Effective eating meets enjoyable eating: 3 immersive consuming experiences on the Peninsula

This week, we’re highlighting three Peninsula eating experiences that embody playful, immersive and entertaining parts throughout their multicourse meal choices: one centered on advantageous artwork, one involving an animated mini chef and one celebrating the meals of beloved movies. 

Representatives from every extolled the occasions as enjoyable methods to really feel like a child once more (and precise youngsters are additionally welcome in any respect three). Read on to be taught a bit about what to anticipate from 7 Paintings in Mountain View, Le Petit Chef in Santa Clara and Fork n’ Film in Redwood City. 

7 Paintings at The Ameswell Hotel

To see Leonardo da Vinci’s unique “Mona Lisa” in actual life, it’s good to go to Paris. But to eat dinner whereas a digital model of Mona Lisa speaks? For that, you possibly can go to Mountain View. 

Mona Lisa is a part of 7 Paintings on the Ameswell Hotel, a eating expertise that pairs meals with details about famend artists and their work utilizing immersive know-how. Digital projections, narration, props, music and actions improve the expertise. 

“It’s a seven-course dinner that is inviting guests to have this journey through the art storytelling, and each course is dedicated to a certain artist,” mentioned Ksenia Gavrysh, the resort’s director of gross sales and advertising and marketing. 

Over the two.5-hour meal (supplied repeatedly most Fridays and Saturday nights and on different nights by particular reservation), along with assembly Mona Lisa, visitors be taught concerning the work of Michelangelo, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Vincent van Gogh. 

There are interactive parts to the present: For some programs, visitors are tasked with fixing puzzles, or invited to make artwork with their meals.

“You have to put a little work in before you’re actually allowed to eat,” Gavrysh mentioned with fun (however waitstaff will help in the event you get caught on a clue). 

For the Jackson Pollock course, diners create their very own “vegetable paintings” out of purees and sauces, which veggies can then be dipped into.

“Every adult in the room enjoyed doing it,” Gavrysh mentioned of the hands-on exercise throughout her first time experiencing the meal. “I think it brings us all to childhood.” 

Starting costs for the classic menu are $195 per individual, and there are vegetarian ($179) and kids’s menu ($85) choices out there as properly. 

Guests discover nods to the types and cultural backgrounds of the varied artists not solely via the projections and details about their paintings, but in addition via the meals, the paired musical alternatives and sure props. The Michelangelo course (tomato praline, basil gel and watercress in shell crostini), for instance, is served in a dish formed like a hand, referencing the Sistine Chapel. 

The Andy Warhol course (fillet of beef, candy potato mash, glazed sugar snap peas and balsamic jus, or grilled mini peppers with couscous for vegetarians and a “grill cheese bite” and tomato soup from the children’ menu) comes lined by a Campbell’s Soup can. 

The surreal Dali-inspired course on the traditional and vegetarian menus options Crema Catalana, mint and berries and salted caramel ice cream all served in a potato, which Gavrysh known as “mindblowing,” including that waiters additionally apply dry ice “to create this effect of fog on your plate and on your table.” 

The eating a part of the expertise is helmed by Ameswell’s govt chef, Chad Bayless, together with the resort’s meals and beverage staff, which is at present growing a program to pair wines with the programs as properly. The expertise is anticipated to be an ongoing one at Ameswell, though it’s potential that the menu – or the featured artists – could finally change, Gavrysh mentioned. 

7 Paintings began in Europe and has expanded internationally. The Ameswell was the primary 7 Paintings venue within the U.S., based on Gavrysh. 

These varieties of immersive meals replicate a want to make eating out a special day past simply consuming high quality meals. “People are seeking … experiences,” she mentioned. 

Check on-line for reservation dates; Ameswell Hotel, 800 Moffett Blvd., Mountain View; 7paintings.com/en/mountain-view. Instagram: @7paintings_com, @theameswellhotel. 

Le Petit Chef at Santa Clara Marriott

At the Santa Clara Marriott, govt chef Nelson Ramirez guidelines the kitchen. But he has slightly assist as of late – actually little – because of the resort’s new immersive eating expertise Le Petit Chef. 

The titular tiny chef is simply 6 centimeters tall and is, the truth is, a digital animation. Le Petit Chef diners comply with the little man’s adventures as he sources and prepares their five-course connoisseur meals timed to the serving of the particular dishes. The animations seem utilizing 3D projection mapping onto the eating tables through overhead projectors. The expertise additionally contains themed music and props. 

“You feel that you’re sort of in a theater-type atmosphere,” mentioned Santa Clara Marriott’s director of resort gross sales Kevin Thompson. “It brings the kid out of you, at least it did for me when I experienced it.” 

Diners can select between a number of menu choices: “Le Grand Chef,” which incorporates burrata; cioppino with recent crab and caviar; lobster; filet mignon with potatoes and mushrooms; and Meyer lemon tart ($159 per individual); “Le Petit Chef Classic” (comparable, minus the crab and caviar plus wagyu flat iron steak as a substitute of filet mignon, $129 per individual); “Le Petit Chef Vegetarian” (that includes tomato gazpacho, risotto and potato fondant in lieu of the seafood and meat dishes, $129 per individual); and “Le Petit Chef Kids” for youngsters 12 and below (together with kid-friendly programs akin to macaroni and cheese croquettes and s’mores for dessert; $69 per individual). According to Le Petit Chef’s web site, dietary restrictions, together with vegan and gluten-free, will be accommodated upon request. 

