The 625 guests enjoy the reception.

The elegant hors d'oeuvre.

The set-up on dinner tables is minimal in order to showcase the theatrical food presentations, which were designed to match the 'virtual decor'--projections on the walls--created by Moment Factory. In addition to courses, each table offers a self-serve bar consisting of a magnum of chilled vodka with Red Bull and soda as mixers, all of which were replenished throughout the evening. Also offered: five additional full bars and 12 wine stewards. Platinum sponsors received personal butlers, who delivered magnums of champagne accompanied by sparklers.

Dinner begins with a kitschy seafood cocktail: Grilled shrimp with New Mexico spices, guacamole, an exotic fruit salsa with citrus zest. The pink flamingo glass--a nod to the flamingoes at the event entrance--stands on a bed of fake grass, accompanied by picnic-style utensils.

A guest enjoys the cocktail course. The shrimp were marinated with a customized spice rub and grilled. For the guacamole, it was a challenge to find more than 300 ripe avocados.  It had to be prepared just a few hours before service to ensure freshness and best taste. It was placed at the bottom of each plastic pink flamingo glass and was topped with an exotic fruit salsa and purslane leaves to represent the food usually eaten by flamingos. On the side of the dish on a pink plastic spoon was a mango and coriander agar agar candy shaped in a miniature crocodile. It took many hours to prepare and unmold the 625 small crocodiles.

For the fish course, the look was pretending that the course was coming directly from an Airstream trailer parked outside of the museum, which was part of the decor as guests entered the 'Lost Paradise.' Individual miniature pots were used instead of plates. Kitschy oven mitts and hot pads served as padding under all the pots. All the fish had to be carefully descaled without removing the skin, cut into filets and deboned by the fishmonger. The chipotle and lime vinaigrette were added at the very last minute to maintain the acidic level of the fresh lime.

A closer view of the seafood presentation. The Atlantic sea bream was delivered whole two days prior to the event in order to ensure the freshest product possible. The fishmonger had to scale, fillet and debone each fish. On location, the fish was roasted whole on a bed of lime peel but kept underdone. It was transferred to 625 individual stainless steel pots and cooked in Alto-Shaam ovens until perfectly moist and tender just before service. It was a delicate operation not to overcook the fish. The sea bream was served with squids that were grilled in the main kitchen and re-heated on-site to ensure tenderness. It was important to manipulate the fish with care as once cooked, it becomes even more delicate.

The style of the dinner stresses the contrast of superb food in down-home, campy style.

For the meat course, short ribs were first marked on a very hot grill, and then marinated for a period of seven days in vacuum bags in order for the meat to absorb all the flavors of the marinade. The meat was then slowly braised, removed from the bone and portioned. The bones were cleaned individually with saltwater in order to maintain their shine. The beef was glazed at the last minute. The homemade salsa was served in a tin can of commercial salsa imported from Mexico. The cans previously had to be emptied from original content and washed by hand in order to avoid damaging the label.

A happy dinner guest. The short ribs were the most complicated dish; the 625 ribs were flash-grilled on the barbecue to be marked. Afterwards, the bones were protected with parchment paper and transferred to vacuum bags to marinate for seven days in the refrigerator. The marinade was made of Canadian bourbon, molasses, brown sugar and mixed spices. The ribs were braised in the vacuum bags for five hours. The cooking jus was preserved to make the barbecue sauce. All the bones were removed while the meat was still hot. The meat was weighed down to ensure even thickness of each piece. All the bones were brushed clean and boiled with wine vinegar to obtain a dried bone look, as if it had spent time in the desert.

For dessert: a desert scene. It consisted of a small piece of white chocolate, lime and aloe vera cake with three layers of almond biscuit. It was placed on cactus leaves that were resting on a bed of polenta and sugar acting as 'sand.' The cactus leaves were flown from California two days before the event, and the chefs had to remove all the needles, which was a painstaking operation. The chocolate cacti were 3-D and took more than 72 hours to hand-paint with colored cocoa butter and fill with crispy chocolate nuggets. The cactus mold was modified to add a base so it stayed upright on the plate. A chocolate 'shooter' cowboy hat was handmade and filled with a lemon, salt and tequila ganache. Special plates were imported from Mexico to complete the presentation. One thousand three hundred cactus pears were emptied and the pulp was saved to make the sherbet flavored with tequila.

And that's not all! Exact replicas of all dishes were made for vegetarians and for guests with seafood, lactose, gluten and nut allergies.