Social media is flooded with celebrity images and videos from the 2026 Met Gala, hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on the first Monday of May. This year's Met Gala dress code is "Fashion Is Art," with guests being asked to "celebrate the countless depictions of the dressed body throughout art history," the museum said. However, it is not just the costumes that are artistic, but also the food served at the Met Gala dinner.
A Dining Space Inspired By Italian Gardens
The evening's ambience, designed by event designer Raul Avila, drew inspiration from the elegance of Northern Italian gardens, reported Vogue. The Temple of Dendur was transformed into a lush, stylised dining setting where nature and design intertwined.
Tables were adorned with real fruits such as pomegranates, pears, black grapes, artichokes and kumquats, paired with fresh garden flowers to create striking centrepieces. Custom-made tablecloths in green and off-white stripes echoed the garden palette, while specially designed chairs added to the immersive aesthetic.
Guests entered the dining space through an opening crafted to resemble a gently weathered wall from an Italian garden. Set designer Derek McLane, who collaborated with Avila, described it as a "romantically decayed" entrance, setting the tone for an evening where art, history and nature merged.
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Full Menu Of Met Gala 2026
The dining experience was curated by Olivier Cheng Catering, with the menu reflecting the Northern Italian garden inspiration. The meal was conceptualised as a three-part journey - each course representing an element tied to both the decor and the exhibition theme.
The courses were framed as:
* The garden (starter)
* The statue (main course)
* The silhouette (dessert)
This narrative approach elevated the dinner from a meal to a multi-sensory experience.
The First Course: A Celebration Of Spring
Photo Credit: Poupay Jutharat/Vogue
Dinner began with a burrata dish paired with a green tomato salad featuring elderflower, pine and gooseberries. The dish was designed to evoke the freshness of early spring.
In an inventive touch, the burrata was presented to resemble a green tomato - achieved using tomato water tinted with green herbs. The idea was to celebrate growth, seasonality and the natural beauty of a garden that is carefully shaped rather than controlled.
The Main Course: Sculptural And Refined
Photo Credit: Poupay Jutharat/Vogue
The main dish featured a rack of lamb accompanied by morel panna cotta, Parmesan gnocchi, asparagus, carrots, spring peas and mint.
The presentation was intentionally sculptural. The rack of lamb, described as "statuesque", served as the focal point of the plate, aligning with the artistic theme and echoing the grandeur of classical forms.
Desserts Inspired By Iconic Fashion
The dessert course offered perhaps the most direct connection to the 'Costume Art' exhibition. It featured three separate creations, each inspired by an iconic fashion silhouette.
The first dessert combines raspberry-infused chocolate, red velvet cake and raspberry chocolate cremeux. It drew inspiration from an Alexander McQueen design from his Spring 2001 "Voss" collection.
The second was a strawberry pavlova paired with passionfruit curd and burgundy amaranth microgreens. This dish reflected Robert Wun's dramatic Spring 2023 'bleeding coat'.
The final dessert featured a white chocolate mocha, cocoa cake and dark chocolate ganache, inspired by Christian Dior's Spring 2024 bar suit.
Photo Credit: Poupay Jutharat/Vogue
Met Gala 2026: Where Cuisine Meets Couture
Chef Olivier Cheng, alongside executive chef Shane O'Neill, focused on creating dishes that were not only flavourful but visually striking. Each plate was conceived as edible art, aligning with the broader theme of the evening.
The result was a menu that mirrored the Met Gala itself - imaginative, detailed and deeply connected to artistic expression. In a night dominated by fashion, the food stood out as a creative masterpiece in its own right.