Golden Globe celebrities enjoy desserts of real gold

At least that's what activists are saying.

All 1300+ Attendees of tomorrow night's Golden Globes will eat dessert covered with edible gold flakes, which retail at $135 a gram. This entirely reasonable dish took pastry chef Thomas Henzi six months to design, and it will require 40 chefs and 110 kitchen staff members to prepare. But gold? On a dessert at the Golden Globes? I'm not sure I understand…

"There is gold dust on there for the Golden Globes," Henzi has explained, adding it will pair ideally with the Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2002 magnums created for the night.

Of course, people with consciences are upset:

Joel Berg, of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, has spoken of the irony of giving rich people such extravagant food for free while those in need have to jump through hoops to get help, adding: "I resent that a wealthy society allows its neighbours to face hunger."
…
"I don't want to bring the rich down, I want to bring everyone else up," he said. "However, this is an irony that the people who need it least often get free food wherever they go, but we still make it extraordinarily difficult for people to obtain government food benefits."

That seems like a fair argument, but as "restaurateur and cookery expert" Prue Leith points out, it's clear this Berg guy knows nothing of ancient history, when oppression and poverty were no big deal.

"The idea of gold in food as a display of wealth goes back to the Romans. Caesar used to crush pearls into food to make it more valuable and hide jewellery inside it too…Richer people seem to go out less now, but spend more when they do. They have an attachment to brand and labels just like children do with trainers."

The meal will be served to 1,300 guests, including awards presenters Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Frieda Pinto.

It is unlikely that the more ethically versed stars who attended a brunch held by Green Carpet Challenge, the environmental group supported by Colin Firth and his wife Livia, will approve of such untrammelled excess.

The pudding, decorated with real gold, is described as "a chocolate delice, almond crunch terrine, garnished with acacia honey, caramel and fresh berries" and sprinkled with edible gold flakes at $135 a gram. The dish was devised over six months by pastry chef Thomas Henzi at the Beverly Hilton hotel and is being prepared by 40 chefs and 110 kitchen staff.

Source S2