Food & Drink Ideas for Your Oscars Party (2026 Edition)
A last-minute cheat sheet of bites and libations to pair with this year's nominees.
With the 98th Academy Awards just around the corner, here are food and drink pairings for some of this year’s nominated movies and short films! Whether you’re hosting a watch party for a crowd or settling into the couch by yourself, it’s not too late to put these ideas into action. (Though I recognize this would have been more helpful a week ago.)
Most of these ideas came about as I was brainstorming for my ten-course Oscars dinner party. In case you missed it, here’s my recap of how that all went down:
Best Picture Nominees
Bugonia
At my Oscars dinner party, I served a custom-made ice cream made with buckwheat honey. If you have an ice cream maker, David Lebovitz has a good recipe for this. And if you don’t, Van Leeuwen sells a honeycomb ice cream, which sounds great—but there’s no honey in it. (Rather, honeycomb toffee is mixed in.) I was at the grocery store the other day and saw other brands selling different forms of ice cream made with real honey, usually with berries.
The characters of Bugonia didn’t eat anything nearly as sweet. Jessie Plemons was microwaving frozen meals, guzzling Coca-Cola, and slicing Pepperidge Farm coconut layer cakes. The tense dinner table faceoff with Emma Stone occurs over spaghetti and meatballs.
To drink: The Bee Sting is a classic, and this Honeysuckle cocktail is a solid daiquiri riff. Use hot honey in the syrup to make it just as spicy as Yorgos Lanthimos.
F1
So I don’t think we actually see anyone eat during this movie. But you can match the luxury nature of Formula One and load up on caviar. This is your opportunity to pretend you’re an oligarch. Here’s a guide on buying and serving sturgeon roe; my favorite way to eat it is with potato chips and crème fraîche. Or just do caviar bumps for true high-low decadence.
To drink: The official champagne of Formula One is Moët, but previous sponsor Ferrari Trento (no relation to the auto manufacturer) still has their specially-branded F1 bubbly floating around at certain wine shops.
Ferrari is also the name of a classic shooter, made with equal parts Fernet and Campari. American F1 drivers are uncommon (there aren’t any currently competing), which makes Brad Pitt an anomaly. You could make a Ferrari “Americano” using domestically produced alternatives. I’m partial to Faccia Brutto’s Fernet Pianta and Aperitivo.
This is also a great opportunity for a mocktail. I don’t have any specific ideas but whatever you come up with, call it the Designated Driver.
Frankenstein
The Turduckenstein I prepared for my dinner party was extremely fitting. If you wanna try this at home, I just published the method. It’s a bit of a project!
How to Make a Turduckenstein
Perhaps the biggest showstopper during my ten-course Oscars dinner was what I deemed the “Turduckenstein.” It’s an assemblage of chicken, duck, and turkey, organized in the shape of the perfect creature. It is not the most optimal way to serve roasted poultry, but it looks pretty damn cool.
To drink: Gothic and dark are the key words. Brandy or absinthe would be a great match. A classic cocktail with the perfect name does exist: Corpse Reviver No. 2.
If you want to go chaotic, you could Frankenstein something by pouring a bunch of different spirits and liqueurs and juices together. (This is sometimes known as Jungle Juice.) If the constituent parts have different specific gravities, your glass would have an interesting/horrifying layer of fluids.
Hamnet
You can go punny here and serve a big ham. Or lean into the rural English forest vibes: apples and mushrooms and nettles are suitable. If you want to simulate the experience of living in 16th century Stratford-upon-Avon, perhaps a Jessie Buckwheat porridge.
To drink: A Witch’s Brew of some kind would be great: perhaps spiced cider spiked with London dry gin. (This has the benefit of being easy to serve at a party if you have a crock pot.)
Marty Supreme
Like the actor who plays him, Marty Mauser is a Jewish kid from Manhattan. He wants to be the best ping pong—sorry, table tennis—player in the world. He’ll do whatever it takes to get to Tokyo, where his biggest nemesis awaits. Inspired by this cross-cultural connection, I looked up the menu at Shalom Japan, a Jewish-Japanese fusion restaurant in Williamsburg.
