Menu Rocks MuchMusic Video Awards

When cable channel MuchMusic throws its annual video-awards shindig, guests bring their love for music—and their appetites. This year's spread from Catering By David's included delectable urban fare served under a tent from Yukon Events in CHUM Television building's parking lot. The buffet stations with differing themes provided much variety. The mini-sausage station offered tube-shaped servings of pheasant, lamb, and chicken shitake, as well as veggie dogs for non-meat eaters; the southwestern barbeque station served pulled pork and ratatouille; and the panini station featured sandwiches such as smoked gouda and prosciutto and grilled mushroom and goat cheese. The gelato bar was one of the most popular stations on this unusually hot evening—cool scoops of blueberry, .phpberry, and lemon treats refreshed many guests. Francine Socket, MuchMusic's director of special events, said the menu was a tribute to Toronto's "unique, ethnically diverse, and funky street foods."Catering By David's created a selection of Asian dishes for guests in the second-floor V.I.P. space. Options included chicken tika masala and vegetarian curry, served at the Bollywood station, and purple sticky rice with a choice of toppings such as smoked salmon, julienne mango and nori, and chili aioli, served at the Thai rice station. MuchMusic's camera crew filmed extensively in the V.I.P. area during the live telecast of the MuchMusic Video Awards, so the decor had to match "the look and feel of the show," noted Socket. Mason Sophia Beltsis, art director for the program (now in its 17th year) gave the V.I.P. space street cred with graffiti art from ICI Canada on the walls and cool furnishings from Morba, Machine Age Modern, Chive, and Ikea. Beltsis also supplied blooms in clear blocks for the buffet stations and coffee tables, both inside and out in the parking lot.

The show featured performances by Nelly Furtado, Nick Lachey, Fall Out Boy, Rihanna, Hedley, Simple Plan, and City and Colour. Other celebrities in attendance included Jesse Metcalf of Desperate Housewives fame and the ubiquitous Paris Hilton.