As Hollywood gears up for its awards season, it seems the culinary offerings at these glamorous events might leave the elite longing for more satisfying fare.

Just last Sunday, the 2026 Critics Choice Awards played host to movie and TV luminaries, who were treated to a rather uninspiring meal that quickly became fodder for online ridicule due to its minuscule portions and unexciting menu.

Kyle Buchanan, a reporter from The New York Times, posted a snapshot of the meal served at the event, which left both the guests and the wider public feeling underwhelmed.

The menu featured a sparse selection of pita chips, a couple of grape clusters, a pair of cheese wedges, a small portion of bruschetta, and two cherry tomatoes accompanied by cheese balls and basil, topped off with a modest scoop of hummus.

‘Hello from the Critics Choice Awards and our dinner, this snack plate,’ Buchanan captioned the photo.

This photograph sparked widespread derision, with many comparing it to the infamous inadequate meals at the failed Fyre Festival or the often-criticized food served on airplanes.

One award winner even put the association on blast for the food, with Abbott Elementary star Janelle James mocking it as she delivered her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series.

‘The best thing about being nominated four times is I’m finally realizing they’re never gonna feed us at this thing, it’s gonna be just grapes and ice cream every year, but this makes up for it!’ she joked.

On Sunday, television royalty attending the 2026 Critics Choice Awards were served a rather lackluster meal, which was mercilessly mocked for its tiny portion sizes and boring contents

Mckenna Grace is seen with her snack place at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards

This wasn’t the first time that the lack of food at the prestigious ceremonies caught people’s attention, and the Daily Mail has taken a look at some of the worst meals served at an awards show.

Back in 2013, Jennifer Lawrence repeatedly told reporters that she was ‘so hungry’ on the Oscars red carpet.

‘I’m starving,’ she told Ryan Seacrest at the time. When he told her there would be food afterwards, she groaned, saying: ‘The show is so long!’ 

In 2024, the Critics Choice Awards were put on blast again after serving A-listers pizza in a bag, with stars like Oprah Winfrey refusing to eat it.

In a clip shared to the Oprah Daily’s Instagram account, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Fantasia Barrino and more were seen being served a slice of pizza in a paper bag.

‘Where are the lamb chops?’ Barrino jokingly asked in the video.

Brooks appeared to be enjoying the meal, but when the camera then panned over to Winfrey, she said she wouldn’t indulge in the pizza because she didn’t want to ruin her makeup.

‘I’m not messing up my lips,’  she said while pointing to her face.

In 2024, the Critics Choice Awards were put on blast again after serving A-listers pizza in a bag, with stars like Oprah Winfrey refusing to eat it 

Filmmaker Jen D’Angelo shared her disgust over the infamous ‘pizza in a bag’ served at the  2024 Critics Choice Awards

In 2018, host Jimmy Kimmel packed individual lunch boxes full of snacks for each and every person attending the Academy Awards

The snack boxes served at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards are seen, which was followed by pizza in a bag

The meal went viral online, with viewers in disbelief that at an awards show honoring some of the finest in the business didn’t even serve them a hot meal.

In previous years, some hosts have even poked fun at the unsatisfactory meals provided at awards shows.

In 2018, host Jimmy Kimmel packed individual lunch boxes full of snacks for each and every person attending the Academy Awards.

‘We don’t like it when people are hungry,’ he wrote in the tweet. ‘So we provided lunchboxes with snacks for everyone at the #Oscars and included a donation to the @LAFoodBank for each one.’ 

‘It wouldn’t be right to make you sit through this without snacks,’ he continued. ‘Please don’t throw them at me.’

He signed each box with an ‘XO’ and added a postscript about donations to the LA Food Bank.