Everyone Is Doing It! Critics' Choice Awards Goes Vegan for 25th Annual Ceremony
It’s official: 2020 is the year of vegan awards show ceremonies.
The Critics’ Choice Awards announced on Thursday that they will be following in the 77th annual Golden Globes‘ footsteps and opting for an exclusively plant-based menu in order to shine a light on sustainability and the climate crisis.
According to a press release, vegetarian tacos and burritos from Baja Fresh and plant-based burgers from The Counter will be served hot and fresh during the show. There will even be vegan desserts from Pinkberry and Cold Stone Creamery.
“When planning this year’s awards show, we wanted to be mindful of the impact that our event has on the environment,” said Joey Berlin, CEO of the Critics Choice Association. “Baja Fresh and The Counter were able to step up in a big way to support our decision thanks to their diverse menus of tasty food options. Together we are looking forward to providing our incredible honorees, nominees, and guests with delicious, and thoughtful, food during our show.”
The announcement comes less than a week after the 77th annual Golden Globes ceremony, which made headlines for switching to a vegan menu only two weeks before the event.
Lorenzo Soria, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, elected to serve a plant-based meal at the Golden Globes to raise environmental awareness about food consumption and waste. HFPA also partnered with Icelandic Glacial to eliminate single-use plastic and utilize glass water bottles.
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“The climate crisis is impossible to ignore and after speaking with our peers, and friends in the community, we felt challenged to do better,” Soria said in a statement regarding his decision. “We’re hoping to raise awareness around small changes that can have a greater impact.”
All 1,300 guests in attendance were served a three-course meal curated by the executive chef at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Matthew Morgan. The first course featured a creamy, chilled golden beet soup with citrus oil and pistachio, while the main course was a king oyster mushroom “scallops” featuring a wild mushroom risotto with roasted baby purple and green Brussels sprouts and carrots, and the dessert a vegan opera dome with a praline gunaja crumble and caramelized hazelnuts.
Thank you HFPA @goldenglobes 👏 https://t.co/WQ1yCKd57i
— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) January 2, 2020
Environmental activist and actor Leonardo DiCaprio applauded the association for their choice: “Thank you HFPA @goldenglobes,” he tweeted prior to the show.
In what appeared to be a nod to the plant-based meal, it looked like most of the celebs in attendance also ditched their tradition of treating themselves to In-N-Out after the ceremony.
In previous years, stars including Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Adele, and Padma Lakshmi have been spotted chowing down on the famous burgers as a little post-show treat.