No matter which menu is chosen, the visible expertise is similar and relies on the “Grand” choice. 

“You get all enthralled with the chef, and all the obstacles that he’s having to go through just to prepare the dish,” Thompson mentioned. “It’s a little comical, so you really are entertained before the dish is set in front of you.” 

Thompson’s private favourite is the ultimate course.

“I love when the desserts come out because I love sweets more than anything,” he mentioned with fun. 

Like 7 Paintings, Le Petit Chef began in Europe and now operates in areas all over the world. Before bringing it to Santa Clara, Marriott workers ventured to San Francisco to expertise a Le Petit Chef meal there. 

“The entire executive staff, we just sort of fell in love with it and we felt like this would be a really good thing for our guests, and for an option just for locals as well,” Thompson mentioned. 

Something that makes every Le Petit Chef location distinctive is the in-person presence of the emcee who guides the storytelling, explaining the place the little chef is and what he’s doing on every journey. At the Santa Clara Marriott, that individual is restaurant supervisor Sayed Zaky, and immediately Thompson knew he’d be the correct individual for the job.

“You definitely have to have an emcee that is theatrical, that is over the top, and we definitely found that in Zaky,” Thompson mentioned. “When we approached him he was like, ‘Oh my God, I’d love to do this!’” 

The resort is at present taking reservations via the tip of the yr, and Thompson mentioned Ramirez has expressed curiosity in altering up the menu afterward in autumn. There are a number of totally different Le Petit Chef themes for venues to select from, and as soon as an area is configured it’s simple to shift between themes, he mentioned. “All it is is just a flip of a switch and you’ve got a totally different video that comes over.” 

Tuesdays-Saturdays (instances range); Santa Clara Marriott, 2700 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara; lepetitchef.com/santa-clara. Instagram: @le.petitchef, @santaclaramarriott. 

Fork n’ Film at Grand Bay Hotel San Francisco

When it involves planning a night out, “dinner and a movie” is hardly a novel idea. But how about dinner utterly impressed by — and served alongside — a film? 

“Fork n’ Film is an immersive culinary experience that recreates dishes from iconic, nostalgic movies, and serves them as they appear on screen,” co-CEO Francesca Duncan mentioned in an electronic mail. “Guests enjoy a six-to-eight course meal with cocktails, starting with champagne and, of course, popcorn. Once the movie begins, each time a food moment is shown on screen, the exact dish or drink appears in front of them.” 

As the corporate’s web site places it, it’s “cinema you can taste.” 

The Los Angeles-based Fork n’ Film was based in 2023 and is rising shortly, with occasions across the U.S. and internationally. Bay Area occasions started in May. 

Duncan mentioned she curates every menu herself.

“I watch each movie tons of times, picking out the best food moments, or most iconic scenes. Then, I create a meal or drink out of it,” she mentioned. “I sketch my ideas and send them to our executive chef (Raine Carter), who turns my ideas into recipes. We send these recipes to all of our locations for the hotel staff to execute.”

Grand Bay Hotel San Francisco in Redwood City is the present Bay Area venue for the occasions (the placement is listed on the web site as San Francisco; click on via to purchase tickets to search out the venue title and handle.) Upcoming movie screenings at that location embody “Ratatouille” (Sept. 13-14), “Coco” (Sept. 19-21), “Wicked” (Sept. 26-28), “Hocus Pocus” (Oct. 5, 10 and 12), “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (Oct. 17-19) and “Frozen” (Nov. 7-8), with extra to come back, based on Duncan. 

“With ‘Coco,’ we’ve crafted a truly authentic Mexican menu in collaboration with our partners in our Cancún location, bringing guests a genuine Mexican experience,” Duncan mentioned. “We also recently launched Fork n’ Sing, where we encourage guests to sing along to each song in ‘Wicked.’” 

Being shocked by the meals and drinks is a part of the enjoyable, based on Fork n’ Film’s web site, so menus usually are not posted on-line, however photos on Instagram provide some peeks into previous occasions. Guests can choose vegetarian or vegan choices when making reservations, and gluten-free gadgets are famous on the menu, the web site states. Tickets to the Grand Bay Hotel San Francisco occasions are $199.99 per individual.

According to Fork n’ Film’s web site, occasions usually promote out shortly. The firm additionally gives yearly memberships at numerous ranges and may host non-public occasions. 

Fork n’ Film’s aim, Duncan mentioned, “is to make our guests feel young again.” Many of the movies are childhood favorites, evoking heat and fuzzy nostalgic emotions. 

“We’ve also happily broken the classic childhood rule of ‘don’t play with your food.’ Every dish we serve includes an interactive twist – whether you’re pouring, mixing, or using a themed prop straight from the scene,” she mentioned.

Various dates, Grand Bay Hotel San Francisco, 223 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood City; forknfilm.com. Instagram: @forknfilm, @grandbayhotel. 

Dig into meals information. Follow the Peninsula Foodist on Instagram and subscribe to the newsletter to get insights on the newest openings and closings, be taught what the Foodist is happy about consuming, learn unique interviews and sustain on the traits affecting native eating places.

Most Popular