For my own dinner, I made their okonomi-latke, topped with ikura to represent Marty’s orange ping pong balls. Some of their other recipes have been published online, including the matzah ball ramen and lox chirashi and would be show-stopping dishes.
Other ideas I had for my dinner party but didn’t use: a sweet potato korokke coated in Cheeto crumbs, orange sorbet (scooped in ping pong ball size), or orange mochi. Clearly, the color orange was on my mind.
But if you want something really easy, mandarins or a box of Wheaties are equally on theme.
To drink: Martini Supreme, however you want to prepare it. Garnish with an orange ping pong ball, or if you wanna get fancy, carefully place a droplet of vegetable oil on top of the martini, then a droplet of St. Germain or dry curaçao on top of the oil (any orange-colored liqueur will do). Then you have a little orange sphere floating on your drink!
One Battle After Another
Carne asada is the way to go.
To drink: This is a great movie to build a drink menu around. A few small beers is easy: pick up a case of Modelo cans and you’ll be driving like Sensei in no time.
The French 75 is another easy reference. If you want to lean into the California of it all, use St. George Terroir Gin, which has strong notes of fir, bay laurel, and fennel.
And if it’s cold wherever you live, serve eggnog with a candy cane and call it the Christmas Adventurer’s Club. I am a huge fan of Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s tequila-sherry eggnog, but you can use your fave recipe.
The Secret Agent
Pão de queijo is a natural fit for this film, which has similarly become the pride of its nation. Anything Brazilian is a fit here, especially pastéis de bacalhau, which we briefly see two hitmen snack on upon arrival in Recife.
To drink: Is a Caipirinha too on the nose? I don’t think anyone is complaining!
Sentimental Value
A refined Norwegian film deserves an equally refined Norwegian dish: smørbrød. (The Danish spelling, smørrebrød, is more familiar to most.) Bake or buy a loaf of authentically dense rye bread, then smear (smør) each slice with butter. One popular assortment of toppings would be gravlax, cucumber, pickled ramps, lemon zest, and dill. But the sky’s the limit!
As an alternative, prepare a cheese plate with knekkebrød, a crispy rye cracker.
To drink: Stellan Skarsgård drinks a lot of whiskey in this movie. (I’m guessing it’s scotch.) If dark liquor ain’t your thing, Phil Ward of Long Island Bar workshopped a Nordic Gibsonfor Robert Simonson: “made partly with aquavit and garnished with a cocktail onion and a celery ribbon.”
Sinners
Perhaps the most obvious (and delicious) food pairing among all the Best Picture nominees is the fried catfish and collard greens served at the juke joint’s opening night. To be authentically Southern, bread the fish in cornmeal and braise the collards with plenty of smoked ham hocks. Ward off the vampires with garlic aioli and hot sauce.
To drink: “We got whisky, Irish beer, Italian wine.” You can also riff on the La Louisiane, offering two half-pours that swap out the spirit: one with a smooth rye, the other with Laphroaig or other peated scotch. Call it the Smoke & Stack.
Train Dreams
I was really satisfied with the Bûche de Joël served at my dinner party. (Joel Edgerton plays a logger. Get it??) Another idea I strongly considered was porchetta, which is similarly log-shaped and rustic. Serve that with morel mushrooms and salad to round out the meal.
To drink: If there was ever a movie that would pair with an Old Fashioned, this is it. Drop in some hinoki bitters. If you need a whiskey rec, Woodinville bourbon is distilled in Washington, where the film was shot, and it’s decent. Personally I preferred the Redwood Empire Pipe Dream, which was too perfect a name to pass up. (I conducted a taste test and people’s favorite was split down the middle.)
Faccia Brutto created a Manhattan riff called the Sawtooth, which uses their Amaro Alpino in place of vermouth. (If you can’t access their products wherever you are, another alpine amaro should suffice. Try Alta Verde or Braulio.) To say it is spirit-forward is an understatement; this is a compliment.
Other Nominated Films
Although these didn’t make the Best Picture cut, I dare say some of the food and drink ideas here are much better. (Just like the films, in some cases.)
