Tasting Menu for Eight

A tasting menu in a private room is the most demanding thing a travelling kitchen does. Nine courses means nine plating moments, each with a window of ninety seconds, performed with equipment carried in that morning. It needs a brigade of three for eight guests, a full day of prep, and a host who will seat the table on time, because the whole structure is a chain of timed events and a late guest breaks every link behind them.

The reward is a level of cooking that private dining rarely reaches: temperature exactly right because the plate travels four metres instead of forty, portions built for the person rather than for the pass, and a pace set by the table instead of by the restaurant’s second sitting. With a sommelier or a serious host pouring, the wine can follow the food properly rather than in two large bottles.

Plan the money honestly. Food and kitchen at 220 to 420 euros a guest, plus a brigade of three for twelve hours, plus rentals of glass and china that a domestic cupboard cannot supply. For eight guests the evening sits between 4,000 and 7,000 euros in a European city before wine. It is the format where a cheap quote is the clearest warning sign in this trade.