The first thing I thought of as the chefs were discussing the menu was that there is no dish on the planet more "manly" than big beef ribs. Never mind just throwing food, the judges could have actually gone into battle with those big rib bones.
And regarding the fish... When we lived in Alaska, because of my husband's job, we had to attend a great many formal parties and functions. At every single one, on the hors d'oeuvres/buffet table, there were two whole fish - one salmon and one halibut. Yes, they were served with small cocktail forks and the idea was that you scraped off as much as you wanted and put it on your plate, or on a cracker if it was being served as an appetizer. But these two large whole fish were so ubiquitous that, as much as I love fish, I recall remarking to my husband that sometimes I felt like I was being entertained as though I were somebody's large house cat.
This is what that whole salmon looked like:
http://www.moreys.com/product/whole-smoked-wild-keta-salmon/
