The acclaimed head chef behind the 2021 Met Gala's cuisine has defended the plant-based menu against criticism over some dishes served that have been compared to the underwhelming food handed out at the Fyre Festival.
Marcus Samuelsson, the restaurateur who helped select the top 10 New York chefs who created the menu, told TMZ in a report Wednesday that food is a matter of taste and the meals at the Met Gala were delicious.
The food was widely mocked when Keke Palmer shared a photo of a wilted salad with a small serving of corn on Twitter.
"This why they don't show y'all the food, I'm just playinnnn," she wrote at the bottom of the image.
"They feeding y’all like it’s Fyre Festival," one Twitter user replied, referencing the Fyre Festival, which promised attendees gourmet food and instead served cheese sandwiches and salad.
Some Twitter users slammed the glitzy event, which reportedly sells tickets for $30,000 to $50,000, for serving such small portions of food to its A-lister guests, while others questioned what exactly certain items on the plate were.
Samuelsson explained that they served a 3-course meal and added that Palmer's photo was not an accurate depiction of the dish, which was barley and roasted mushrooms, with zucchini slices and a tomato corn salad.
A rep for Vogue told Page Six that they were "so thrilled and grateful to have worked with" Samuelsson onboard despite some negative feedback online. The spokesperson further explained that the menu "featured recipes from 10 emerging New York-based chefs to celebrate the return of the city’s restaurant industry, which was devastated by the pandemic."
The Met Gala's fully vegan menu drew applause from the animal rights group PETA.
"Kindness to animals is as American as apple pie, so the new vegan menu is perfect for the gala’s 'Americana' theme, and it’s sure to set a trend for other fashion events to follow," the organization said in a press release. "PETA is celebrating the end of the Meat Gala and hopes to see attendees embrace Earth- and animal-friendly fashion, too — meaning no fur, leather, cashmere, wool, or feathers."
Related Stories: