I ate at one of the world’s best restaurants… and it made me question the point of these globally renowned restaurants and their tasting menus.
You can see why it’s one of the world’s top 100 restaurants.
Why it has two Michelin stars.
But increasingly I find that most of these 400 Euro tasting menus leave me cold. It makes me question what exactly is the point.
You have a certain number of courses. Everything is very good. Some dishes are even spectacular.
It’s technically flawless. It’s plated perfectly. It tastes excellent.
But at the end of the day most of these restaurants blend into one.
Where once they all were influenced by French cuisine, now it’s Japanese or Nordic.
I can see and taste the influences, but I fail to discern inspiration. Where is the sense of wonder? Of joy? Of discovery?
I feel that it’s only worth spending this kind of money if someone is really creating something that pushes the boundaries, where you see emotion and imagination in the food.
 |
Den brought rock and roll to Japanese food.
Atomix took Korean food forward by ten years in an instant.
Bruno Verjus broke the rules of French and European cooking when it comes to seafood.
I look back earlier… Gaggan Anand, Disfrutar, El Bulli, Noma, Eleven Madison… they didn’t innovate with just form. They questioned the fundamentals of philosophy, cuisine, culture, sustainability, history, technique. They didn’t feel like they were tied down to some sort of Michelin enforced set of spoken and unspoken rules.
 |
| Bonito/cucumber/buckwheat |
These meals were worth every dollar and more. Because during those meals I couldn’t help but wonder how anyone could have imagined this. Because the greatest meals at some of these restaurants can create moments of transcendence that last a lifetime.
But the classic Western style 3 Michelin star restaurant or many of those that populate the World’s Top 100 list… what are they bringing to the table?
 |
| Crab/citrus/sorrel |
The excellent food at Pavyllon or Tantris. Or at Odette in Singapore. I have to ask.. what is excellence without soul or imagination?
When I travel now, I find it increasingly dull to just go from one tasting menu to another, like some sort of gourmand’s checklist.
 |
| Venison/duck liver/sauve poivarde |
On a consistent basis, I get more joy having a Peranakan noodles with buah keluak nut at a local joint in Singapore, a pork knuckle at Augusiner Keller, a Kurdish kebab at Urfa Durum.
 |
| Lobster/apricot/sauce Americaine |
They aren’t technically as good. I know that. But I feel it’s a window into cultures and flavours that are different from mine, that give me a sense of discovery and excitement, that fill a part of my soul. Because if food isn’t rooted in time, place or person, it becomes something ephemeral and unsubstantive.
 |
| Mullet / mussels / curcuma |
So to all the supposed great restaurants out there, I implore you to see if you’re cooking with just brain or are you bringing something more to the table that is original and distinct. Are you bringing your individuality to the plate?
 |
| Tuna / eggplant / charcuterie |
This kind of fine dining tasting menu restaurant isn’t going away anywhere. The marketing/recognition industrial complex around fine dining is a billion dollar global machine now.
But for all the lists and awards and 500 dollar tasting menus, you must know… you’re not where the cutting edge of food is at any longer.
Not until you learn to put it all out there!
 |
| Kiwi / Shisho / lime |
Ps: My (excellent) meal at Tantris
- Jardin: Bonito / cucumber / buckwheat
- Galette: Crab / citrus / sorrel
- Petit bateu: Red mullet / mussels / curcuma
- Casier: lobster / apricot / sauce Americaine
- A la ligne: Tuna / eggplant / charcuterie
- Paturage: venison / duck liver / sauve poivarde
- Vert: kiwi / shisho / lime
- Pechers: peach / blackcurrant / voatsiperiphery
 |
| Peach / blackcurrant/ voatsiperiphery |
Comments