The upcoming Costume Institute Benefit (also known as The Met Gala), on Monday, September 13, 2021, celebrating the exhibition In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, will feature a plant-based menu with recipes from a group of chefs—both firsts for the gala. Marcus Samuelsson—chef, restaurateur, and Bon Appétit brand adviser—chose the 10 up-and-coming New York–based talents: Fariyal Abdullahi, Nasim Alikhani, Emma Bengtsson, Lazarus Lynch, Junghyun Park, Erik Ramirez, Thomas Raquel, Sophia Roe, Simone Tong, and Fabian von Hauske.
“The opportunity for guests to experience the cuisine of this diverse group of chefs will be one of the highlights of the evening,” said Clyde B. Jones III, Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement at The Met. “We are grateful to Marcus and the chefs for their participation in the Benefit, which provides The Costume Institute with its primary source of annual funding.”
Each chef will contribute one recipe for either a canapé, an entrée, or a dessert in a new interpretation of regional American cuisine. Olivier Cheng will cater the event.
“I am honored to participate in an initiative that highlights the incredible work of these 10 New York chefs at The Met Gala,” said Samuelsson. “After a difficult two years for the restaurant industry, this will showcase the work and tell the stories of a dynamic group of chefs while presenting an exciting menu of delicious, plant-based dishes. The Met Gala offers an incomparable opportunity for emerging talent to elevate their careers and share their perspectives and craft.”
To celebrate their participation in The Met Gala, in the weeks leading up to the event, the chefs will create plant-based summer picnic recipes—different from what will be served at The Met Gala—and these will be shared by The Met, Vogue, and Instagram in how-to videos on Instagram Reels starting today using #MetGalaChefs. Recipes will include a watermelon salad, roasted potato skins, and a tuna-less Niçoise salad. Fans will be invited to recreate the recipes and share their results using #MetGalaChefs.
The 2021 Costume Institute Benefit celebrates the exhibition In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, on view September 18, 2021–September 5, 2022. The event provides the department with its primary source of annual funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, operations, and capital improvements.
The exhibition and benefit are made possible by Instagram.
Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.
A two-part survey of American fashion, the exhibition begins with Part One in the Anna Wintour Costume Center. This first part will explore a modern vocabulary of American style emphasizing the expressive qualities of dress and deeper associations with issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Inspired by a patchwork quilt, the design of the galleries will feature ensembles encased and arranged as “squares” in horizontal and vertical rows, representing the qualities that collectively define American fashion
Part Two, In America: An Anthology of Fashion, will open in the American Wing period rooms on May 5, 2022, and present narratives that explore the development of American fashion as they relate to the complex and layered histories of those spaces. Parts One and Two will close on September 5, 2022.
