What's up, my dudes this somehow felt appropriate to film in a kitchen you read the title, so I'm just gonna dive into things
I'm here to answer two very simple questions. What is eating in a world-class restaurant like and is it worth it? I
Laugh to this day because I cannot believe this happened the restaurant in question here is Osteria Francescana
Which is run by the one and only Massimo Bottura. He's pretty famous in Italy
the the only reason I even know about this restaurant actually is
Thanks to the show chef's table. That's a separate story on its own but it's a show that had a particular impact on me
I just really loved the cinematography and the music and
The storytelling in that show and the very first episode is on this restaurant and on Massimo and I think from that
Moment when I watched it a few years ago on it was something that I don't know
I had a little curiosity about things in the back of my mind when I say best restaurant in the world
I'm not exaggerating at all. So as you can imagine
Demand for a restaurant like this is quite high. So let's rewind it to where the story begins
Ok last summer
I was living in Mexico City and
At that point I had decided I wanted to spend several months in Italy and so purely out of curiosity
I you know as one does I
Went on the internet and began doing a little bit of research on what it takes to get a reservation
To a restaurant like this and let me tell you no matter how much research I did
There was so much conflicting information out there that it was just it ended up becoming an adventure of its own
the reason I
Ended up seriously considering this is because I brought up the idea to a French friend of mine OCN who was living in the Netherlands
At the time and she was totally done
she was like I'll buy a ticket and fly down to Italy and have this experience with you and I was like
Oh my god. Yes because it's not the kind of thing that that I wanted to do by myself
So here's what it took to get the reservation on the first Monday of every month
They release all the reservations for three months in advance
At exactly 10 a.m
Italian time. Okay. So for example if you wanted to get a reservation in November you have to reserve in August
Which is exactly what I did now 10:00 a.m. Italian time is 3:00 a.m. Mexico City time
So about an hour before everything has to be done online
Get online I get on the website and I get in the queue and I remember having queue number
1803 or something like that, and you have to keep in mind this restaurant only has 12 tables
And they only do two services a day
So right off the bat like it felt like my odds of actually getting a spot were really really low
But this ended up becoming sort of like a teamwork sort of situation while Oceane was also
In the queue from Europe we had several browsers open each. We were trying to give ourselves the best odds
It turns out none of that even mattered because as we got closer and closer the nerves the tension built up but as 10:00 a.m
Italian time struck. Okay. It's 3:00 a.m. Where I was
It's like all hell broke loose. I don't know what exactly happened
I think the web site couldn't handle the amount of people that we're trying to queue in. I
Could tell that the website wasn't working. So I started frantically refreshing and getting different random spots in the queue. I jumped from like
1803 to 300 and then up to 1200. It was just all over the place. I was completely unsuccessful in getting reservations
So if it was something that I was just trying to do by myself
That would have been the end of the story but Oceane
Thank you. Plus that she got through very quickly called me
I gave my credit card info so that we can reserve the spot. It was a total situation of teamwork
totally beautiful Oh
Oh my god, Oh my god
Oh my God holy smokes we got a reservation for Osteria Francescana holy sit
Confirm your reservation for two persons on Saturday, November 16 , 2019 at 12:30 PM
Oh my god And then I went straight to bed because I was exhausted to be completely honest with you I I don't even know
How it worked out or why but I'm not gonna question it so fast forward three months. I'm living in Milan
Oceane comes down she flies down for the weekend and we take a train to go to Modena, which is where this restaurant is
Obviously, first of all, let me just say that Modena is a very beautiful little town
It's worth the trip all on its own
but obviously we were there with a mission For me, it's simply fantastic
to be able to visit this place without all the tourists
Because its not that typical to come in November.
It's easier for me to appreciate the city and the architecture
we get to the location on Google Maps and
All you really see is a plaque that says Osteria Francescana
but it doesn't feel like a conventional entrance to a restaurant by any means somebody opens the doorway for us to enter
Welcome
We enter and I immediately I feel incredibly uncomfortable I feel like a total fish out of water
like like I didn't even know what to do with my hands or feet or face to be honest into you it was
So fancy so nice so clean and there's like 12 waiters all there waiting for you
Welcoming you they're all saying. Hello. They all seem like really nice people and I'm wearing like my backpack
I have a camera my hands. Oh my god, I felt so self-conscious. So there was a very awkward moment there
where I
I think what I wanted to try and do was like vlog the whole experience, but it ended up looking
Incredibly awkward and amateurish. So yeah, that was
that was, uhh, that was really
Not my proudest moment. So the waiters immediately. They're taking your jacket. They're taking your backpack
They're just like taking care of you and they led us down the hallway
It feels like I'm exaggerating things
But I'm really not I had blood rushing through my ears and I was just I don't know
I just don't have that much experience in really fancy nice places
So they take us to our table and their seating us and you know
like I'm not used to that action of them coming around you and
Pushing in your seat for you. I have never had that be done for me before it's very strange very quickly
I began to understand why an experience like this could cost as much money as it does
I know a lot of people get offended at the idea of spending hundreds of dollars for a single meal
It's very similar in concept. I suppose to going to a festival or a concert or something
You're going for a unique experience and this truly was a good kind of experience. You can't really get anywhere else at all
The design is beautiful
Everybody's speaking in quiet voices. I felt fancy, you know, I dressed up for the occasion. I'm not really much of a fancy dresser
I mean, I usually am wearing t-shirts, but I made my best effort
So Oceane and I both got the tasting menu
I would recommend it if you're ever going to have this sort of experience
Just once you get to taste a bunch of different little dishes. I also got the wine pairing and
to be honest with you
I know practically nothing about wine, but I figured you know what I may never have this opportunity ever again
I'm gonna go for it
So they pair wine with every single one of the dishes and if you think about it
That is a lot of alcohol
I felt really bad when I didn't finish glasses of wine because it felt like expensive wine that I wasn't drinking
But every time I did finish a glass that went with a particular dish, you know
If it was a glass that I really liked the Sommelier would come over and refill it and I was like, dude no
No, like no more alcohol. I really wanted to test these guys, so I requested tissues
That was one of the first things that I requested I was like what can I ask?
