Mon Dieu! Quel horreur! Pommes frites avec le pate? Jamais!
Chef Kevin Thornton didn't earn his Michelin star because his cuisine was adequate. No indeed, that star means he is a master, in command of the kitchen and the restaurant that carries his name. So when a patron had the audacity to ask for a side of French fries, well, it got hotter in the kitchen and then the dining room caught fire.
Glenn Waldron wanted fries with his venison. I was once in a Parisian bistro when a nearby patron asked if his dinner came with "pom frits", and even I cringed. Some things don't go together, and every meal does not require fries to be complete. According to Mr. Waldron, he felt that his portion looked skimpy, and he needed potatoes to fill out the plate. If the tastes and flavors were contradictory or complimentary, it made no difference to the Dublin diner. He wanted fries.
No one tells a master chef how to compose a plate, not even a hungry eater, but Chef Thornton did what he could to comply with the request. Being a fancy restaurant, there were no bags of pre-cut fries in the freezer. Someone had to be put to the task of slicing spuds into a perfect julienne, and then soaking them in ice water before drying and deep fat frying. Not a speedy process, in the middle of the dinner rush, and the side of fries did not arrive until Mr. Waldron had finished his main course and was perusing the dessert menu.
Too late, he informed the waiter, and the fries were sent away. Chef himself returned with the fries and a few choice words for Mr. Waldron. In essence, the man who asked for fries was going to eat them and that was the end of the discussion. After a bit of a verbal kerfuffle, Mr. Waldron and his party were told to leave.
Mr. Waldron is upset over his shabby treatment, but anyone who asks for a special order of French fries in a Michelin restaurant deserves to be tossed out on his arse. French fries, indeed. Un cretin, n'cest pas, et tres gauche.
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