Why is it just better to watch a movie in a cinema? One straight answer is that it is a shared experience. You get into the mood of the movie; the sound system surrounds you, loud explosions, silent whispers, the note of an instrument and all the sounds envelop the audience. It is an immersive experience. The laughter is shared, it is contagious, and the fear is real, the surprise is sudden. Every moment of the movie has an immediate impact on the spectator. Same with the theatre. The human bond in the theatre is even more tangible; there is a direct flow of senses from the stage to the audience. Nothing compares with such a live experience; it is the human interaction that makes a theatre show unmatched.
Food for thought
Is it possible to have a similar experience at a dinner? Why not? Kolkata-born Indian chef Gaggan Annand, now based in Bangkok, has made that possible, and it is not even new news, he has been doing it for a long time now. Imagine a dinner session, with an exact starting time, pretty much like a movie or theatre séance, seating only 14 guests, and the show starts. Noone in the audience realizes how the next three hours pass, two acts, one short intermission, no time for a puff of cigarettes, maybe only a quick visit to the bathroom. Gaggan is now the maestro, the orchestra conductor, conducting his three-hour opera of food, storytelling and music packed into one, while his team serves the announced food, you listen to the story, you respond to the rhythm of the music, you taste, and at some point you even start to sing. Gaggan makes you get into his story, joining his chorus, banging on the counter, clapping your hands and sharing the moment, and of course also enjoying the bite in your mouth simultaneously. The convivial atmosphere is real, every single guest is enjoying the moment, and moreover, the reality of the outside world is totally left behind. This is pretty much like the feeling one gets in a movie or theatre, but actually, it is a tasting dinner. You are there to enjoy your food. Food on your plate becomes the message, or a messenger of a thought, and every bite you take conveys that message; every bite is food for thought.
No ‘shit show’
No guest knows what will happen when they step into the dark room where the show will begin. Everybody is seated at the L-shaped counter facing the open kitchen or the stage. Gaggan himself leads the show, or in his own terms, the “Shit Show” starts with music kicking in. The kitchen team, or the “rebels” as he calls them, silently prepare the food at the back, but not backstage; you can see the plates assembled, but you hardly notice them as the focus is on Gaggan’s performance. All of a sudden, when your plate appears in front of you, the light is on the plate, and your focus shifts to the food. There will be a total of 22 of them, and at the end, you’ll end up licking up your plate. The latter is no joke; the last dish is meant to be licked from the plate. Plate-licking is a Gaggan’s signature gimmick, and with his order, you voluntarily start to lick the embossed edible pattern on your plate. This time it was a sunflower pattern; the first time I experienced Gaggan’s shit show, it was the world map in 2023. This licking plate experience apparently changes from time to time, according to the message Gaggan wants to convey, and these days, with the world almost turned upside down, it could well be the world map again, maybe a toppled one, to match the actual “shit show” performed by the politicians worldwide.
Tasting or experiencing
In the fine dining world, tasting dinners have become long experiences that are like a fashion “sflita” or a parade of costumes, an endless procession of ongoing bites and spoons and morsels of food. On many occasions, the ongoing tasting menus become torturous, the explanations of the dishes become a bore, and in more than many cases, no matter how many bites you have, you still feel hungry. Maybe that is the reason why so many tasting menus started to have a bread-and-butter course to satisfy the bellies and go on with their parade. Gaggan’s menu, in a way, follows the same pattern of bite-sized morsels and small plates. Here, the procession consists mostly of finger-held bites, each coming with a narrative told by Gaggan himself. While Gaggan continues to talk, the prep is finalized by the crew, and by the time the food is in front of you, the story is over, and they're ready for you to enjoy, encapsulating all the story you just listened to. That bite and narrative is also matched with accompanying music, and needless to say, pairing drinks, alcoholic or non-alcoholic, a masterly curated selection by Serbian wine expert, sommelier Vladimir Kojic.
Gaggan claims that he changes about 80 percent of the menu every four months or so, but there are some all-time classics. The yoghurt explosion is one; it’s a miracle of molecular cuisine, always a delight to start the experience. There is always the so-called “rat’s brain” in a bite, sometimes named differently; this last time, I think it was served as a snake brain or some other reptile. Molded in a brain-shaped mold with a blood-looking red sauce, it is irritating in appearance, but okay to eat, even if you are a vegetarian. The soul of the food is Indian, of course, but with a Japanese accent. There is always the surprise element, an unusual taste combination or the texture of a crunch. Gaggan here not only acts as a maestro of tastes but also as a DJ, suddenly pulling us to the beat of the Beatles, swaying with the tune of “Hey Jude!” and then banging on the counter, yelling “We Will Rock You!”
Gaggan truly rocks! When I was making my guesses for the gastronomy trends of 2026, I focused on the concept of “quiet luxury” and how it can be adapted to gastronomy. I was also predicting that the showy tasting menus in fine dining would eventually decline. But we all like a bit of a show, an experience with a difference. Attending the show-dinner of Gaggan Anand in Bangkok reminded me of that. It was totally thought-provoking, immersive, and above all, it was fun, a shared fun by all 14 guests, Captain Gaggan and his kitchen “Rebels” all together. It was the warm conviviality and shared joy we truly needed — the vital ingredient that always makes a dinner truly enjoyable.
