For Munchies/Vice: The Moulin Rouge's Sexy Floorshow Now Includes Good Food in Addition to Tasteful Nudity
Feb. 12, 2018
It was somewhere between the time the showgirl dove into a giant, transparent water tank filled with fat, writhing pythons, and the moment a parade of live mini-horses trotted out onstage that I understood what Chef David Le Quellec meant when he said he was looking to achieve “symbiosis” with the Moulin Rouge in his food.
It’s a Thursday night at arguably the world’s most legendary, fabled cabaret. Most guests have come for the promise of beautiful women, sparkly costumes, the can-can, and tasteful toplessness.
I, however, have come for the food.
In the 2018 edition of the Gault & Millau, one of France’s most influential restaurant guides, the Moulin Rouge earned a coveted spot in the book for its VIP menu, the first time a cabaret’s dining room has been deemed worthy in the guide’s 46-year history. In the review, inspectors applaud the chef for creating a dining experience that’s just as captivating as the spectacle.
While my taste buds contemplate an amuse-bouche that pairs octopus and passionfruit, I snap the seeds pleasurably under my teeth, let the tart sweetness awaken my palate for what’s to come, and scan the pre-show dining room before me and determine it’s decidedly middle-aged (disclaimer: I include myself in this description). We sport suburban mom hair (a little too layered, a little too coiffed, five highlights too many), lots of spectacles, middle-age spread, matchy-matchy outfits, and most of us have ponied up between 120 to 420 euros to be wined, dined, and entertained.
