Dinner Time Stories With Le Petit Chef
In the past twenty years, the word dinner has taken on an entirely different meaning for me. Dinner used to be the obligatory family meal where I was forced to eat my veggies and talk about my day at school. Just what a moody teenager wants to do, right? As my interest in food flourished, dinner became much more than just a meal. It was an experience. One that I would go to great lengths to seek out. From the chef's culinary creativity to the actual food itself, it's my hope that these "experiences" inspire me and challenge both my mind and palate.
My curiosity was piqued when I first heard rumblings that Dinner Time Stories was making its way to Nashville, Tennessee. This is a 3D dining experience that has called placed like London, Dubai, Cairo and Berlin home. Scratching my head, I thought, "why Nashville?" After doing a little digging, I found out that Go West Creative owner, David Fischette, purchased the rights to this in the United States and wanted Nashville to have the first introduction to Le Petit Chef before it's rolled out to the Las Vegas and Washington D.C. markets. One of the many perks of living in the "it" city.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Le Petit Chef and Dinner Time Stories, I thought I would give you a little bit of background. Dinner Time Stories is a dining experience, unlike anything I've seen before. Using multiple overhead projectors, 34 dinner guests enjoy six unique courses while following Le Petit Chef on his escapades across the world. In search of culinary inspiration, Le Petit Chef navigates tempestuous ocean waters, narrowly escapes death in the Arabian desert and makes the trek to the Himalayas. Take it from a girl who loves to travel, this is quite the adventure!
We first meet Le Petit Chef in Marseilles, France where guests learn about the chef's passion for food and his first food stand endeavor.
Our first bite was reflective of Le Petit Chef's influences in Marseilles, France. Guests have the pleasure of noshing on Ratatouille Terrine with Tomato Jam coupled with a Roasted Green Slip Mussel with Garlic and Lemon. The presentation of this dish was quite apropos as Le Petit Chef packs his bag and leaves France to embark on his inspirational journey. It's also noteworthy to highlight the flavors of this dish and watch how they evolve as Chef traverses the globe.
While I don't want to give away all of Le Petit Chef's secrets, I want to share my favorite dish of the evening. Most people have found Chef's adventures through the Himalayas to be most exciting and delicious, however, I found his time in Arabia to be filled with laughter and flavor. To celebrate Chef's trek across the Arabian desert and narrowly escaping death, guests were presented with a gilded box where our next course would be featured. Highlighting the spices of the region, we had the pleasure of enjoying savory Lamb Tagine with Couscous and Tabbouleh Salad with Bulgur, Parsley, and Mint.
Dinner Time Stories encourages patrons to reflect on their dining experience by providing a tiny journal where initial thoughts and reactions to each course can be captured. Once all guests are finished enjoying their entree, a member of the staff picks up the journal and rotates it to another guest. Not only do you have the opportunity to read other guests' impressions on the food and experience, but some of the commentaries were quite candid and humorous. While I like this concept, in theory, I was a bit disenchanted with the fact that I knew what was ahead. Almost like skipping to the end of a novel, if you will.
As Le Petit Chef's journey draws to a close, guests watch as he carefully concocts a dessert that incorporates palate pleasing flavors from each of the areas visited. Quite the exciting finale!
If you've been following along with my blog, you know that I have been fortunate enough to dine at some of the most amazing restaurants across the globe. Imagination and innovation is unique to each chef and one of the most fascinating things is seeing how this translates in the kitchen. Unlike my previous experiences, Dinner Time Stories is about immersing oneself into the 3D technology, embracing your inner child and following along on an animated adventure.
Nashville, you are in luck! Dinner Time Stories has recently extended their run with seating available through the end of April 2017.
For more information about upcoming Dinner Time Stories seatings, click here!
I'd like to thank Go West Creative for partnering with me on this post!
Tariff: $162.50 + Fees ( 1 cocktail is provided with dinner, all other cocktails are purchased a la carte) Use the code DTSNashville for 20% off your ticket!
**Dinner takes approximately two and a half hours, so please plan accordingly.**