With Anantara Siam’s World Gourmet Festival lined up for Sep 7-13, you’ve got a total of 14 dinners to choose from cooked by seven chefs from around the world. If you were to eat a dinner with each of them, it would cost you B48,900. Here’s where we’d put our money.

 

Patrick Raingeard  (Sep 11-12)

Where from: Cap Estel, French Riviera, France
What: Produce-centric Mediterranean
What you’ll pay here: B6,900
What you’d pay there: Degustation menu is priced at B5,900
What they say: Awarding Cap Estel one star in 2015, Michelin Guide inspectors said, “Patrick Raingeard pays a fitting homage to the Mediterranean and its coasts… It all makes for a special meal.” 
Verdict: Though the menu here is not much different in price, Raingeard’s home restaurant is on the French Riviera, in a very fancy hotel, not far from Monaco. We can’t quite see Ratchadamri replicating the experience. 
 
 

Pierre Crepaud (Sep 7-8) BK PICK!

Where from: Lemontblanc, 
Crans-Montana, Switzerland
What: Modern European
What they say: The restaurant is rated 16/20 by Gault & Millau Switzerland guide. 
What you’ll pay here: B6,900
What you’d pay there: B5,000-5,500 for a tasting menu
Verdict: This Alpine restaurant looks like it does very pretty plates of food. For the price, we hope we’ll see some of the very fancy creations here as well. Can’t wait to Instagram them.
 
 

Hirofumi Imamura (Sep 10-11)

Where from: Kazuo Okada, Kowloon, Hong Kong
What: Japanese kaiseki (full-course set menu)
What you’ll pay here: B7,500
What you’d pay there: B5,870-8,620 for a nine-course kaiseki dinner 
What they say: The Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macau awarded his signature restaurant, Kazuo Okada, one star, calling it “particularly pleasant.”
Verdict: Headlining the fair this year, Imamura’s dinner is B600 more expensive than all the other participating chefs, but this is produce-driven Japanese food—and Bangkok diners know how expensive that is. We’d be keen to try this certified sake sommelier’s pairing menu.
 
 

Sean Connolly (Sep 9-10)

Where from: Sean’s Kitchen, Adelaide, Australia
What: International
What you’ll pay here: B6,900
What you’d pay there: Approx B2,300 for a set menu
What they say: Local site In Daily says, “a great meal in a pleasant setting.”
Verdict: In Australia, Connolly has quite a reputation as a TV chef, and though his self-branded restaurant says brasserie not fine dining (and hasn’t always won over the critics), his past ventures have received almost unanimous praise. We’re interested to see what he’ll do here. 
 
 

Francesc Gimeno Manduley (Sep 11-12)

Where from: Bohemic Bistro, Barcelona, Spain
What: Creative Spanish
What you’ll pay here: B6,900
What you’d pay there: At his humble bistro, the cost for a meal is unlikely to exceed B2,000.
What they say: The New York Times wrote in 2014, “Even with his low-cost menu he is regularly putting out some of the city’s most creative cuisine, though perhaps not at the level that he would like.”
Verdict: Steep markup here.
 
 

Jean-Francois Berard (Sep 9-10)

Where from: Rene & Jean Francois Berard, La Cadiere d’Azur, Provence, France
What: Modern Mediterranean-inspired Provencal cuisine
What you’ll pay here: B6,900
What you’d pay there: B2,200-6,600 for prix fixe menu of 4-8 courses
What they say: Michelin inspectors gave his restaurant one star, saying of his food, “Heritage and innovation is brought together in the quest for taste.”
Verdict: A good amount of the reviews praise the collaboration of the chef and his father, who’s not present here, as well as the Provence restaurant’s hill-top views. We’d say it lacks too many parts of the experience.
 
 

Francesc Rovira (Sep 7-8) BK PICK!

Where from: Fonda Xesc, Gombren, Girona, Spain
What: Traditional Catalan dishes with modern twists
What you’ll pay here: B6,900
What you’d pay there: B2,000-2,700 for an a la carte meal. Set menu ranges from B1,500-3,000
What they say: Michelin Guide awarded the restaurant one star, writing, “A family-run restaurant that comes as a pleasant surprise in this mountain village.”
Verdict: Another chef who’s doing an affordable job at home. But we’re really drawn to the look of his tucked-away, homestay restaurant on the Mediterranean border between Spain and France. With all the restrictions to eating there, we thank the organizer for this leftfield choice.