8 Nominations for an Award-Winning Oscar-Themed Office Meal

Posted by Sara on Thursday, February 27th, 2014 with Comments Off on 8 Nominations for an Award-Winning Oscar-Themed Office Meal Comments

If your workplace is more inclined to host an Oscar pool than March Madness brackets, it may be worth planning a special Oscar-themed office meal for the Monday after the big event! Surprising employees with spontaneous celebrations is an effective way to reinforce appreciation and a culture that values camaraderie and teamwork; plus, staff members will likely chat about the night’s fashions, ridiculous acceptance speeches, and awards anyway. You might as well take the opportunity to stage an office-wide celebration! And even if some staff members aren’t big on pop culture, everyone will appreciate the break from the daily grind and a festive Oscar-themed meal.

With the range of nominees including themes like the 1970s, Wall Street excess, outer space, and Texas, there’s no shortage of options for celebratory dishes to make up a themed menu. And unless you decide to go entirely Wolf of Wall Street with lobster, steaks, and a bottomless martini bar, a Hollywood-worthy affair won’t need to wreck your catering budget for the next quarter.

With that in mind, here are some suggestions for Oscar-themed dishes for your office soiree:

Recognize American Hustle by serving dishes that were (in)famous in the 1970s: fondue, cheese logs, chicken picatta, and anything made in a microwave (just take the aluminum foil off first). 

Honor Wolf of Wall Street with a sushi spread. Just don’t go overboard: while filming one critical restaurant scene that required dozens of takes, Leonardo diCaprio had to eat “that last piece of yellowtail” until he was sick, spawning a new favorite anecdote for the talk show circuit.

While Dallas Buyers Club is a gut-wrenching film, its setting is ripe for an office meal menu… think Texas! Order up a barbecue feast and raise a glass of sweet tea to Matthew McConaughey’s performance, highly expected to earn him the Best Actor trophy this year.

Best picture nominee Nebraska is an underdog, but a few Midwestern-style side dishes could be a winner (anything corn-oriented would be suitable: corn chowder, cornbread, or just buttery corn on the cob). And, if you believe Bruce Dern’s character, throw in a few beers: it doesn’t really count as alcohol, anyway.

Gravity–inspired fare is a little bit trickier, since food and outer space don’t go hand in hand. Unless you feel like serving dehydrated ice cream, keep it simple and mix up a little Tang. Or, if you do go for an office happy hour instead of a luncheon, there’s always cocktails mixed with Russian vodka. Cheers, George Clooney.

Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts are both nominated for August: Osage County, and one family dinner makes a particular impact in the film. While you might not want to emulate their dinner table dynamics, their platters of fried chicken, green beans, and salad make a classic menu.

 

Of course, you could just celebrate movies in general with a theater-style spread: include a popcorn bar, nachos, hot dogs, boxes of candy, and other concession-style snacks for a lighter celebration. Or, go for classic Hollywood glamour and serve sparkling wine (or grape juice) and trays of hors d’oeuvres like canapés and shrimp cocktail.

However you choose to theme your Oscar office party menu, the catering and delivery experts at Waiter.com are the perfect behind-the-scenes crew!

When it comes to feeding employees and coworkers, make your company's food program really count! If your workplace dining plan needs to take it up a notch — or if you don't have one at all — Waiter.com is here to help. From Virtual Cafeteria Service to diverse menus to local takeout & delivery, Waiter.com offers customizable dining solutions for every business and budget. Contact us today to get started!

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