At the L’amour dessert studio in Rutland Gate, Chennai, The Bridgerton Story, a popular dessert is doing its rounds on social media. It is a chocolate and hazelnut pastry that is served with tricks straight out of the molecular gastronomy textbook. When the cloche filled with dry ice smoke is lifted, phones are pulled out before the spoons. Slow-motion videos, boomerangs and selfies fill the room. “But wait, let me first take a picture,” echoes.
Food theatre has become an inevitable experience to offer for restaurants to stay in the game. As plates of well-presented food are achievable even in home kitchens, social media and the accessibility to molecular gastronomy has pushed the boundary further. Just as milkshakes once became more flamboyant simple latte art on coffee has now been overshadowed by photographs printed on the foam.
