Lunch at Vue de Monde at $1 a minute

Each table is assigned a chef from the open kitchen at Vue de Monde

At $60 for the 1 hour lunch at Vue de Monde it is not the cheapest in town by far. But it adds up to so much more than two courses and a glass of wine as an experience; I defy you to not order more or want to return.

The whole experience is high theatre and extreme camp from the ornate cutlery, the colourful chaise lounges and the many flourishes that make this such an enjoyable experience while enjoying the view from the top of the Rialto Towers. Really to make the most of it, I should have dressed like Karl Lagerfeld.

The room is minimal with a wide open kitchen. The tables are broad and wide and stretched with kangaroo leather, the seats are backed by Skippy fur. In the centre of each table sits a collection of stones and some twigs from a Penfolds vineyard.

Prawn Russian salad or salade Rusee de crevettes.

You’ll need to book in advance and you should ensure prompt arrival to ensure you maximise you allocated time, although we were able to enjoy an extra glass of wine in the Lui Bar after. Then another, some cheese, a bottle…it got messy although after seven hours there we got our cost per minute down to around 50 cents.

The twigs become a rest for your ornate cutlery while one of the stones is revealed to be hollowed out to contain salt and pepper. Bread is unlimited and placed in the centre of the arrangement in a kangaroo hide bucket while quenelles of butter are scooped from a large wooden bucket imported from France.

First take your pestle…

The menu gives two choices for each course, cheese being one for dessert.

The big surprise is when a pestle arrives with the cutlery for the second course followed by a mortar of herbs and flowers. Our personal chef pours in liquid nitrogen and we are invited to crush, before mixing with a cucumber sorbet.

Wagyu beef, dried apricot, Jerusulem artichoke, smoked bone marrow.

Sautéed potatoes of sorts arrive but there is a twist with them packaged in newspaper and neatly tied with string. Surgical scissors cut the string as the pack is folded out and secured with stones.

We got carried away with the theatre and went over the top. I’ll be back but perhaps with a little more self discipline.

Pure Theatre…

Old Telegraph Road (second from left) is the only Australian cheese.