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Critics' Choice Awards 2026 food menu leaves the internet unimpressed
The internet was unhappy with the modest grazing plate served at the Critics' Choice Awards, likening it to airplane food and the Fyre Festival disaster.
Following the 31st Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday, where everyone was swooning over Timothée Chalamet’s loving shoutout to Kylie Jenner, another thing was making rounds on the internet. It was the food menu. Instead of lavish plates and indulgent mains, it was a decidedly modest grazing plate.
Many attendees, including American journalist Kyle Buchanan, gave a sneak peek of the meal, posting on X, currently sitting at over 3.6 million views. In the photo, the plate consists of grapes, a handful of crackers, two wedges of cheese, a spoonful of hummus, bruschetta, caprese skewers, one spanakopita and a few dried apricots.
The internet has dubbed this snack plate bad, comparing it to ‘airplane food.’ Even during the show, the dining options inspired jokes. Actor Janelle James talked about the food as she accepted her award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. During her speech, she said, “The best thing about being nominated four times is I finally realised they’re never gonna feed us at this thing. It’s gonna be grapes and ice cream every year, but this makes up for it!”
The internet is not so happy about the food menu either. One user remarked, “Ugh… this is embarrassing for ALL parties involved,” while another said, “This looks like a meal on a United flight, not at an award show.”
Someone else has hilariously compared the grazing plate to the infamous Fyre Festival disaster relief-style cheese sandwiches on white bread with processed cheese and a sad salad. “Plate giving Fyre Festival,” they said.
Someone went on to criticise the whole industry, saying, “The industry is really struggling, wow,” and one joked about the weight loss drugs, commenting, “Everybody’s on Ozempic! They didn’t want to waste tons of steak or fish.”
This isn’t the first time the Critics' Choice Awards have faced backlash over their catering choices. Last year, the ceremony went viral for serving individually wrapped pizza slices, another moment that had the internet questioning how one of Hollywood’s biggest nights keeps missing the mark when it comes to food.
