3 Foods Anna Wintour Banned from the Met Gala

Riley Keough won't have to worry about parsley getting stuck in her pearly whites.

Fancy frozen-in-time frocks. Superstars galore! An ocean of red carpet.

Get ready for fashion’s biggest night! The 2024 Met Gala celebrates the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and the debut of their new exhibit, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.

Anna Wintour, Vogue’s global editorial director has been overseeing the gala since she became its co-chair in 1995. And she oversees everything—and we mean everything. From the guest list to the seating chart to the food, decor and more. She's been reportedly known to pick up stray garbage and move chairs.

Wintour has given this grand ball, considered the most fabulous fashion event on the planet, a very unique cache. Plus, the Met Gala is a fundraiser, which last year alone raised $22 million for the Costume Institute.

With a mostly top secret guest list, that is hand selected by Wintour herself, the cost of admission is $75,000 per ticket or $350,000 for a table. Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth and Bad Bunny and are co-chairs for 2024.

Gala guests, who are banned from using cell phones (except for sneaky bathroom selfies), will be treated to the debut of the Sleeping Beauties exhibit, a cocktail party, seated dinner and a surprise musical guest.

For that seated dinner, there are a few things that will absolutely never be on the menu: Garlic, chives and onion.

Wintour confirmed her disdain for the aforementioned alliums in a promo interview with Jenna Bush Hager for Today.

She definitely has her guests and fashion in mind when ruling out dishes to be served at the event. There'll be no garlic breath!

And she's wise to do so. Bruschetta, for example, can get really messy. And these are one-of-a-kind gowns that are hard to clean. Charles Tuzzi, managing director of Winzer Cleaners, the famous cleaning company that won a special Tony Award for cleaning many of the costumes worn on Broadway says it's hard to remove food from silks and delicate clothing. "It's definitely not coming off with seltzer and a napkin," he says.

Here’s what we found out about the banned Met Gala foods.

What foods has Anna Wintour banned from Met Gala menu?

Anna Wintour has banned chives, onions and garlic from the Met Gala menu. "Those are three things I'm not particularly fond of. And so yes. That's true,” she told Hager Bush of the banned foods. Also, according to Buzz Feed the Vogue editorial director also does not permit parsley or bruschetta.

Josh Jackson, executive chef/owner proprietor of Great Taste Catering in Los Angeles believes that Wintour's decision to ban certain foods is a very personalized choice.

"She doesn't want the food to affect the breath of the celebrity guests. Also, there are several people that are actually allergic to the allium family of bulbous plants which is rare but possible," says Jackson whose clients include Cher, Ted Danson and Laura Dern. "But that's maybe a stretch. The real reason must be she doesn't want to see chives in the guests teeth. It's understandable."

But Jackson says that without those banned ingredients the depth of the flavor of dishes can be limited. And guests don't get the experience of a fantastic meal. Especially when foods like onions are so fabulous when they are caramelized. "There's nothing yummier than something that is caramelized," says Jackson.

Chives and onions

Anna Wintour does not permit chives and onions to be served at the Met Gala. Also, all those foods are common for creating bad breath.

Garlic

Garlic is not permitted to be served at the Met Gala. While garlic can complement most dishes and make them delectable, garlic also has some not-so-nice side affects. According to WEBMD, in addition to causing bad breath, garlic can also cause, gas, heartburn and diarrhea.

Appetizers like bruschetta

Appetizers like bruschetta, are also said to be prohibited at the Met Gala. While Anna Wintour didn’t address bruschetta in her Today interview with Jenna Bush Hager. According to the New York Post, parsley is also on the banned list. A former Vogue employee says that Wintour does not allow the garnish because it can too easily get stuck in your teeth.

We're guessing sauces are too! "Sauce or dipping sauce is the easiest thing to spill on yourself," Tuzzi says.