

Fish and chips  

Arguably, the most typically British dish one can get their hands on, except Elliott injects luxury by ditching fish in favour of native lobster.

It’s delicious. A spiced tartare sauce accompanies the lobster, bringing in the three essential elements required for the staple British cuisine but making it much better than what you’d find at your local chip shop. 

The presentation reminded me of what you might expect at a wedding doing the rounds as canapes. However, the lobster wasn’t anything ordinary – juicy and made naughty with a crispy batter and a healthy dollop of tartare sauce.

The triple-cooked chips are there, too, and taste good. But the focus is on the native lobster.

‘The main thing is that the dishes need to look good, taste unbelievable, and as soon as you see it you think, Britain,’ Elliott told me while we sat in the crimson-lit bar.

Picking quintessential British dishes has equipped him to tick all three boxes while radiating palpable confidence as he sat chatting with me.

Born and bred in Cornwall, Elliot boasts an unusual start to his career, at least by today’s standards.

He holds zero qualifications but attributes cold-emailing, grit, and total faith in himself at all times for his success.

Elliot said: ‘I was trying to work out from nine years old what I could do because I was never academic at school.

‘Cooking was the only thing I was only ever good at. No one can cook in my family, my mother is the worst cook, and you can tell her that.’

But what his family lacked in culinary skills; they made up for in support. And it was his father’s willingness to drive him from Cornwall to London in his early teens for a trial shift that launched his career.

He was 15 when his father took him for work experience at The Ivy (a placement achieved off the back of a cold email), which helped land him his first role at Scott’s in Mayfair aged 16. 

He accepted the job, making him an earlier leaver from the educational system. ‘I didn’t do any college qualifications, I’ve only got 3 GCSEs at C, not because I couldn’t do it, but because I didn’t apply myself to it,’ Elliott explained.

‘I never once believed that I couldn’t do it. I don’t know what it was in my brain. I just thought I could do it, and I did it.’

Elliott views his achievements in higher regard because of his losses at school: ‘I think it’s more difficult for people to do it now without culinary school, but I think it gives you the edge if you can do it without.’

It was upwards from then on, and Elliott went on to work at Le Caprice (once beloved by Princess Diana) as a junior sous chef. By the time he left at 24, he was in an entirely different ranking. ‘I was one of the top five chefs in the building at 24,’ he explained.

The chef remembered fond memories of his days at the now-closed restaurant: ‘Le Caprice was iconic. One day, I came down with trays in my hands at 11 am to find Kiera Knightly and Kate Moss smoking a cigarette in the kitchen, I came across everybody.’

He revisited his roots at Scott’s Mayfair before eventually shifting back to Le Caprice, but this time as senior sous chef.

The scenery quickly became too familiar for Elliott, and he later went on to accept the head chef role at Hix in Soho and, after that, similar positions at The Ned and Duck and Waffle.

Now, at 32, he’s got the top job at Bar 45. And it’s his relationship with the Austrian American chef and restaurateur that’s landed him his most impressive accomplishment to date – cooking for A-listers at the Oscars.

Elliott and Wolfgang first met in LA. ‘I never really knew how big he was until I went to Beverly Hills. They moved me out there for a month before I started [at Bar 45].

‘I sat in the Four Seasons lobby, and I could see this big, stretched hummer come into the driveway, and he hopped out and came and said hello. Proper Hollywood.

‘I didn’t know what to expect, but he’s the most amazing, down-to-earth person. You know, sometimes you just meet someone and just click.’

‘I will speak to him once a day. He’ll ring me and say, “Hello, how are you?” It’s not even about the food.

It is the second time Elliot has cooked for the Oscars. Last year, he took a direct approach when asking Wolfgang if he could join him at the prestigious event.

Wolfgang holds total power over selecting three exceptional chefs from around the world for the event.

Being upfront has formed the basis for Elliott’s career, and once again, it paid off. ‘I just said can I come to the Oscars, and he pretty much said yes.’ Gaining Puck’s acceptance was easy, but the process was not so simple.

Picking the menu, crafting each recipe, sorting specifications, and training chefs to perfectly replicate his beloved dishes 2,000 times was no straightforward feat, especially when many are unaware of what a Yorkshire pudding is across the pond.

‘I remember thinking it was glamorous, but it’s damn tough work in the end,’ Elliott said.

Last year, he first took to the glitzy ceremony armed with fish and chips, chicken pot pie, and a sherry trifle, all small bites. ‘It was unbelievable. I didn’t realise how big it was until the night of the event,’ he said.

‘There’s only a few chefs that have the privilege of being in the ballroom, and I was lucky enough to be one of them.’

Elliott’s menu was a hit. ‘Everybody was so nice, that’s the crazy thing,’ he said. He recalled fond memories of Lisa Vanderpump enjoying his fish and chips and still appeared starstruck about crossing paths with Lady Gaga one year on.

Last year’s success only heightened pressure for Elliott when planning the 2024 event. Not only because he wants to outdo his already impressive feat but because he’s received the highest position for a chef this year.

He explained: ‘There’s another chef from Turkey and one from Bahrain, and I’ve got the top spot, naturally.’

The ‘top spot’ means his food is placed in a prime position at the ball, making it the most accessible out of the three chefs’ creations for celebrities to enjoy.

However, among new stresses was one constant – Britain: ‘I needed the menu to represent London, and Wolfgang wanted some classics,’ he said. Elliott added: ‘It’s a lot of pressure, but I’ve got to make Britain proud.’

Elliott settled on three of his signature dishes for the event: waugu roast beef with a Yorkshire pudding, creamed horseradish and watercress, a prawn cocktail roll with beluga caviar and Marie Rose sauce, as well as native lobster ‘fish and chips’ with a spicy tartare sauce and triple cooked chips.

Tasting the food was an equally impressive experience to listening about Elliott’s career history – the lobster ‘fish and chips’, presented in a cone, was moreish and ideal to pick at, the Yorkshire puddings crispy, and the caviar plentiful.

It was posh grub presented immaculately in small doses that would taste even better with a glass of champagne in hand, though most foods often do.

I wasn’t the only one pleased. ‘Wolfgang was so impressed with the roast beef and Yorkshire puddings that he paired that dish with the sponsored drink at the Oscars. ‘It’s going to be one of the top dishes,’ Elliott said.

I’m not surprised. I ask whether the constant praise and high standards ever get too much. ‘One hundred million per cent, but then you wake up one day and the passion is back,’ he said. 

Elliott’s menu will be available to experience in London at 45 Park Lane from January 23 to April 1, 2024, served in BAR 45.