Arco
Skittles: taste the rainbow.
To drink: Make it a party with Skittle shots, which I used to drink a lot back in college. Oof.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Make a fiery red muhammara. Make hummus with black chickpeas and black sesame tahini. Swirl the two together on a plate. Boom. Fire and Ash. I’ll be making this for my watch party on Sunday. Seared squid optional!
Blue Moon
To drink: By my count, Ethan Hawke drinks six neat pours of bourbon in this movie (which takes place over the course of a couple hours). The label of the well whiskey reads “Old Frontier Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey,” which is not a real brand. But the design combines elements of Old Forester and Bulleit. (Personally I prefer Bulleit but both are great choices.)
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
To drink: To re-create the Rose Byrne Experience—chug a bottle of white wine, smoke a bunch of weed, and get nightmarishly cross-faded. The film is set in Montauk, and Long Island makes some wines that are good and affordable. Channing Daughters is a reliable winery, and I really love Paumanok’s Chenin Blanc.
It Was Just an Accident
Persian pastries, of course! In New York City, Sofreh Cafe would be your best option unless you can venture out to Jersey. (If anyone coming to my watch party is reading this and you bring a box of goodies from Sofreh Cafe you will have my undying loyalty.)
To drink: Back Home Beer is a Brooklyn-based brewery inspired by the founder’s Iranian roots.
Kokuho
To drink: The title translates to “National Treasure” so you gotta pair it with some good sake.
KPop Demon Hunters
This is a layup, because the Huntr/x ladies love their Korean snacks. The official branded Shin Ramyum is a good start, and Netflix published a full accounting of the food featured in the movie. You could make a terrific spread just based on this movie. Wash it all down with a little soda pop.
To drink: Soju and makgeolli, of course.
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Amélie is awakened by the taste of Belgian white chocolate, and beyond that there’s a few cooking scenes! Nishio-san, the housemaid, prepares a tasty-looking okonomiyaki. But in one scene, food serves as a metaphor for the fraught relationship between West and East. A curious Amélie asks Nishio, “raconte-moi la guerre.” While making a pot of curry (a dish introduced by the British), Nishio recalls the firebombings dropped on her village, represented by chunks of carrots falling into a stew. A pot of rice overboiling, slicing the head off a mackerel: all of it recalls painful memories, but it is also a mark of resilience.
Sirât
Ketamine.
The Alabama Solution
To drink: Dave Baxter at Vintertainment proposed some wine pairings for this documentary, including a street legal "prison wine."
The Lost Bus
To drink: For this dramatization of the 2018 Camp Fire in NorCal, grab a vintage of the same year from nearby Napa or Sonoma. Wildfires can affect the grapes, giving them a “smoke taint” that some find off-putting. It’s a real concern for winemakers in impacted regions.
The Smashing Machine
To drink: I never got around to creating one, but “The Smashing Machine” would be a great name for a cocktail. Find a way to make the Whiskey Smash your own. Maybe use The Rock’s tequila brand?
Weapons
Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup and way too many hot dogs.
To drink: “Vodka soda. Garnished with lime, obviously” is a note I wrote down but I genuinely do not remember why.
Zootopia 2
Donuts and animal crackers.
To drink: An alcohol pairing for a kid’s movie feels inappropriate.
A Friend of Dorothy (Short Film)
Del Monte canned prunes, but I’m not sure why you’d want to eat this. Unless you are also an elderly Englishwoman named Dorothy.
The Singers (Short Film)
To drink: A domestic macro lager that you knock back before unleashing a killer cover of “Amazing Grace.”
Two People Exchanging Saliva (Short Film)
To drink: Chicha beer is an ancient Andean beer brewed from masticated maize. (That’s a fancy word for “chewed up and spit out.”) Egyptian mint tea would be a great non-alcoholic sipper.
Shout out to the “IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT” cake in If I Had Legs.
Thanks for the shout out, Andrew! I will definitely be making that buckwheat honey ice cream soon. And fyi, Jeni's has a Honey Vanilla Bean with real honey, that I highly recommned!