“My Last Supper” is a favorite parlor game among restaurant cooks and chefs, often sparked by a couple of “shifties” after a long night’s work. Foodies and home cooks get in on the fun, as do I, especially after savoring a fine meal accompanied by a few glasses of wine. The rules are simple, the choices are infinite, but because it is my last supper, the ending is inevitable.
Envision the ultimate meal for your final farewell. Where would it take place? What dishes and drinks would grace the table? Who would prepare the feast, and who would share it with you? Even the music is yours to choose.
In this game, there are no limits—no budgets, no logistical hurdles, not even the constraints of time itself. The only boundaries are those of your own imagination and desires, making every player’s vision as unique as a fingerprint.
So, let’s begin with those famous words, “Survey Says”…
“We will dine in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles”
– Daniel Bouloud
The Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles is a stunning venue, full of light, incredible artwork and beauty. Daniel chose wisely, but Jean-George Vongerichten opts for the Grand Palace Ballroom in Bangkok. Alain Ducasse takes it a leap farther – Mars. Some choose cliffs above the Adriatic Sea, a beach or a mountain-top vista, but Thomas Keller and Gordon Ramsey both chose their own homes.
Were I to choose for a view it would be easy to re-visit the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel overlooking Columbus Circle in Manhattan as the sun sets over Central Park. The floor to ceiling windows, expansive enough for everyone to have a window seat is indescribable.
However, my guests and I will dine in the Gold Vault at Fort Knox. It will be reimagined and decorated in the Art Deco style of Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas. Calla lilies will dominate the centerpiece for each table as the bread cart with Brittany butter makes its rounds. Fort Knox holds a special place in my heart and that of our family because it’s where our American story began 200 years ago.
“There will be Tequila”
-Rick Bayless
You might expect acclaimed chefs to universally choose elaborate wine pairings for their feasts like Jonathan Waxman. Surprisingly the liquid celebration is not a tsunami of fermented grapes, there are calls for beer, sake and wait for it…bourbon!
For myself it will be a journey with both spirits and wine. I am not a wine savant, but I know someone who is. I’ll make a few special requests, but leave the pairings and details to him.
I will begin with a classic martini, the essential pre-dinner cocktail. London Dry Gin, French dry vermouth, stirred, with a blue cheese stuffed olive. The foie gras must be paired with an old Chateau d’Yquem and somewhere along the way I must have a Grand Cru Bordeaux, a white French Burgundy and my first taste of Domaine de la Rominee-Conti. I would not be disappointed by a beer with the barbecue and I would finish the evening sipping a glass of my very old and rare bourbon.
“I will cook it myself”
-Marcus Samuelson
Marcus explains this would be his last opportunity to do what he loves. Many chefs choose to prepare their final meals – or place the responsibility in the hands of trusted mentors and sous-chefs. If not those, then it is family.
My dinner feast will be prepared by a series of chefs, each providing their special touch to dishes they have created and served to me over a lifetime. My grandmother, mother and wife will all play important roles and I will make a dish or two for the same reason as Marcus.
“Invite Dostoyevsky, Hemingway, Henry Miller. Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and F. Scott Fitzgerald”
-Charlie Trotter
R.I.P. Charlie, and bless his tortured soul. He obviously sought conversation to the point of resurrecting his favorite authors and playwrights. Anthony Bourdain famously said he would dine alone, but the majority, like me, want to celebrate with friends and family.
“My last meal would be simple with bread, olive oil, shaved black truffle, rock salt and black pepper”
-Eric Ripert
I would have bet the house his final meal would be a seafood extravaganza. But, another chef explained that no one eats as well as professional chefs, regardless of fame or wealth. It explains why many eschew the luxurious and choose simple comfort foods.
For me and mine, unburdened by a lifetime of truffles, caviar and champagne, it will be a feast. In fact, we must temporarily suspend the passage of time until we magically consume all things before us.
“We shall feast”
-Timothy J. Taylor
Festivities will begin with the finest Ossetra caviar on potato chips, seared foie gras with apple compote, baked escargot and freshly shucked, briny oysters. I must have a final taste of benedictine, which I will prepare myself. Julia Child will prepare Coq au Vin over egg noodles for my only chicken dish, then I will make an amuse bouche of blue cheese ice cream. Rick Bayless will make the tortilla soup, while I will provide the crawfish bisque. Soup will be followed by a Caesar salad with croutons, anchovies, grated parmesan and extra creamy dressing made by Sarah Bradley.
Periodically throughout the event, Ferran Adria, Grant Achatz, Albert Acosta and Heston Blumenthal will present molecular gastronomy creations of their choice for our entertainment and enjoyment.
What menu would be complete without pasta? Anthony Bourdain will make his Cacio e Pepe, Tony Mantuano will share his gnocchi in cream sauce with shaved black truffle and Massimo Botturo will prepare lasagna bolognese and a rigatoni alla vodka.
There will be fried lobster tail, perfectly seared scallops in lemon butter and a classic shrimp cocktail, while Gordon Ramsey deep fries the cod with chips and Erling Jensen prepares the Dover Sole in meuniere sauce. Alain Passard will prepare vegetables of his choice to accompany the mains.
The only dish I have never tasted, but wish to, is Ortolan, prepared by Alain Ducasse. This dish, once so popular it almost drove the specie to extinction is now illegal to eat, but for my dinner they are as plentiful as chickens in a John Tyson henhouse.
I am a carnivore, so the list of meats is extensive. Rodney Scott must provide whole-hog barbecue with some of my mother’s potato salad and my wife’s sausage baked beans. Jose Andres introduced me to Iberian pork, so it’s fitting he will prepare the double cut Iberico pork chops on my smoked gouda grits with roasted brussels sprouts. Veal Osso Buco must be plated over pommes puree made by Joel Robuchon. Finally, Francis Mallmann will grill my American wagyu ribeye steak with my own steakhouse baked potato and my grandmother’s sautéed morel mushrooms.
We will enjoy a cheese plate with cheddar, goat, blue and Comte cheeses, bread and jam before the final desserts. I want only two and I would like Auguste Escoffier to make the Crepes Suzette served with a dollop of whipped cream. The final course will be Mocha Daquoise made by pastry chef Ginna Mooser, who taught me how to make it years ago.
“We will listen to the soundtrack of my life.”
-Timothy J. Taylor
I find it fascinating that several, like Jose Andres want no music, because they would find it distracting. Some believe it would interfere with the sounds of nature, like crashing waves against the palisades, trees whispering in the wind or conversation at the table. I can’t live without music.
It begins with Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”, followed by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Concerto #1, progressing through a seventy-year playlist of classic rock, pop, blues, jazz, electronica and dance. It ends with The Moody Blues “Go Now”, signaling guests to say their final goodbyes and finally The Beatles “Good Night” while I close my eyes and drift peacefully off to eternal sleep.