A fine dining noob's guide to a Michelin Star meal

As a disclaimer, before I get started on my write-up, I am not a foodie or a gourmand. However, I do know a tasty meal when I see one — or in some cases, when I eat one! Also, for the record, I will not spend a lot of money on a single dinner that is sufficient for grocery shopping for a month by the standards of Europe. 

My friend's parents gifted us this six-course Michelin Star Dinner at "La Maison Dans Le Parc" (the house in the park) for Christmas and my birthday. We had to make reservations almost a month in advance in order to be able to dine there. 

As we were walking there, we were a bit nervous because we knew the waiters behave extremely formally at these kinds of establishments, and my friend and I, unlike old white French people, are not very formal when it comes to dining outdoors. 

Upon our arrival, we found it to be an actual house located in the park, quite literally in accordance with its name. As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted with their special menu for the evening, and we decided to opt for the six-course menu. 

Photo: Courtesy

It is important to mention that we were positively surprised by the manner in which the waiters and managers adapted to us; the staff did not behave in a super formal manner while serving us, but when serving old rich people, they did so in a formal manner.

There were two entrees (starters), one poisson (fish), one viande (meat) and two desserts included in the six-course meal. Prior to the entree, there served something called a canape, which is translated as a sofa in English. This is where they serve three tiny bite-size chunks of food to kick off the evening. 

For a Bangladeshi, the portions can be a little disappointing at first, but once I put all three canapes made with mushroom, carrot, and sesame in my mouth, excitement and joy overtook me.

Then came the two entrees. Pumpkin and raw meat don't particularly appeal to me. However, it began with a platter of 30 different dishes cooked with pumpkin. A cup of Irish pumpkin coffee was also served. Since Irish coffee is supposed to have alcohol, they also used pumpkin-based alcohol. To give it a coffee-like touch, there were ground roasted pumpkin seeds on top of the white foam. There was so much artistic detail on the plate that it was almost criminal to dip the spoon into it for the first time.

Photo: Courtesy

As a second entree, the restaurant served a ravioli composed of raw seasoned red beef meat encased in beetroot jelly dough. While I am used to eating cooked red meat, raw red meat is widely eaten in France with proper seasoning. Considering it's the 21st century and meat hygiene is extremely important, it's okay to eat raw red meat (beef and duck), but pink meat (chicken, turkey, calf and pork) needs to be cooked thoroughly.

There are always two different fish and meat dishes as part of the main course.

In the first dish, a white fish was wrapped in seaweed, and inside, a cream made with sea fish served with white sauce; the look was inspired by sushi. Next to it was an artichoke roasted in wine; my friend predicted that meat would have a strong taste for the second meal as there is a tradition in France to serve strong-tasting wines with strong-tasting meats. To my utter amusement, we figured out that it was a piece of Biche (female wild red deer) meat with a red sauce poured next to it. There were also two pieces of dumplings made with the intestines of the deer. The meat was very different from anything I'd had before —  it had a really distinctive smell and taste. 

A ravioli composed of raw seasoned red beef meat encased in beetroot jelly dough indeed a unique experience for a desi foodie. Photo: Courtesy

We barely had room left in our stomachs after five small dishes, which might seem like not much. We still had two desserts left. 

The first dessert, described as "all about green", was made with pistachios, avocados, and lemons. There were ice cream, cream, and nutty cake pieces in it. A little sweet and tangy.

For the second dessert, they shoved a piece of homemade vanilla ice cream into a freshly baked passion fruit mud cake and topped it with white cream. As the ice cream melted due to the warmth of the mud cake, the cake also cooled down because of the ice cream inside. Therefore, as soon as we put it in our mouths, we found that the dish was at room temperature. It's unbelievable that I can still taste it while writing about it even after a month. To end the dinner, this combination of sweet and sour was perfect.

Photo: Courtesy

Now that dinner was over, it was almost midnight when we started heading home. Suddenly, I felt like Cinderella. As if it were a dream, rather than a reality. While tasting those foods, I was totally immersed in the moment. However, the thought about eating this kind of food every day never crossed my mind. Just imagine sitting for four hours at a table while everything is being served to you. By taking a piece of bread with my hand instead of a spoon, I almost embarrassed myself. It is much more fun for me to eat food in my corner of the world where I am not bothered about what I use for a slice of bread. 

My regular foods are treating me just fine; I am not at all unhappy. My diet is healthy and adequate. In order to lose weight, I have been avoiding rice and deshi food since I moved to France. I can confirm that there is still nothing that can make me drool more than a very well-cooked Beef Bhuna, Chicken Roast or Alu Bhorta. After all, desi food is the best food. No doubt about that!