While I am a huge lover of Chef’s Table, I was shocked to discover the actual costs of eating at the restaurants in seasons 1 and 2. Clearly, eating at one of them is not in my near future.
When Chef’s Table: France came out, I knew I would find similar pricey restaurants to those in the original Chef’s Table. However, the food at these restaurants was of a different standard because of the reputation of French cuisine. (We all know that French food has some of the most mesmerizing techniques.)
If you’re just as curious as I was, you’ll be glad to know the cost to eat at the four restaurants on Chef’s Table: France before you make a reservation to eat there.
1. Alain Passard, Arpège
The season opens with Alain Passard’s famous Paris restaurant, Arpège. You’d think they would start the season with a restaurant typical of all things French but his is a bit different. He barely serves meat or poultry.
After years of butchering duck and steak, Passard was disgusted with the gore of it all. He decided to cut back on the proteins and focus on vegetables. In his restaurant, he makes the vegetable the star of the show.
Anything from beetroot tartare or a tart with four different kinds of tomatoes could be seen on his tasting menu. The fish and meat is sporadically introduced throughout the menu when necessary.
If you were to spend the $429 on a dinner tasting expect lavish, detailed plates and apple pie comprised of apple roses.
Chef’s Tasting (Lunch): 149 euros…$164
Chef’s Tasting (Vegetable): 340 euros…$374
Chef’s Tasting (Dinner): 390 euros…$429
2. Alexandre Couillon, La Marine
Alexandre Couillon has done something special for the small area of Noirmoutier, France where he grew up. This is a small island off of France where the tide makes it almost impossible to get there at times. That doesn’t change anything for Couillon who took over his parents old restaurant.
Since this was not a tourist destination he almost had to throw in the towel, until he miraculously received a Michelin star. This can only be explained by his emphasis on local seasonal ingredients.
A majority of the protein comes from the surrounding sea and his own garden. This chef has transformed an area that was never a culinary destination to a place to add to your food bucket list.
Chef’s Tasting: 150 euros…$165
3. Adeline Grattard, yam’Tcha
When writing about yam’Tcha it seemed wrong not to pick an image that featured bao. Here is a guide to pork bao (buns) if you need some clarification. As a huge lover of bao, an Asian steamed bread stuffed with all the goods, this place intrigued me greatly.
Adeline finds ways to make these delicate Asian pillows into a Asian-French fusion. Her first ever bun used stilton cheese and cherries. The restaurant has a dining area and then a tea boutique where her husband makes tea and small snacks. There is a window on the shop where customers can get fresh bao. Sounds like my kind of place.
There is also indoor seating where the chef creates dishes that perfectly marry her French heritage and love for Asian cuisine and its experience.
Average Cost: 60 – 120 euros…$66 to $133
4. Michel Troisgros, Troisgros
This 3 Michelin star restaurant has been seen through generations of the Troisgros family. Now Michel, with the help of his son, run this traditional French food destination. The picture above is what made the family famous, salmon and sorrel (a leafy green). It has since been modernized by Michel after he removed it from the menu, which he did to make his own name in the family.
But it didn’t matter because his techniques keep the 3 stars and made them grow even further. This might be the most expensive of the four restaurants featured on Chef’s Table: France but it is the epitome of French food so I suggest if you ever make it big, check this place out.
Chef’s Tasting: 410 euros…$450
So there you have it, the expensive, semi-expensive and the completely unattainable costs of the Chef’s Table: France restaurants. Hoping there’s a new season soon so I can figure out if I’ll actually be able to afford to eat there—probably not, but here’s to hoping.