While the glamorous fashion on the 2022 Met Gala red carpet was a feast for the eyes, the dinner party inside feast for the bellies, thanks in part to Melissa King.
The Top Chef season 17 winner, who curated the first course in the evening’s menu, exclusively shared with E! News what it was like to create an unforgettable culinary experience that paid homage to the gala’s theme, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” and also catered to a variety of tastes on a star-studded guest list that included Blake Lively, Kylie Jenner and Sarah Jessica Parker.
The dish that King landed on? A “bright and refreshing” hamachi crudo in a citrus broth, drizzled with Szechuan chili oil and paired with a yuzu kosho olive tapenade. According to the 38-year-old, the course captured “all the essence and beauty” of spring while being “playful at the same time.”
“My goal was really to make an impression and I wanted to create a dish that really symbolized my version of America,” she explained. “It hit elements from traditional Italian crudo and bridged into more of the Latin technique with the ceviche style broth. It also had notes of the Chinese Szechuan oil and Japanese flavor profiles.”
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