What meals make up America? That’s the very question that chef Marcus Samuelsson needed to ask—and answer—when conceptualizing the menu for this year’s Met Gala, “ In America: An Anthology of Fashion. ” His conclusion, of course, was that this country’s cuisine is as diverse as its 330 million […]
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What meals make up America?
That’s the very question that chef Marcus Samuelsson needed to ask—and answer—when conceptualizing the menu for this year’s Met Gala, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.” His conclusion, of course, was that this country’s cuisine is as diverse as its 330 million inhabitants. There’s the immigrant-influenced cuisine of the coastal cities, the soul food of the South, the plant-based movement increasingly embraced by the younger generations. So he asked three utterly impressive and individual chefs to dream up the United States’s wide-ranging ideals: Lauren Von der Pool, Melissa King, and Amirah Kassem.
“They represent very different places in American food today,” Samuelsson says of his selection. “Amirah has the most amazing cakes. Lauren has been committed to the vegan and vegetarian food space for decades. Melissa is just an incredible chef—I've had the opportunity to eat her food on many different occasions, and I’m always so impressed with her talent.”
As different as these chefs are, Samuelsson noted one characteristic that he believes unites them: being of the moment. Von der Poole, King, and Kassem don’t cook with a nostalgic lens, but are instead focused on developing a distinct style that’s utterly unique. “This menu is a celebration of three amazing American chefs at this moment: it's the present/future for me,” says Samuelsson.
So what did they serve up at the Met Gala? Let’s start with Von der Pool, who was tasked with the cocktail hour hors d'oeuvres. A plant-based chef, she put her own spin on the classic deviled eggs, using Yukon potatoes instead of any animal products. Other passed appetizers included rice cakes topped with collard greens and cucumber salsa, truffled potato bites, and coconut ceviche. “What would America be without crops like corn, squash, dandelion, collards, beans, and burdock root? I wanted to focus on the vegetables that give America its flavor,” Von der Pool tells Vogue. “Each hors d’oeuvre tells a story, essentially about the depth of America, not just the opulence thereof. A lot of your favorite recipes were actually created from scraps, or whatever was seasonal.”
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King was in charge of the first course. Her choice? Fresh Hamachi, drizzled with citrus, olive and Sichuan chili. “This dish draws inspiration from an Italian crudo, yet layers techniques of Latin America through a broth similarly found in a leche de tigre, while marrying flavors of China and Japan,” explains King. “I wanted to create a dish that embodied the beautiful mix of vibrant cultures and ethnicities of immigrants that make up the DNA of America today.”
Samuelsson himself developed the evening’s main entree. It was a hearty and delicious dose of Americana: a barbecue striploin with spring carrots, crispy rice, and cornbread crumble.
Amirah Kassem masterminded the dessert. Her chocolate cake, layered with either chocolate or cappuccino mousse, all crafted in the shape of a teacup, is a homage to the night’s dress code of gilded glamour. “This dessert is a play on Gilded Age teatime. Tea gowns were popularized during the Gilded Age, and they were intended to be worn indoors with family and close friends during a dinner party. I find it to be so inspiring that not only was there a dress code but an entire garment was created to be paired with tea,” she explains.
On Monday night, guests from Blake Lively to Regina King and Tom Ford enjoyed the culinary creations on plates adorned with vintage motifs sourced by Jonathan Hartig of Libertine. Gracing the tables were linens based off of embroidery by American textile artist Elizabeth Jeffries, found by Vogue’s contributing editor Eaddy Kiernan in the Metropolitan Museum’s archive. Overlooking it all was a projection of Andrew Melrose’s 1887 painting, “Castle Garden, New York showing Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty,” one of the many nods to “Liberty Enlightening the World” seen throughout the night.
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