It’s Oscar Sunday, and we’re thrilled that our yearly guest — Toronto archivist Carol Hopp (from the Archives of Ontario) — has been able to share her annual Academy Awards dinner with us. Basically, she challenges herself to make a dinner fit for the awards show: by making each menu item based on a Best Picture nominee. To see what we mean, you can also check out her 2019 and 2020 results. Our Andreas even tried his hand at making a menu, so you may see a couple of related items (completely coincidental, since we didn’t compile our menus together). Now, we’re happy to share Carol Hopp’s official menu for the 2021, 93rd Academy Awards. Let’s dive right in!

Drink: Mountain Dew (Minari)
Main: Kimbap (Minari)
Main: Chicken (Minari)
Appetizer: Fruits (Minari)

Carol “agree[d] that Mountain Dew would be good” after seeing Andreas’ menu, but she came up with some additional suggestions otherwise (non drink related). She recommended Kimbap — a type of Korean dish briefly shown in Minari — and also concluded that chicken (the “father and mother were chicken sexers”) and fruits would also work, but they’re attached to other Best Picture winners in her menu.

Drink: Fake Rose Champagne (Mank)
Dessert: Cinnamon Roll (Mank)

Carol remarked how the titular Mankiewicz drank a lot of champagne, but rose gold is special, because, well, “Rosebud”. For an additional side dish, Carol and her sister discussed having cinnamon rolls: “In describing his Citizen Kane script, Mankiewicz tells Houseman ‘The narrative is one big circle, like a cinnamon roll, not a straight line pointing to the nearest exit.’”

Appetizer: Donut (Sound of Metal)
Appetizer: Fruits (Sound of Metal)

Andreas placed a “bagel” for Sound of Metal, but Carol recommended a “donut” for the same scene (truth be told, without going back to check, it could be either of those items, and variety never hurts), since it’s what Reuben was given every morning (as well as coffee). Furthermore, Reuben follows a strict fruit regimen (especially in smoothie form) while out on the road, so Carol has placed mixed fruits (particularly “strawberries and blueberries”) on her menu.

Appetizer: Devilled Eggs (The Trial of the Chicago 7)

Carol picked up on the significance of eggs throughout The Trial of the Chicago 7, including the “thrown egg [that] was caught near the beginning of the movie”, and the quote “One egg is un oeuf”; Carol has opted for devilled eggs for the occasion. An aside Carol provided is that “Chicago-based pizza” could also be a choice, but she likely wouldn’t include this dish (but it can be an option for you).

Appetizer: Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich (Nomadland)
Snack: Black Liquorice (Nomadland)

Out of the numerous meals featured, two were pointed out here. A humble “peanut butter sandwich with bananas” that Fern makes herself is a very fitting meal thematically, but we personally love the inclusion of black liquorice, since Dave recommends it to Fern (“it curbs the need for cigarettes”).

Main: Chicken Pot Pie (The Father)

Like Andreas, Carol had to use The Father’s affinity with the repetitive use of a chicken dinner for her menu. However, Carol is going with a “chicken pot pie” instead (makes for a good portion size amongst everything else), and some of the fruits featured in the film can be placed on the side as an additional snack.

Dessert: Rainbow Sorbet/Ice Cream (Judas and the Black Messiah)
The major plot point where Fred Hampton was forcefully arrested for a bogus “reason” (“for supposedly taking [seventy dollars worth] of ice cream”) renders ice cream fairly significant for a meal item here. Additionally, Carol’s sister suggested the addition of rainbow sorbet, since Hampton “formed the Rainbow Coalition”; we think that’s quite clever.

Snack: Red Liquorice (Promising Young Woman)

Out of all of the sweet options that could have been picked, Carol’s choice of red liquorice (particularly Twizzlers) is so interesting, since Cassie literally was biting on one “when she was talking to the daughter of the principal” (a particularly anxious scene), and the film itself has a “twisted nature” (another clever take on a food item).

We thank Carol Hopp for joining us with her annual Oscars menu again! Enjoy the show tonight!

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.

Creating an Oscar-Worthy Dinner with Film Archivist Carol Hopp 2021 Edition