Chef Gives Bizarre Response To Viral Review After Diners Told To Lick Food From Cast Of His Mouth

The Michelin-starred chef whose unusual menu went viral after a food blogger branded it ‘the worst Michelin-starred restaurant’ has responded with a fairly bizarre statement. 

Blogger Geraldine DeRuiter visited the Bros. Leece restaurant in Italy where she dined on a whopping 27 courses, but says she still left feeling hungry as ‘nothing even close to an actual meal was served’. 

DeRuiter said some of the courses were nothing more than ‘sliver of edible paper’ and ‘some shots were glasses of vinegar’. 

The review, which has since gone viral, was published on The Everywhereist last week after DeRuiter ate there with her husband and six friends. 

In her less-than-glowing review, DeRuiter wrote: “Maybe the staff just ran out of food that night. Maybe they confused our table with that of their ex-lover’s. Maybe they were drunk."

One of the more unconventional dishes was a ‘citrus foam’ which was served inside a plaster cast of the chef’s mouth - and without any utensils. 

She wrote: “Absent utensils, we were told to lick it out of the chef’s mouth in a scene that I’m pretty sure was stolen from an eastern European horror film.”

Now it appears the chef, Floriano Pellegrino, has got wind of the review as he’s now released a statement, complete with a drawing of a bloke on a horse. 

The statement, sent via email to Indy100, read: “Being able to draw a man on a horse does not make you an artist. The result of your talent can be beautiful to look at, but it is not art.

“Drawing a man on a horse is the same as making food. Many people are able to make good food. Your grandmother could do it. My wife does it great. McDonald’s knows perfectly how to make a hamburger that almost everybody likes, and the pizzeria around the corner does their job perfectly.

"Preparing food that is liked is like a making a drawing of a man on a horse. It is not that hard, but most people will admire you.

“Some people are great cooks. They make spectacular food. They have studied the history of food making and have taken years of lessons to make great dishes. The artist of this painting of a man on a horse has done the same. He's like the owner of a three star Michelin restaurant. A master chef.

“The problem with this artist is that many artists have made paintings like him. I admire the quality. It's well done. But I am bored with spectacular paintings like that. The Louvre and the Prado and the Hermitage are full with such stuff. It's impressive but it's shallow. 

“Contemporary artist are looking for new horizons all the time, instead. They discover the unknown. They doubt everything including themselves, they research every boundary, they even challenge the concept 'art' itself. 

“What is art? What if food? What is a chef? What is a client? What is good taste? What looks beautiful?

“What is a man on a horse?

“Does art have to be beautiful? Not necessary. It has to challenge you to understand. If it's beautiful too, that's even better.

“Contemporary art does not provide you with answers, but offers you great questions. Contemporary cuisine should do the same. A chef should not offer easy answers, but challenge you with interesting questions.

“Contemporary art is not easy. The contemporary artist asks you to think about beauty, to doubt yourself, to trust his creative process, to follow his ideas. That is how revolutions are born.

“Here at Bros’ we strive every day for avant-garde.

“We have undertaken this risk since we decided to return to our territory, after international experiences. We invest to revolutionise it and make it grow with us. We know very well where we are and what we are doing. We would rather be attached to our work and the technical aspects of it.

"How can we respond? Only with our menu. Because we are better with food than with words. We are used to talking with facts, working hard. We thank Mrs. XXX - I don’t remember her name - for making us get to where we had not yet arrived. We are out of stock of ‘Limoniamo’ [the mouth-shaped dish from the review], thank you very much.”

Featured Image Credit: Pellegrino Brothers

Topics: Food And Drink

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]