Theatre of the absurd

I respect both Michelin and World’s 50 Best, as arbiters of good taste and excellence in cooking, however a recent experience makes me challenge some concepts of what defines great cooking, and a great restaurant.

I believe that in some cases, chefs or restauranteurs are in danger of pushing the boundaries so far, that they fall off a cliff.

My recent experience was at Mugaritz, near San Sebastien, in Spain; it has been awarded 2 stars by Michelin (‘excellent cooking, worth a detour’) and is currently No.9 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Mugaritz doesn't provide a menu, but it does give guests a little booklet, described as being their 'Philosophy'; guests are also provided a pencil to add their thoughts - see photo.

Regrettably, as we were looking forward to this experience as the highlight of a road trip, we left the restaurant after 6 ‘Courses’ of a 23 ’Course’ tasting menu, without paying for the food, which is a €220 per head menu. At the same time, a table of 8/10 also left, although I’m not sure about their situation, but they had progressed a similar way through the menu.

The reason we left, was that as we ate each course we were completely disappointed and underwhelmed by the taste, flavours, texture and appearance of the food, and when asked by the Maitre D’ whether we enjoyed it, and responded that we weren’t enjoying the food, were told that this was to be expected, as their philosophy was to challenge culinary perceptions.

Funnily enough we informed the Maitre D’ that we expected a restaurant to sell food that actually tasted good! But his response made me question whether this really was the theatre of the absurd, or whether the restaurant was a case of The Emperor’s New Clothes! 

His response “We are not a restaurant, we are a house, with a philosophy’

He followed that by saying that it was unlikely that we would enjoy it further, and offered for us to leave at that point, paying only for the drinks. This was not something new for him to do, i believe that he had uttered this statement many times.

Whilst incredulous that a restaurant could take a stance like that, I recognised that they’d acknowledged they were onto a losing cause, but how could it get so to that situation?

This was not a case of guests being picky, but of food deliberately being prepared to challenge tastebuds, even if that means it’s not pleasant. Dishes that we tasted included a lima bean and garlic broth, in which the broth was nice, but only had a small mouthful, leaving an amount of lima beans in the bottom of the cup that needed to be eaten with our fingers; whilst that wasn’t a problem, eating lima beans is – there is a reason that you don’t often see them in restaurants, as they are very bitter and don’t taste pleasant at all!

A second dish which was quite revolting, was a thick rubbery ribbon of a white, seafood-based item (possibly squid flesh), studded with flower leaves, spritzed with sake; not only did it look quite unappetising, it tasted of nothing at all, and was awful to eat, with a chewy texture and with fingers only. It was presented on a folded napkin, was named after a napkin – and we might as well have been eating a napkin!

Lobster can be a beautiful ingredient, if chefs allow the full flavour of the meat to shine; in Mugaritz, it was served covered in a deep red sauce of ‘Lobster head’ which whilst redolent of an intense bouillabaisse, completely masked the lobster underneath. I recognise that the Spanish way of eating shellfish is often head first, and they are used to that pungent, fishy taste, but the Mugaritz treatment spoilt the lobster, rather than enhancing it.

A dish of ‘Pine Nut milk burrata, with cod sauce’ was a grey, tasteless attempt to make a burrata, from an ingredient which can taste beautiful, but milk from which tastes of nothing! Cod is a fish that needs enlivening as it has a very light subtle taste; so a pale green, light, vague sauce accompanying a grey, tasteless morass, was unpleasant to the extreme, and everyone left theirs after a couple of mouthfuls.

I normally love tasting menus, and love chefs pushing boundaries and preconceptions; two of my favourite UK chefs are Simon Rogan and Sat Bains, both delivering exquisitely tasting, great food, with sometimes challenging elements.

So, is Mugaritz pushing boundaries, and challenging culinary perceptions, or is it pretentious tosh? I think it is a theatre of the absurd.

Within my work analysing the factors of change for the future, and providing foresight for what will be in 10 years’ time, I am forecasting many changes in what we eat, how we eat, and where we eat; what I am not forecasting is that restaurants will become ‘Houses of Philosophy’ and serve food that really doesn’t taste very nice.

#FutureFoodservice #FutureofRestaurants #FutureFoodIsTasty