The 40-seat, 10-course gourmet dinner organized by the Lebua luxury hotel, Bangkok, cooked by six three-star Michelin chefs _ four from France and one each from Germany and Italy and titled as ‘Epicurean Masters of the World’ claims to have served the food lovers present meal worth $25,000.
The menu at the grand dinner apparently comprised infusion and vintage wines more than Beluga caviar, Perigord truffles, Kobe beef, Brittany lobster, Belon oysters’ and ‘mousseline of ‘pattes rouges’ crayfish with morel mushroom $20,000.
Doubtless of the fact that chefs had a challenging cooking-time rolling out the priciest dishes on the gourmet menu, yet the gourmet cuisine seemingly did little benefit in the targeted promotion of Thai tourism in Bangkok.
The food lovers who were reportedly from various continents might have had Beluga caviar and truffle at a better price in their own countries, but as Rungrat Ketpinyo, 44, who sells Phad Thai noodles in Bangkok, asserted a cheaper plate of authentic Thai pad noodles at 75 cents per plate the food connoisseurs might have got a better exposure to Thai cuisine.
Promotion of tourism of any place concentrates on its own cuisine, but unfortunately the organizers kept rich Thai cuisine out of the banquet.
Needless to say Thai cuisine comprising satay, tom yum, barbecue chicken and red fish curry would have ethically promoted Thai tourism. In addition Thai cuisine would have given Thai chefs a better platform in the international arena, not neglecting the fact that a $25,000 banquet at a place like Bangkok would have been pretty less shocking.
