This story begins and ends with this “Chef’s Kiss.”
This was a real dish served at Bros restaurant in Lecce, Italy. A mold of the Chef’s mouth, filled with foam, and you were asked to slurp it out of his lips.
Yes, you were.
So begins the wacky tale of a dining disaster gone viral!
Rand Fishkin, left, dined at Bros’, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Lecce, Italy. His wife, Geraldine DeRuiter, wrote a review panning the experience as a “4-hour hunger induced fever dream” for her travel blog the Everywhereist. This is Geraldine DeRuiter’s photo, used in a Washington Post story that tells the story of her blog post and the viral reaction that resulted.
This story went viral and was seen everywhere – a group of 8 foodies who were served 27 courses over 4+ hours. The most bizarre, uncomfortable meal ever eaten. That’s the “Chef’s Kiss” on the left, and another dish on the right – the review notes that the portions were microscopically small.
As The Washington Post reported:
“But perhaps the most bizarre moment of the “4-hour hunger induced fever dream” came when servers brought out a course called “chef’s kiss” — citrus foam, served in a plaster cast that had been molded in the shape of the chefs’ mouths. On DeRuiter’s cast, some of the foam had escaped the parted lips and dribbled down.”
By the way, on the left was a “main course” of crab, what their review described as a teaspoon of crab.
But, back to the lips:
“We were told that we needed to kiss the mouth of the ramekin in order to slurp out the foam,” she told The Post. She added: “At that point, I was like, ‘Okay … this is a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode. I feel like I’m in a parody of what modernist cuisine is.”
The price for this dining disaster?
The check for the party of eight, which included alcohol, came to about 1,350 euros, or roughly $1,522.
Oh, and as for that “foam in the Chef’s mouth” dish:
Meet The Chefs!
The Washington Post story had the Chef’s reaction to the review – and his wacky lips dish:
Pellegrino addressed “Limoniamo,” the plaster mold that, during DeRuiter’s meal, held the citrus foam. The mold actually comes in the shape of either Pellegrino’s mouth or the mouth of fellow chef Isabella Potì, and you could actually buy one to take home with you for 58 euros – roughly $66.
As the Chef told The Washington Post:
“We thank Mrs. XXX — I don’t remember her name — for making us get to where we had not yet arrived. We are out of stock of ‘Limoniamo’, thank you very much.”
So, what a dining adventure that was!
In order to attract customers, some unique restaurants have adopted unusual and just straight up weird practices to serve up once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Visiting these restaurants will make you forget all about the food.
Like this one, where fish glide underneath your feet as you dine!
Ummm…you have to watch it!
Well then…that reminded me of the time my wife had a terrific flaming encounter at a restaurant:
And I also ate a modern take on a classic – and now banned – dish:
Take a look at this fiery dish served to me behind a napkin to shield me from others!
We also went to an “Ancient Rome” feast one night, where we were part of the cooking process, as we baked our own bread at the table, and when it was done, we also served ourselves in a very unique way:
You can see the entire meal by clicking on my original story here:
Chef Grant Achetz created NEXT to take diners on unique journeys around the world – and his Michelin 3-star restaurant Alinea is, for me, the most inventive food I’ve ever eaten!
Yes, it’s a culinary experience where bacon arrives on a high wire, and my wife Alex finished one meat by eating a balloon!
Click here to see some of his amazingly inventive dishes!
If you like these stories, PLEASE CLICK THE “LIKE” BUTTON BELOW!
Better still, why not sign up to receive emails whenever I post? It’s easy to do, I DO NOT collect any information about you at all, there are absolutely NO ads of any kind, just stories about food, restaurants, recipes and food travel!
You can sign up by clicking on my blog here and see the note on the right!
If you like this story please share on social media – thanks!
Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Fine Dining, Food, Food Porn, Food Travel, Restaurants, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Hi John, I remember this. So freaky.
This is all too weird for this Yankee girl. Give me some real food that I can put into my own lips! (I still don’t understand some of the other stuff, but maybe it’s a test to see if one is pretending the emperor is wearing clothes.)
Wow you find some weird stuff! I don’t mind the mouth/lips so much, but I really dislike foamy food! I’d pass on that! Very inventive, but maybe a little nuts?!! The Ortolan I’ve only read about in Anthony Bourdain’s book. Very cool. Wish we could all eat together some day! But my husband is not adventurous at all.
Thanks for the comment! I shared this story because the wild and wacky stuff being done sometimes is just too far for me, but the review was funny and the Chef was defiantly unapologetic! Great hearing from you!
So over the top , kind of freaks me out )
Agree but thought the review was hilarious! Edible food is coming next I promise!
it was, and thank you for what’s to come
A step too far for me..this time…Real food wins…but nonetheless I always look forward to your posts, John
Carol, the review was funny to me but agree this tuff is too “out there” for me!
Thanks! Isn’t it “We eat first with our eyes”? Have you ever tried dining in the dark, the exact opposite?
Yes, this type of food definitely needs to be tried in the dark! I haven’t done it but would love to try! Thanks for the comment!
It’s also on our to-do list!
That restaurant is the epitome of everything that is wrong about overpriced ‘foodie’ pretentiousness. It is the ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ of fine dining, and I wouldn’t pay those prices to eat there if I was a bilionaire! 🧓
Best wishes, Pete.
Pete, I completely agree and the film “The Menu” takes it even further!