I think I spoke to you (or Tia?) about my experiences with Pure Food and Wine, Plant Food & Wine and Double Zero, plus a couple of other places out here on the West Coast. In each case, it was a perfect combination of curious well to do/rich/wannabes (I am firmly in Camp Wannabe), low cost labor from Wannabes& immigrant labor, really high quality ingredients and lots of wine. LOTS OF WINE.
And yes, the novelty factor- vegan/raw vegan fine dining? Really?
But as one eats more 'healthily' (a convo for another time) more plant based, the novelty becomes the expected, the standard. So while while what Sarma, Matthew , Juliano and a few others did was cater to the well off, rich and Wannabes, they were trying to set a new standard in how our palates actually worked. This is why sometimes Impossible burgers, cooked in plenty of fat and served with very rich psuedo cheese sauce and fries, in order to cater to an 'established' palate, doesn't always work.
2) What is defined as fine dining has it's roots in the French revolution and it's aftermath: the dishes of Careme et al are all descended from the courts of French kings and wealthy regional nobles. You too can eat like a king- with linen, plateware and all the rest upon the table- and most importantly, MEAT and SUGAR- for a price. The appeal is bound up, STILL, in having rich sauces and meat upon the table. In other words, much of fine dining, despite Careme's hierarchy of kitchen makers, has not grown up in palate or presentation.
3) Thus the 'bad boys of cuisine,' etc.
4) Ottolenghi et al I think are changing things- but it's not vegan. Still, the shift to borrowing the veg/legume based cuisines of other cultures and giving it a Western context and presentation is where I think fine dining is going.
Hello!
I think I spoke to you (or Tia?) about my experiences with Pure Food and Wine, Plant Food & Wine and Double Zero, plus a couple of other places out here on the West Coast. In each case, it was a perfect combination of curious well to do/rich/wannabes (I am firmly in Camp Wannabe), low cost labor from Wannabes& immigrant labor, really high quality ingredients and lots of wine. LOTS OF WINE.
And yes, the novelty factor- vegan/raw vegan fine dining? Really?
But as one eats more 'healthily' (a convo for another time) more plant based, the novelty becomes the expected, the standard. So while while what Sarma, Matthew , Juliano and a few others did was cater to the well off, rich and Wannabes, they were trying to set a new standard in how our palates actually worked. This is why sometimes Impossible burgers, cooked in plenty of fat and served with very rich psuedo cheese sauce and fries, in order to cater to an 'established' palate, doesn't always work.
2) What is defined as fine dining has it's roots in the French revolution and it's aftermath: the dishes of Careme et al are all descended from the courts of French kings and wealthy regional nobles. You too can eat like a king- with linen, plateware and all the rest upon the table- and most importantly, MEAT and SUGAR- for a price. The appeal is bound up, STILL, in having rich sauces and meat upon the table. In other words, much of fine dining, despite Careme's hierarchy of kitchen makers, has not grown up in palate or presentation.
3) Thus the 'bad boys of cuisine,' etc.
4) Ottolenghi et al I think are changing things- but it's not vegan. Still, the shift to borrowing the veg/legume based cuisines of other cultures and giving it a Western context and presentation is where I think fine dining is going.