Would you trust your guests to pay what they believe is appropriate for food and service? That is what is happening at China’s Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain. There, a pay what you believe is appropriate pay policy is being implemented at the Chef’s Table at the Farm2Fork restaurant. The policy went into effect this month. Each Saturday morning after the chef has finished his rounds at the vegetable farm and confirmed with the local suppliers for the day’s availability of fresh produce, a four-course dinner menu is devised and written on the chalkboard at the upper level of the Farm2Fork restaurant. Come dinnertime, guests share a long table where the food is served family style. Rick Gonzalez, Executive Chef of the resort says, “This experience gives an opportunity for guests from all parts of the world to get together and chat with each other over dinner.” Chef Rick joins the dinner to share information on the sourcing and inspiration for the local ingredients used in the menu that he has created and shares a culinary tip or two.
A typical menu includes items such as hand rolled Parpadelle pasta, local farm raised Sturgeon, crispy shallots, green apple, Chinese celery remoulade, Sichuan sausage, wok-charred garden pea shoots and homemade Sichuan peppercorn ice cream.
Manish Puri, General Manager of Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain, loved the idea of a daily fresh-from-the-garden menu and to add a quirky element, issued the chef a friendly challenge by deciding not to have a fixed price for the Chef’s Table. Manish stated, “We don’t want to offer a fixed price. Guests can pay what they feel the food and service is worth. Our reward will be the smiles, the knowledge and anecdotes that we have been able to impart and the friends that will be made.”
The Chef’s Table is limited to a total of 12 guests. Dinner starts at 7 p.m. and service finishes at 9 p.m. Drinks are extra.
