Yes. Boring, unimaginative, unoriginal, pandering to rich gastrotourists.
Joshua Skenes is the first chef I’ve heard talk about getting out of that rut.
Agree to disagree especially in regards to Benu and Californios. How are they remotely similar to TFL other than the fact that both do a tasting menu?
They all serve a long series of fussy canapés instead of dinner.
It was original when Thomas Keller did it 20 years ago but Michelin (at least in the US) is full of shit for not giving two or three stars to any restaurant that does anything else except sushi.
My last meal at Saison was about 7 courses, not 20+.
I was served a barbecued fish head eaten with hands.
I was served grilled antelope in harissa butter and cabbages in kirsch verjus and biscuits on the side.
Not all canapés.
Furthermore, if this is the grounds for calling all others a “cover band,” then I think you’ve chosen extremely narrow grounds on which you’re drawing a comparison and making a sweeping conclusion.
Non fussy, non canapé fish dish at CTBF. Composed, not superfluous or precious. Halibut with spring vegetables.
Non fussy, non canapé at Jungsik. Sea urchin and seaweed rice, reminiscent of kimbap
Non fussy, non canapé at Saison. Antelope grilled over the hearth.
Non fussy, non canapé at Saison. Bbq fish head.
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TK wasn’t the OG, as far as I know, in serving small portions in a series of courses. He merely brought it over from Europe. Michelin, however, does tend to favor such restaurants but then these restaurants are also the ones consistently using quality ingredients and banging out thoughtful and consistently good to superb dishes course after course.
Never really read Andy Hayler’s reviews but he is from the UK and a member of Opinionated About Dining, which the top reviews are wealthy jetsetters who eat around the world at the hardest to get into places (and many of them Michelin stars), so they are scratching bucket lists faster than the normal person. OAD is founded by former music executive Steve Plotnicki who wants to build OAD to be better than the Michelin Guide for restaurants worldwide and with the pool of connections he has (along with friends who are also reviewers), it’s like a club of the elite eaters.
As to their preferences and objectivity, they are more or less the same as regular people, except with more experience. A lot of them are on other forums or social media, and some are extremely knowledgeable and likely very down to earth, but not all of them are (or appear to be). At the end of the day, great for reference points if only the pictures…but ultimately you are the true judge of your preferences. Some don’t trust Andy’s sushi reviews very much for example…especially some who have eaten around Tokyo (and Hong Kong) and look down upon say, Sushi Shikon (Yoshitake) and this one other place that Andy gave high scores to. If you ask the top Instagram sushi fiends in Japan, you’ll never see them at Yoshitake (or Shikon if in Hong Kong)…
A lot of these famous restaurants know who these people are, so it is possible to some extent they will get a better meal than the average FTC person who makes a reservation… doesn’t necessarily happen but I’d bet that is a possibility…or they make sure Sergio is cooking and presenting the dishes and that they are on the top of their game. At the end of the day it’s good for business when some key opinion leader representing influential groups has a good impression. Of course at a Michelin star establishment you would expect some uniformity (especially at the three star level where everything has to be pitch perfect as possible consistently down to the service).
For sure some scores are over inflated, and some are well deserved, but the scales are tipped towards the former a lot all over.
Anyways very interesting beverage pairing! An obscure Junmai Ginjo sake at the beginning too. I was a little excited seeing Biondi Santi 2004 though it’s a Rosso not a Brunello…never knew these could age that long, but then again it’s Biondi Santi!
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I first heard about OAD on a Netflix documentary called Foodies. Interesting bunch.
I follow Margaret Lam who I believe is part of OAD (@little_meg_siu_meg on IG). I love her posts, so informative and insightful!
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So Skenes actually has gotten out of that rut. Good. It’ll be interesting to see if they give him three stars.
It wasn’t new to serve quite a few small courses, but Thomas Keller was the first to abandon the main course entirely. The innovation quickly made him world-famous, which resulted in wide imitation.
Michelin’s official baldfaced lie (at least in the US) is that only the food counts toward stars.
one star = very good in its category
two stars = excellent, worth a detour
three stars = one of the best, worth a special trip
Anyone who thinks the only restaurants with food in those last two categories serve long, complicated tasting menus or sushi is an ignorant fool. Same for anyone who thinks a very good Italian restaurant must have French influences.
For some historical perspective, the first SF Chronicle review of TFL, from 1995:
https://www.sfgate.com/restaurants/article/Yountville-s-French-Laundry-is-magnifique-3148791.php
It’s quite a narrow lens to see any restaurant serving multiple courses as a TK copycat. What about the individual chef’s style and what they bring on the plate? Just because Californios serves many courses means that they’re no different than TK when they’re serving tacos and ceviche?
On the other hand, what made TK famous wasn’t solely because he was doing a tasting menu. It was because TK was an influencer and created a new style of American fine dining where he applied his French techniques to non-classical French fare. Even in the article linked, the writer noted TK’s “remarkable cooking” was what “captivated” her.
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How about those who take more direct inspiration from kaiseki and not TFL? Kaiseki obviously predates Keller, as I’m sure you know.
Kaiseki meals don’t have a “main course,” either.
They gave him 3* even for this shorter menu format, which happened sometime around 2017. So, contrary to your original statement, no, not all 2* and 3* restaurants follow the TFL mold nor should they be thought of as being mere imitators.
Chez Panisse had been using French techniques with non-French ingredients and cuisines for going on 20 years when Thomas Keller bought the French Laundry. By the mid-90s, most ambitious restaurants in the SF Bay Area were doing some variation on that. Keller was very good at it, but what made him world-famous was inventing the modern tasting menu.
Traditional kaiseki meals have larger portions and fewer courses.
I’m sure that some of the chefs who have or aspire to Michelin stars would do something different if it wasn’t obvious that (at least in the US) if they don’t do a tasting menu they’re not going to get more than one star. It’s a criminally narrow view of the wide world of cooking. There are lots of restaurants with food worth a detour or a special trip that don’t serve tasting menus or charge hundreds of dollars per person.
One exception doesn’t disprove the rule. We’ll see what happens if Saison moves further away from the Thomas Keller model.
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You said they all follow the Keller model; that’s simply not true, and I don’t think its a “rule” - again, many of the restaurants are sufficiently different that they cannot accurately be described as a Keller “cover band,” and basing your comparison of the presentation of a meal - which is shared with that of another tradition which predates Keller altogether - is a very narrow approach since it fails to consider the type of food actually being served.
I had more courses at my traditional kaiseki meal at Okuda than I did at Saison…
Now, I’ve had several meals at Saison in which the penultimate course was a rice pot, just preceding or following a soup course. Keller model? Nah.
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LOL. I read that as “nice pot.” Is there an opposite of penultimate when that would be better served?
My point is that Michelin celebrates Thomas Keller-style tasting menus at the expense of almost every alternative and is thus a pernicious influence.
To me the individual variations are irrelevant when there are too many courses with portions that are too small.
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My favorite meal is a starter, a main, a palate clearnser and a dessert. And unless really appropriate, please no foie, caviar, uni, ?.