For the super-rich, it appears, one world-famous Michelin-starred chef is no longer quite enough to make a memorable meal. Wealthy gastronomes are increasingly asking high-end restaurants and hotels to host so-called “four hands” dinners in which pairs of renowned chefs team up to create collaborative set-course meals.
Next Wednesday, 60 diners will sit down to a “glorious four-hands banquet” created by the pioneering French chef Alain Ducasse in partnership with Wolfgang Puck, an Austrian-American cook who has hosted the official Oscars after-party dinner for the past 29 years, at a five-star hotel on London’s Park Lane. Together, they hold 23 Michelin stars.
The eight-course meal, which includes hand-dived scallops and Australian wagyu beef, will set each diner back £633 plus £230 if they wish to “elevate your experience with our head sommelier’s carefully crafted wine pairings”. Service and tips are not included, meaning that if a diner tips 20% the total cost will exceed £1,000 each and make it one of the most expensive set-course meals ever served in the capital.
The Dorchester hotel, which is hosting the dinner at its American steak restaurant Cut at 45 Park Lane, said the chefs would be “teaming up to create a gastronomic fusion of excellence” that would “take guests on a culinary journey with exceptional pairings made to highlight the dishes created by these leading chefs”.
Elliott Grover, executive chef at 45 Park Lane who is organising the dinner and will be part of a huge team of top chefs cooking it, told the Guardian that he hoped bringing the pair together would create a “last supper kind of thing … a once in a lifetime evening that diners would remember forever”.
“I’ve wanted to do it since literally the day I started, but they have been very busy. Now they can make it work, it’s awesome,” he said.
Grover acknowledged the dinner was a huge extravagance during the cost of living crisis, when many families are struggling to afford even basic ingredients to cook at home.
“We have got an expensive price point, but when you look at the quality of the food and drink and the whole package, it is really a once-in-a-lifetime event,” he said. “We didn’t want to go overboard, [but] it could have been higher; it’s supply and demand.”
However, not all of the bookings have been sold. Grover said about 10-11 seats were still available to book online. If all the seats do not sell, he said some selected journalists (not the Guardian’s) may be invited.
Upon arrival, the guests will be greeted by Ducasse and Puck at a champagne and canapes reception. They will then be seated together at the same time to dine communally at long tables (à la the last supper).
The first course to be served will be Puck’s famous “Wolfgang’s pretzel bread”, which has been described by Tripadvisor reviewers as “the most tender pretzel-ish bread ever”. It will be followed by an amuse bouche of hand-dived scallops with citrus beurre blanc and Kristal caviar, overseen by Ducasse.
The chefs will continue alternating courses all evening, with a starter of sweet pea agnolotti followed by Cornish turbot, and a duo of Australian wagyu beef and grilled New York steak (for which Puck is famous).
There will be a “pre-dessert” of strawberries, lemonade sorbet and olive oil, before a marjolasian (a long, narrow cake with straight sides filled with cashew nougatine, espresso mousse and cappuccino ice-cream).
Finally, it’s “mignardises” (similar to, but seemingly posher than, petit fours), which include Ducasse’s famous macarons – lime-and-basil flavour – and chocolates made by his dedicated chocolatier.
The fundamentals of the menu were created by Grover and Jean-Philippe Blondet, the executive chef at Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester restaurant, but Grover said Ducasse and Puck spent weeks debating and adapting it. Grover said Ducasse had been keen on serving a vegan dish, but Puck suggested Ducasse devise the fish course while Puck would do the meat.
Four-hands dinners have been popular in Dubai and Hong Kong for some years, and the trend is now moving to London, Paris, New York, Las Vegas and other large American cities.
