If you go to Michelin-starred Anton Piotrowski's new restaurant, make sure not to order the soup.
You might have heard that plates are out of fashion in the food world. Go to the trendiest hipster restaurants, and you'll be lucky if your dinner doesn't come to you in a shoe, watering can, test tube or even served atop a goldfish tank.
"Tonight's special is the fish."
— We Want Plates (@WeWantPlates) September 19, 2015
"What sort of fish?"
"A gold one. And we'll need it back."
(Pic: @DARRENR6) pic.twitter.com/BQsouKkkW3
But the 34-year-old Masterchef winner's new restaurant, Brown And Bean, in Plymouth, England, takes this preposterous trend to new, uncharted territory and nixes the idea of serving you your food on anything altogether, notes The Sun. Instead, show up at the restaurant in the evening and order the one thing that they offer -- a nine-course tasting meal -- and watch them carefully "plate" the first course onto the back of your hand.
Great #theatre at @BrownAndBean #michelin #experience #trustthechef #handy #yum #food #Foodie #Plymouth @antonpiotrowsk1 pic.twitter.com/ftvVwHjoZl
— Selfie Pods (@Selfiepod) March 16, 2017
"I've noticed before there was a lack of proper plates in restaurants," restaurant patron Christine Lumby told the Sun. "Now I've seen it all. Anton Piotrowski has opened a trendy restaurant and one of the courses is served directly onto the back of your hand. For goodness sake, buy some plates."
The most annoying (or intriguing, depending on your outlook) part of this whole thing is that they clearly HAVE PLATES at the restaurant, but you aren't allowed to use them. In the video, we can see a plate right under both people's fists, so there's no way to pass the dining experience off as simply running out of plates, which could very well be the reason other hipster restaurants serve their food on a dustpan or in a flower pot.
To the 1,000 new followers in the last 20 minutes: welcome, breakfast is served. (Pic: @JayMeW) pic.twitter.com/GkzxMAwZZz
— We Want Plates (@WeWantPlates) June 23, 2015
Even without the standard hygiene and conveniences of your average dish and cutlery dining experience, the food is, by all accounts, thoroughly delicious.
"Anton's first 'dish' is his 'greeting to your palate' which is a mouthful of burnt apple puree which he squirts onto you hand, topped with deliciously crunchy and soft pork, chopped fine and done multiple ways," wrote food critic Louise Daniel in a Plymouth Herald review. "It's a novel idea and tastes sensational -- salty meat and sweet-tart smooth apple kick-starts the tastebuds (and it's a conversation starter as I've never come across this before), and of course there are no plates to clear away."
Review of @BrownAndBean @antonpiotrowsk1 https://t.co/5of0lshlvT fun, intimate and worth every penny #Plymouth @PlymouthHerald pic.twitter.com/Ke5TTxjtUO
— Louise Daniel (@LDanielPlym) March 17, 2017
She also shows photos of subsequent courses on actual plates, so we're hoping this is just a one-time thing that doesn't catch on. We like plates!