Japanese milk bread, a three-night stay for eight people on a volcanic Italian island and liposuction are among the treats inside the much-coveted Oscars goodie bag this year.
The bag, which is unaffiliated with the Academy but sent by the company Distinctive Assets to the acting and directing nominees, is valued at around $126,000 (£106,000).
Brands pay $4,000 to secure a spot in the hamper, but there is no obligation on the recipient to accept, use or promote any of the contents.
Other swag includes a plot of land in Australia (size and location unknown), a three-night stay in rural Ottawa, hand-harvested organic dates, silk pillowcases and an executive hair restoration consultation with a Florida doctor.
The bag contains some 60 items, with a focus on luxury wellness promotion, such as a NaturGeeks functional wellness “immunity boost” and C60 Purple Power edible massage oil (part of the Sexy range).
They can also book a facelift with celebrity surgeon Dr Konstantin Vasyukevich and guzzle a selection of chocolates with a video message embedded in the box.
Meanwhile, the keynote menu for this year’s official afterparty has also been revealed. Conceived by British chef Elliott Grover, who was commissioned by veteran Oscars caterer Wolfgang Puck to deliver a quick taste tour of England, it begins with a cone of fish and chips, before moving on to a tiny chicken pie and finishing with a trifle.
Grover has said he’s relying on the lure of miniaturisation – plus the fact that the Oscars are the last gasp of the awards season – as a way to get such calorific snacks down A-listers.
He told Vice of his fish and chips, which are fried in beef dripping: “People will be celebrating so they’ll be more open to it and it’s only a four-biter. I might get away with it — maybe.”
The chicken pie comes with shavings of black truffle, while the trifles are topped with a maraschino cherry, lending them a striking seaside postcard appearance.
With its keen embrace of meat and fat, Grover’s menu appears a remarkable swerve away from the plant-based fare so recently fashionable at such ceremonies (only vegan food was available at this year’s Golden Globes).
The Oscars have been providing options that don’t feature animal products for a decade. In 2020, when best actor winner Joaquin Phoenix used his speech to call for an end to meat and dairy farming, Puck laid on a vegan cheese bar.
His vegetable creativity will be showcased this year with nibbles including a mushroom potsticker “soup dumpling”, puri pillow with sumac hummus and English pea falafel and tendril.
