The switch to a plant-based menu was made just weeks before the big night
The 77th annual Golden Globes air on Sunday, and this year they’re trying something new. The entire menu will be completely plant-based — a change that was made just about two weeks before the event.
Lorenzo Soria, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the ultimate decision to serve a vegan meal to raise environmental awareness about food consumption and waste. Along with the menu change, the HFPA partnered with Icelandic Glacial to eliminate single-use plastic and utilize glass water bottles.
“The climate crisis is impossible to ignore and after speaking with our peers, and friends in the community, we felt challenged to do better,” Soria said in a statement regarding his decision. “We’re hoping to raise awareness around small changes that can have a greater impact.”
Environmental activist and actor Leonardo DiCaprio has already applauded the HFPA for their choice: “Thank you HFPA @goldenglobes,” he tweeted on Friday.
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All 1,300 guests will be served a three course meal curated by the executive chef at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Matthew Morgan.
The first course of the night is a creamy, chilled golden beet soup with citrus oil and pistachio. (Morgan shared an at-home version of the dish exclusively with PEOPLE below.)
The main course — which was originally planned as a sea bass entrée — will instead be king oyster mushroom “scallops” featuring a wild mushroom risotto with roasted baby purple and green Brussels sprouts and carrots.
The dessert is equally decadent: a vegan opera dome with a praline gunaja crumble and caramelized hazelnuts.
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Moët & Chandon, the official champagne of the Golden Globes, and fashion designer LaQuan Smith also teamed up to craft a special “Moët Golden Hour” cocktail — a light and crisp citrus drink with surprising smokey notes.
Watch Ricky Gervais host the Golden Globes on NBC on Sunday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. ET, and create your own mini Golden Globes dinner with the recipes below.
Golden Beet Soup
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 ½ lbs. golden beets, peeled and chopped into 1/2-in. pieces (6 cups), green tops reserved
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped (2 cups)
2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (1 1/2 cups)
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
½ cup dry white wine
1 (48-oz.) container vegetable stock
1 cup water
1 tsp. orange zest plus ½ cup fresh juice (from 2 oranges)
1½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ cup chopped roasted salted pistachios
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium. Add beets, onion and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to caramelize, 15 to 18 minutes. Add garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add wine, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits from bottom. Add stock and water. bring to a boil over medium; reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook until beets are very tender, about 1 hour. Remove from heat; let cool 20 minutes.
2. Puree cooled soup in a blender until smooth; water can be added for desired consistency. Return puree to pot. Stir in orange zest, juice and salt. Chill 30 minutes or until ready to serve.
3. Thinly slice beet green tops. Ladle soup into bowls, and sprinkle with greens and pistachios. Drizzle with more olive oil, if desired.
Serves: 4
Active time: 40 minutes
Total time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
The Moët Golden Hour Cocktail
1 cup ice
¾ oz. grapefruit vodka
1 oz. fresh pineapple juice
⅓ oz. simple syrup
1½ oz. chilled champagne
Fresh pineapple chunk
Pinch of smoked salt
1. Fill a shaker with ice, grapefruit vodka, pineapple juice and simple syrup. Shake and strain into a coupe glass.
2. Top with champagne. Garnish with a fresh pineapple chunk sprinkled with a pinch of smoked salt.
Makes: 1