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The Dorchester Collection
What do you feed the most famous people in the world? Just ask Chef Elliott Grover.
It’s three weeks before the 2026 Academy Awards when we meet. He’s usually found as Culinary Director at Wolfgang Puck’s premium steakhouse, CUT, housed at London’s 45 Park Lane. Come March, he’s preparing to head back to Los Angeles as one of the renowned restaurateurs' hand-picked chefs catering the Governors Ball at the Oscars.
1,500 guests, including Oscar winners, nominees, and presenters, will all gather in the Ray Dolby Ballroom on the night (15 March, this year), straight after the ceremony, to round off awards season.
This year will mark Grover’s fourth year feeding the stars, having initially landed the gig in 2022 when he booked flights and a hotel, in the hopes that Puck would say yes to his proposal when it was already too late.
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"I literally just thought, 'what can I do to get a story for the hotel?'... at this stage there was no thought of doing any British dishes", he notes, with planning often spanning months in advance.
With two weeks to go, the idea of bringing the UK to the US was floated to the 34-year-old, who went on to become the first British chef at the event. That year, he launched his inaugural Oscars menu - an ode to the UK - consisting of fish and chips (which has since become a mainstay thanks to its celebrity fanbase), a two-bite take on Yorkshire puddings with roast beef, and a classic sherry trifle.
"I just wanted to give what was quintessentially British, I didn't really know what I was walking into”, he admits, adding that Christopher Nolan was one of his first guinea pigs: "Brendan Fraser had just won an Oscar for The Whale, Billie Eilish was there - everyone was there - it was crazy.”
Other passers-by over the years have included Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande (who didn’t stop, but he “appreciates her looking” nonetheless), and Adrien Brody, as well as Chicken Shop Date’s Amelia Dimoldenberg, who “kept dragging the celebrities over”.
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“There was one year I walked through [the kitchen], and Pharrell Williams was just standing there with Wolfgang Puck, walking through with other celebrities. It's like the kitchen's part of the ceremony”, he says.
“People have been trying to get into their lovely dresses and suits beforehand, and this is where they can let loose. They eat a lot of food - and it’s good food too.”
This year’s British-spotlighted menu is in keeping with tradition - both the roast beef and fish and chips are back.
While the finer details of the chosen two likely won't be finalised until the day, the fish and chips will marry either a fuss-free haddock or sea bass with skin-on triple-cooked chips, served in a bamboo cone, while the Yorkshire puddings envelope a single strip of English beef with creamy horseradish.
Having tried both dishes, guests needn't be concerned.
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"I knew that the menu needed to be similar to what I've done previously because we’re in the fourth year in; there's a lot of stuff that we know works and people receive it really well”, he adds, vowing he’d never do toad in the hole again (as it would transpire, the UK and US have hugely differing version of the comfort dish).
At the helm of the decisions is Puck himself, who has cemented his reputation as one of the most respected chefs and restaurateurs on the planet, with over 100 locations to show for it.
Now entering his 32nd year at the Oscars, Grover notes the 76-year-old’s quiet genius translates into the kitchen.
“The first year I remember there was a huge queue for our stand, and I was rushing to do the food”, he recalls. “The other chefs were getting upset, but Wolfgang came up to me and said, ‘Elliot, slow down, queues are good.’
“It was actually really clever from him, because then everyone’s attention was on us. He helped me realise that if you slow the supply down, the demand will only get bigger.”
The Dorchester Collection
Preparation for the night begins in the days and weeks before the red carpet is rolled out, with the chef striving to make his big-hitters as “foolproof” as possible, hauling bags of English mustard over to the states to ensure no detail goes missed.
He can’t allow for distractions, either. It can be 10pm before the event slows, but the chef says there’s “no chance” he’ll be found at an after-party, having clocked over 15 hours in the kitchen by this point.
“A lady - a very glamorous lady - asked if I wanted to come to her after-party one year and I said no”, he remembers.
“Everyone was getting pictures with her, so I said, ‘Oh, I'll have a picture with you, I don't even know who you are’... when I got home, I found out it was Lisa Vanderpump.
“She was stood next to me chatting for an hour and a half. I didn’t have a clue.”
Despite the pressure to keep hungry A-listers happy, Grover, whose on-the-day shift starts at 7am, claims the real success is all in the timings, and that the kitchen runs like “a well-oiled machine” when showtime comes around.
“It's a waiting game, because you can’t cook anything until the ceremony starts around 7pm”, he says.
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“They’ve got screens playing the awards, and when it gets near the end - Best Actor, Best Actress, Best film - you’re waiting to fire all the food.
“When you’ve got things like beef wellington, you need to get the timing just right”, he reflects, having served it multiple times at the event.
“You have to get it perfectly cooked at 28 degrees, making sure it’s well-rested, and you’re relying on the TV screen to see when to put it in.
“Plus, it's not like two beef Wellingtons, it's 60, so it's a lot of money, and a lot of pressure”, he adds, recalling one year when he was forced to take all of the dishes out of the oven under the instruction of Puck.
“The whole kitchen was just staring - it’s like they want you to fail in a way. That’s just the human in people, which is not nice.
“Luckily, I got it bang on.”
“I came to the conclusion that if it goes wrong, I just won't be invited back”, he laughs. “Surround yourself with great people, and you can't really go wrong.”
Clearly, it's not just a question of what you feed the most famous people in the world, but how – and between Grover and Puck, the Oscars feast is in safe hands.
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