Chef Pens Three-Page Letter Defending Right to Serve Foam in Mouth Vessel | Eater
"A one-Michelin-starred restaurant in Lecce, Italy, run by chefs Floriano Pellegrino and Isabella Potì became the focus of a viral review that described a four-plus-hour, 27-course tasting in which the reviewer said “there was nothing even close to an actual meal.” Reported items included edible paper, glasses of vinegar, rancid ricotta and a plaster mold of the chef’s mouth filled with a citrus “limoniamo” foam that guests were told to lick out. Pellegrino answered with a lengthy, three-page declaration defending avant‑garde cuisine as art, arguing that mastery of technique lets chefs break rules and framing his experimentation as revolutionary—a defense that echoes ideas associated with Ferran Adrià and Picasso. Critics countered that, unlike visual art, food must remain eatable and questioned whether provocative presentation justifies the dining discomfort; the exchange ended on a notably passive‑aggressive note when the chef thanked—and mocked—the reviewer while claiming they were “out of stock of ‘Limoniamo.’”" - Madeleine Davies
