The Menu (2022)
Reed Birney: Richard
Photos
Quotes
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Chef Slowik : My loyal regulars. How many times have you eaten here in the last five years?
Richard : I don't know. Six or seven?
Anne : I think it's more than that, Dick.
Chef Slowik : Eleven. Eleven times. Most people consider themselves blessed if they eat here only once. Mr. Leibrandt, kindly name one dish you ate the last time you were here. Eleven times you take the boat out here where we introduce every dish every single time. We tell you exactly what we're feeding you. Please tell me one dish you ate the last time you were here. Or the time before. One. Please.
Anne : Cod.
Richard : What?
Anne : Cod.
Richard : Cod.
Chef Slowik : It wasn't cod, you donkey. It was halibut. Rare, fucking spotted halibut.
Anne : What does it matter?
Chef Slowik : It matters to the halibut, Mrs. Leibrandt. And to the artist whose work turns to shit inside your gut. I've allowed my work to reach the price point where only the class of people in this room can access it. And I've been fooled into trying to satisfy people who could never be satisfied. Starting with her. But that's our culture, isn't it? And my restaurant is part of the problem.