Immediately one of the head waiters sends one of the other waiters off to get the tissues for me
And of course the way they came back presenting it to me was three folded tissues on a small plate
That they placed on the table and not only that
And this is gonna really show you the attention to detail here once I used the tissues
At some point later on in the meal they came back and replaced them
It really was like incredible service far in a way beyond what anybody really needs?
But it's fun to be I think that's what people pay for
You know to be treated very very well to be taken care of. It personally made me a little bit uncomfortable
I don't need that much service
They're taking care of the whole experience so that you can really just focus on the food and the flavors and everything
Of course. I cannot talk about this in our experience without addressing the food the food is absolutely
delicious, but
That's really not the point. There's a lot of delicious food in the world
Not even just that you can get really delicious food for very cheap
So this is not about having the most delicious food that you've ever had in your life
I go back to that point that I made earlier
Which is that you're going for an experience and that's what these dishes felt
Like they felt like concepts you're tasting flavors and combinations that it feels like you've never tasted
Before and many times throughout the meal. I really couldn't believe
Certain combinations were even possible. I was wondering how they even came up with these concepts now. I don't know what it's like in every
michelin-starred restaurant out there, but accusations that you end up leaving a restaurant like this hungry are completely
Not based in reality. I mean in my experience that was an enormous amount of food
We were sitting there eating for like four or five hours
We walked in like I said it around noon and we came out and it was dark already outside
so that really shows you how long this experience lasts the tasting menu had something like
12 or 13 dishes and they would come out every
20 minutes or so and you know
The cost is definitely high
right
It was close to 300 euros for the tasting menu and another 200 or so to pair it with wine
but if you think about what you're getting for that amount of money, I never felt like I was cheated or
That it wasn't worth it. Personally. I've never spent
Anywhere near this much on a single meal. I've gone on entire trips for less money than this
So it's definitely not something that I can see myself doing all the time
I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to have this experience
I personally would rather spend money this way than to go to you know
Like a concert or a festival where there's a ton of people and a ton of noise and you're always surrounded by that
That's just not fun for me. I don't know. It was just a really cool way to be able to share something with
one person intimately, you know and
Like I get it I can see how like food really connects people
There was one point early on in the meal where everybody's voices suddenly got very quiet
I remember looking around trying to see what was going on and
Massimo himself
Actually came out to greet everybody
This was something I was completely not expecting you have to realize that he's a busy guy
And so he comes to each table talking to everybody. I wanted to speak to him in Italian. That's kind of how I operate
When I learn languages I find reasons to learn the language and he was one of them for me
He comes a as this really cool very charismatic Italian and he just makes Italian seem really cool, you know
So I wanted to converse a little bit say what I could in Italian, you know
I remember saying that till I was like, hey, can I just say a few words to an Italian?
and this will show you the kind of person that he is he was like
But she he's referencing Oceane and she doesn't understand Italian. So why would you do that?
You know, he wanted to be really inclusive but he did it in a nice way, you know his his energy was good
So yeah, I just I expressed my admiration
I asked him a few questions and then you know
I didn't want to bug him, but the fact that we got a photo together was amazing
So cool what a cool guy I'll be the first to admit that I did not understand half of what the waiters were saying
They had very thick accents, but I think the concept is that they're trying to tell stories with these dishes
About the local area and using local ingredients and telling a story of Italy and Modena
and you know current events now if you're offended by the prices, I don't blame you. I understand that
It's a totally difficult thing to wrap your head around and I myself have been very critical
Like the whole world of Haute cuisine, right?
But this really felt like something that I'm gonna remember for a very long time. It was enjoyable
It was very novel and it was exciting and you know
Massimo and the whole team that works at the restaurant really know how to give you a special experience
So yeah, was it worth it? It's a good question. It's a privilege to be able to do things like this
I got lucky to have this opportunity and I do not regret it
So yeah, was it worth it? Absolutely. I totally think it was worth it. Thank you for watching
I try not to ask too often
But if you'd like to see more of my videos consider subscribing and all the other stuff. See you soon