Life & Style Goes to the Oscar Parties : GOVERNOR’S BALL : The Biggest Star Wore an Apron

The Scene: In the kitchens that supplied the food for the Academy Awards Governor’s Ball, where Ambrosia Productions and Uber -chef Wolfgang Puck formed the catering version of the Dream Team to feed 1,600 hungry people who trooped from the Shrine Auditorium’s theater to an elaborately designed exhibition hall. Hanging out deep backstage with the mixed Ambrosia-Puck crews offered a scene that resembled food triage with people dressed in white huddled in deep concentration around tables of appetizers.

Best of Puck: Although Puck traveled sans entourage, there’s no doubt the man’s a star. Some clues: He shuttled between the Shrine and his restaurant Spago (where he and wife Barbara Lazaroff were hosting their own Oscar party) in a helicopter. He had an “Entertainment Tonight” crew recording his every move. A waitress asked him for an autograph. He was the only person allowed to roam the black-tie Governor’s Ball dressed in kitchen whites and a stained apron.

The Food: The Puck-created menu consisted of passed hors d’oeuvres (a sampling of pizzas, roasted new potatoes and caviar, Chinois vegetable spring roll and crisp potato galette). Appetizer plates held smoked salmon on crackers shaped like Oscar statues, crostini with foie gras, asparagus, seared tuna, shrimp, and bread sticks with prosciutto. The entrees were lamb chops and roasted salmon. Dessert was chocolate coffee crunch cake with fresh berries decorated with little gold-covered statuettes.

Dress Mode: Chefs are a pretty cool looking bunch. The typical uniform--white double-breasted jacket, black and white check pants, clogs or Reeboks, baseball cap--doesn’t always look so typical. Make the pants extra-baggy, hang some chains out of your pocket, grow some facial hair or shave your head, and voila ! Eet ees too heep, no?

How about a Valium? While one woman was walking across a hall from one kitchen to another, a walkie-talkie-wielding man barked, “Where are you going? What are you doing here? That badge hasn’t been valid since 3 p.m.!” And an “Entertainment Tonight” camera crew got busted while standing in the ballroom before the guests arrived. “Who are you with?” a sour-looking woman asked. “Wolfgang Puck is not in this room. Go .”