July 30, 2007

Europe | France | Paris

Let Them Eat Caviar

By Nicole Cotroneo

What’s on the menu at the world’s most expensive dinner?

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You’re seated at a banquet table in a sumptuous salon at Versailles, polishing off the 15th course of a dinner prepared by the world’s top chefs. No, this isn’t a dream. But there is a wake-up call — your tab, monsieur: $30,000. Welcome to The Dinner of the Chefs, an epicurean extravaganza billed as “the world’s most expensive dinner” and hosted at the palace that Louis XIV called home. Technically that title was already claimed in February, when a Thai hotel gathered six Michelin-starred chefs for a meal with the same price tag. But the new, franco-fied version, on September 17, aims to trump its predecessor in lavish Sun King-style, ne plus ultra.

Only sixty guests will find out what 16 culinary demigods — including American icon Charlie Trotter, BBC darling Gary Rhodes, and French master Alain Passard — can produce from a kitchen powered by 40 Michelin stars. The fantasy evening begins with cocktails on Marie-Antoinette’s private estate; interludes with a Chopin recital; and finishes with fireworks. Though you’ll leave with a lighter wallet, you won’t go home empty-handed: favors include a flask of vintage Hennessy for the men and Marie-Antoinette’s own perfume for the ladies. And lest you fear the curse of the decadent queen, rest assured your own excess will be absolved: the dinner’s proceeds go to charity.