That’s my guess too. Plenty of high-end restaurants do that sort of molecular gastronomy, and plenty do the tasting menu approach as well. And there are a lot that combine them and do both very well.
However, this chef seems to have forgotten that the diners are there to eat, not to be part of some sort of weird culinary performance art. He’s also forgotten that ultimately it’s about the customers, not themselves.
Olive flavored Ice cream?
I wonder if the restaurant got wind of who they were serving, and (mistakenly) thought that high pretentiousness would be the right way to go for a good review.
Maybe a martini sauce as a topping?
Hmm. This review left me with my head cocked to the side, but for different reasons than others commenting here.
I fully acknowledge that a chef/restaurant can miss the mark, and produce a meal that isn’t good.
But I gotta say, I’ve done this Michelin-starred tasting menu type experience a couple of times (not this place), and what the writer describes is right in line with what I have seen. A large number of small portions - check, very novel ingredients, preparation and presentation - check, challenging - check, artistic expression forward - check, expensive - check, not getting gut-busting, loosen-the-belt full - check, etc.
It almost sounds like the writer is not experienced at this kind of dining, and is reacting to the format as much as the actual meal. I could imagine many of my more conventional friends and relatives having a similar reaction as the writer to similar meals that I have experienced and enjoyed thoroughly.
Again, I’m not automatically defending all of the chef/restaurant’s choices, but I’m also not band-wagoning with the writer on, “Har har! What a bunch of goofy sh*t!”
There was a place near us that opened with much fanfare as being the greatest artisanal pizza place evar.
We went with our four year old in tow. We ordered mains sized pizzas. What we were served were these… things that were about six inches across, had a base that resembled edible card (ie greeting card thickness) and had toppings that were basically nominal (ie two artfully arranged slices of pepperoni). If it gives you some idea, our four year old ate his whole supposedly adult sized pizza within a couple of seconds then complained he was hungry.
And no these were not sold (and definitely not priced) as appetizers.
We complained and the waiter stated in a formulaic way (no doubt he’d had to say it quite often) “it’s the chef’s choice as to the style of pizza he serves”.
Needless to say it was the chef’s choice to go out of fuckin’ business shortly thereafter. And I sure hope the door didn’t hit his ass on the way out.
Hmmm, I’ve eaten at a Michelin-starred restaurant and it was one of the best dinners I’ve ever had.
I’ve also done a pretention tasting menu at a place that wasn’t in an area Michelin covers. It was fabulous. Yes, we had a couple of courses of foam. But we also had a few courses that were recognizably the “main” appetizer and the “main” course and the “main” dessert, and while none was large, they were a lot more generous than what was shown there. And while I wasn’t stuffed as I left, they handed us a little box of cookies on the way out, and I ate them the next day.
Yeah, I mean how do you get a dozen courses into an obviously molecular menu, then ask what is the main course going to be?
For contrast, here’s a review of the same general concept, but done in a way that most customers (who went in with their eyes open) found to be an enjoyable and stimulating experience:
It reminds me of Jon Favreau’s movie Chef, where he gets a bad review (because the food was pedestrian, not non-existent) and starts a viral flame war with the critic.
StG
“Another course – a citrus foam – was served in a plaster cast of the chef’s mouth. Absent utensils, we were told to lick it out of the chef’s mouth in a scene that I’m pretty sure was stolen from an eastern European horror film.”
I’ve seen part of this movie, not pleasant. I’m guessing "The Human Centipede*
I’ve followed Geraldine’s blog on and off for years. It was interesting a few years ago when they were doing a lot of travelling around the world.
Here’s another excellent food-related one.
In 2017 chef Mario Batali was accused of sexual misconduct. He wrote a brief and insincere apology… that included a bad recipe for cinnamon rolls.
Geraldine has some angry fun with it.
In case anyone wonders, that’s a part of the periodic table provided by the brains behind “look around you”. I highly recommend it (and top marks to Dr. S for the reference)
And following on from woflpup’s recommendation I give you Jay Rayner’s wonderful review of “Le Cinq” here’s a snippet
The dining room, deep in the hotel, is a broad space of high ceilings and coving, with thick carpets to muffle the screams. It is decorated in various shades of taupe, biscuit and fuck you
I was pretty much thinking the same thing!
I’m glad someone got the reference! It’s one of my favorite series. Thanks, ants. Thants.
in our house, whenever we need to point at something, a pencil is used.
Hari-Kiri, by overprice slop.
And, unless I miss my guess, “belly-rip” is the right word, or at least it will be in the WC, then next day.
About 25 years ago I ate at a Michelin 3-star** restaurant in southeastern France which was the polar opposite of what you describe. The food was amazing, and the service was off-the-scale excellent - not the smallest hint of snootiness or condescension. The message was: we are artists in food & its presentation; we’ll put before you a dining performance that you’ll remember fondly for the rest of your life.
It was simultaneously the most expensive meal I’ve ever had, and the best dining bargain.
** Making it at the time one of the 28 best restaurants in France.
I’m not sure where it is written that “uncoventional” and “challenging” equate to being bad.*
As for the foaming-at-the-mouth dish, it might be OK if attending a performance of The Rabid Chef, but not as a component of dinner.
*wonder how many patrons came away from that experience feeling guilty because they were unable to appreciate cutting-edge gastronomy.
I used to work with Geraldine. She was wickedly funny and smart. And for those with long memories, this is not her first brush with viral internet fame. Back in the late 90s, her now-husband Rand made an attempt to crowd fund a proposal via Super Bowl ad. A failed attempt that was later successful when he ran the ad during Veronica Mars. I still have the celebratory cigar he gave me when he dropped by the office.