Cover An interior view of The 2023 Met Gala in Gallery 131 of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Photo by Arturo Holmes/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
An interior view of The 2023 Met Gala in Gallery 131 of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Photo by Arturo Holmes/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
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After the red carpet and a visit to the Karl Lagerfeld exhibition, the glamorous guests finally sat down for dinner
Fashion's biggest night out is known for its glamorous red carpet looks and meticulously planned guest list but what goes on behind closed doors is a heavily guarded mystery.
We do know, however, that there is a cocktail hour during which celebrities mingle and catch up, a sit-down dinner, and starry performances to mark the opening of the Costume Institute’s annual exhibition.
Just like the extravagant dinner at the Oscars, the Met Gala menu is no less exquisite. In line with this year's 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty' theme, the menu is inspired by the late fashion designer's love for dinner parties, carefully planned by Vogue's special events department along with caterer Olivier Cheng.
Read more: Met Gala 2023: The most stylish Asian stars, from Michelle Yeoh to Blackpink’s Jennie
Guests including Xu Kaicheng, Letitia Wright, Maya Hawke, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Gabrielle Union clinking glasses at their table (Photo by Arturo Holmes/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
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Throughout his lifetime, Lagerfeld loved throwing lavish dinner parties attended by his high profile friends including Chanel's muse Cara Delevingne and Naomi Campbell. For this year's Met Gala, Cheng took a leaf out of Lagerfeld's dinner party book and put together a menu inspired by Lagerfeld's dinner for Paloma Picasso and Rafael Lopez-Sanchez in 1978 after their wedding's civil ceremony, which Yves Saint Laurent and Manolo Blahnik attended.
To take things to the next level, the Met Gala's interior was designed to emulate Lagerfeld's 18th-century Paris apartment's library. The table settings were exactly those of the 1978 dinner with exquisite French linen napkins, varnished hand-painted candelabras, and pink flower bouquets.
See also: Met Gala 2023: What Karl Lagerfeld's muses wore on the red carpet
The dinner was held at the The Met's Gallery 131 by The Temple of Dendur (Photo by Arturo Holmes/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
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On the menu was a medley of Lagerfeld's favourite dishes, according to Cheng's interview with Vogue US. To start, the guests were served a chilled spring pea soup with baby vegetables, lemon crème fraîche, and truffle snow. For mains, Lagerfeld's favourite Ōra King salmon was accompanied by a vegetable nage (broth), asparagus, pickled strawberries, and radish.
Don't miss: Met Gala 2023: Nicole Kidman revives her iconic 2004 Chanel No.5 ad dress
Champagne flowed throughout the evening (Photo by Arturo Holmes/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
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To go with the food, guests sipped on Domaine Laroche Chablis "Vieille Voye" 2020 and Domaine Jean Baptiste Boudier Aloxe-Corton "Les Combes" 2020 wines. For dessert, delicate petit fours were served.
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Amanda is a KL-born and raised third culture kid, who lives to eat. If not found reading, writing for Tatler Dining, or snacking, she is most likely playing with her dog, Katsu, sourcing new Birkenstocks, or looking for a new restaurant to venture to.
Follow her on Instagram at @feedingamanda.
