Watch a tiny chef prepare your dinner right in front of you at the Le Petit Chef popup at Cardigan Place Cellars.
There’s been an array of new food concepts to hit Australia over the years, from Dans Le Noir? dinner ‘in the dark’ to Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck. But, the latest innovation, Le Petite Chef, brings 3D animation to the table.
Imagine a 58 millimetre chef preparing and cooking your three course dinner, right in front of you. Developed in Belgium by Skullmapping, 3D rendering and projection tells the story of where your food has come from and how it is created.
Already a hit around the world in London, Toronto, Berlin, Dubai, Stockholm, Nashville, Istanbul, Cologne and China, Le Petit Chef is now in Melbourne as a pop up until February 2019.
Playing host to Le Petit Chef is Cardigan Place Cellars in Albert Park. Head Chef Kirra Parsons (ex Lûmé) executes each dish with her own flare, which are all perfectly matched with tasty wines. The intimate upstairs area of Cardigan Place Cellars utilised for Le Petit Chef, is reminiscent of a cosy room in an old manor house. Mood lighting illuminates beautiful wallpaper and cabinets full of wine to be enjoyed during the event.
Our night commences by watching our tiny chef swimming to our plate and working hard to catch the seafood to add to the fragrant broth for our starter. The Bouillabaisse features a flavoursome porcini mushroom broth poured over a bed of enoki mushrooms, fennel fronds, poaches mussels, calamari, octopus and cured kingfish. The seafood dish is expertly paired with a 2018 Blind Corner “Blanc” Chenin Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc from Quindalup, Western Australia.
The main, which our little chef skilfully creates over a grill, is a succulent Cape Grim (Tasmania) grass fed scotch fillet steak, served with a stout glaze, hasselback potato, kale and broccolini. The matching red wine, a 2017 Ministry of Clouds, Tempranillo/Grenache from McLaren Vale, South Australia, was the ideal medium bodied tipple.
For dessert, a caramelised milk parfait rolled in crushed wafer biscuits, fresh strawberries and chocolate glaze, was amusingly and resourcefully prepared in the snow by our diminutive chef. The refreshing dessert was matched with a 2017 Huia, Botrytis Riesling, from Marlborough, New Zealand.
The storytelling of Le Petit Chef is comedic and entertaining, the food and wine is delicious. It is a great way to spoil you and your family or friends with a unique dinner experience.
You can experience Le Petit Chef at Cardigan Place Cellars in Albert Park until the end of February 2019. Each sitting can host up to eight guests and runs for approximately 90 minutes, on Wednesday to Sunday starting at 6 pm or 8pm. $190 per person.
You can find out more about Le Petit Chef here.