World enews: Keke Palmer apologises to Met Gala chef after criticising food

Keke Palmer has apologised to the Met Gala chef after criticising the menu at the exclusive fashion event.

On Monday, the singer, who hosted the Vogue livestream of the 2021 Met Gala alongside Illana Glazer, jokingly mocked the plant-based menu at this year’s event on Instagram, where she shared a photo of her wilted-looking plate and wrote: “This why they don’t show y’all the food. I’m just playinnn.”

Palmer’s criticism, which prompted surprise from fans, due to the prestigious nature of the fundraiser, and comparisons to the food served at the infamous Fyre Festival, was met with a response from the chef behind the curated menu, who defended the food.

Speaking to TMZ, Marcus Samuelsson, the head chef of Red Rooster in Harlem, who in collaboration with Bon Appétit, selected the 10 New York chefs in charge of the vegan menu at this year’s Met Gala, said that the food had been “delicious” and that he had received mostly positive feedback.

The celebrity chef, who was in attendance at the fashion event on Monday, also noted that food is more about taste than appearance and that the sustainable menu “tasted plenty good”.

Following Samuelsson’s defense of the food, Palmer addressed the situation on Twitter in response to a follower who said that, if the actor has “anything negative to say,” they “absolutely believe her,” with the Hustlers star explaining that it all comes down to taste, and that she “loves” the celebrity chef.

“I just have different taste buds! I love this chef, sorry to this man,” Palmer tweeted.

Palmer’s apology comes after Vogue also defended the chef in a statement to Page Six, with a representative for the outfit claiming that Vogue was “so thrilled and grateful to have worked with” the former Top Chef Masters winner.

In addition to the barley topped with roasted mushrooms, tomato salad with corn and zucchini slices that was pictured in Palmer’s photo, the menu for the exclusive event also included canapés such as “collard greens hot chow served on coconut buttermilk cornbread” and “black rice porcini arancini with pumpkin Calabrian chili,” while dessert was an apple mousse and apple confit with a calvados glaze.