For decades, fine dining restaurants seemed to operate off of a shared checklist. Sommelier? Check. White linens? Check. A touch of molecular gastronomy? Double check. But in recent years, the restaurant industry has seen a shift in diners’ interests, with guests looking for something a bit more unique or involved. Pop-up dinners, chef collaborations, and immersive and educational dining experiences are steadily making their way into general culinary culture, allowing guests to get more than just a delicious meal.
Virgilio Martinez hosted one such dinner earlier this year at the Four Seasons at the Surf Club in Surfside, Florida, alongside Massimo Bottura and the hotel’s executive chef Marco Calenzo. The one-night only, ticketed dinner was organized by The GR8 Experience and featured inventive dishes from each of the three chefs, highlighting their unique talents and approach to cooking. Guests experienced food cooked by some of the best chefs in the world without having to visit their respective countries — Martinez owns Central in Lima, Peru, and Bottura owns Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, both of which have landed the No. 1 spot on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for their forward-thinking approach to traditional dishes. The collaborative dinner produced dishes that highlighted all three chefs’ talents in an experience that will never be repeated again, making it the ultimate night out.
“There’s a clear shift in what guests are looking for these days,” says Calenzo. “It’s no longer just about a reservation, they want access to the chef, rare ingredients, and a unique story.” Guests also got the chance to learn. Without having to travel across the globe to visit all the chefs’ restaurants, they were able to try all three at once and learn about their styles and cooking techniques.
“People want to see the unknown,” Martinez says. “Fine dining is now more about education than just eating.” He continues to explain that travelers are looking to learn more about where their food comes from, the culture behind it, and what makes it so unique. “It’s less luxury, less caviar, and more about the value of the educational experience.”
It’s a practice that Martinez has implemented in his own restaurants. The focus on learning seems just as important to Martinez as the food for his guests, which is why he’s built a restaurant empire that educates diners with every bite about the customs, culture, and agriculture of his native Peru.
At Central, the menu is designed as a culinary journey through the country’s diverse ecosystems. Martínez and his team structure the tasting menu around altitude, using ingredients sourced from different elevations across the country, from the Amazon basin below sea level to the peaks of the Andes over 4,000 meters high. And in 2018, Martinez opened his second restaurant, MIL, in the Sacred Valley to bring diners closer to where he sources the food. Guests have the option of the tasting menu, which is similar in structure to that at Central. But for those looking for something more immersive, there’s an option to spend the day with Andean artisans to learn about ancestral textile process before sitting down for a meal, or a second option where guests are taken through the compound to learn about all aspects of the culinary experience, from the farmlands to the nearby Moray ruins which inspired the entire concept.
Bottura has implemented a similarly immersive strategy throughout his culinary empire. At Casa Maria Luigia, a hotel that Bottura opened in the countryside of Modena in 2019, visitors can choose between seven culinary “journeys,” from visiting the local farmers market and making pasta dough to visiting his flagship restaurant’s Parmigiano Reggiano supplier.
All three chefs agree: The future of fine dining is more hands-on for diners. From the pop-up dinner that all three hosted in Miami to meeting local suppliers with Martinez and Bottura, guests are looking for something more than just a fancy meal. “At the end, it’s all about value,” Martinez says. “People aren’t just sitting down for a meal but learning about the culture of the place they’re in and fully experiencing it. The people, the food, the culture.”
Dining and Cooking