Critics Choice 2026: Why The Food Is Trending More Than The Winners

The spotlight at the 2026 Critics' Choice Awards was on film and television excellence, but once the trophies were handed out, it was the food that ended up dominating online conversations. A modest snack spread served to attendees has received a wide range of reactions online. Many social media users have questioned how such a pared-down menu made its way to one of Hollywood's prominent awards nights. According to multiple reports, guests at the ceremony were offered what appeared to be a light grazing plate rather than a full dinner.

The spread reportedly included small portions of cheese, crackers, grapes, dried fruit, hummus, bruschetta, caprese skewers and even a lone spanakopita. The conversation gained momentum after images of the food began circulating on social media. One widely shared photo showed a sparse plate that quickly became the subject of memes and jokes. Comparisons to airline snack trays and conference catering were common, with users pointing out the contrast between the event's glamour and the seemingly generic food on offer.

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For an awards show attended by A-list celebrities, filmmakers and journalists, many people online thought the meal did not match the occasion. However, some felt that such a plate made sense since celebrities are known to be careful about their diets and wouldn't eat a lot of food in general. Several social media users theorised that richer or more indulgent offerings would end up getting wasted for the same reason.

An X post by Kyle Buchanan, a columnist for The New York Times, gave a glimpse of the food served at the event. It has clocked over 4.3 million views so far.

Hello from the Critics Choice Awards and our dinner, this snack plate. Follow along for updates… pic.twitter.com/e5RKwiIdcZ

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) January 4, 2026

Read some of the reactions from X below:

This is what they're feeding you?!

— Randy Shulman (@RandyShulman) January 4, 2026

Am I the only person that thinks that looks really nice?

— Leah Ray (@LeahRay) January 6, 2026

If that was all they were going to give you, they could have at least given a bit more grapes or another piece of bread and hummus. I've made better and much more appetizing charcuterie plates than that. That's just sad.

— Kohaku Shadow (@KohakuShadow) January 7, 2026

This looks like a meal on a United flight, not at an award show.

— Anna Bollina (@Rocklover79) January 5, 2026

We follow every diet famous people take on. Maybe the critic's choice award didn't want to throw food away as most famous people pick like birds at their food, frightened to gain a pound.

— shelly (@retiredshelly) January 6, 2026

Cheapest looking snack plate of all time

— cereza (@cerezasasylum) January 6, 2026

Could've at least thrown some mixed nuts on there for the lactose intolerant. And they couldn't give a whole dried apricot they had to cut it in pieces?

— Cynthia Chan (@Acko2Mom4) January 5, 2026

plate giving Fyre Festival pic.twitter.com/oj257pCaLA

— ᯾ (@eydazil) January 5, 2026

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Even during the ceremony itself, the food issue became part of the narrative. As per reports, Actress and comedian Janelle James, upon accepting her award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for 'Abbott Elementary', took a playful jab at the evening's fare. "The best thing about being nominated four times is I finally realised they're never gonna feed us at this thing," James said on stage. "It's gonna be grapes and ice cream every year, but this makes up for it!" she quipped, eliciting laughs from the audience.

This isn't the first year the Critics' Choice Awards' catering has caught widespread attention. At the 2025 Critics' Choice Awards, the menu also made headlines when attendees were reportedly handed individually wrapped slices of pizza during the ceremony. The unconventional choice drew its own share of online chatter and humorous reactions from stars, with some joking about the oddity of pizza in bags at a major Hollywood event.