A man from the United States managed to overcome a real challenge, eat in 18 Michelin-starred restaurants in just one day and managed to set a new Guinness Book of Records.
Eric Finkelstein ate at 18 Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City in 11 hours.
The challenge of eating in more than twenty starred restaurants in the space of 24 hours is a complicated one, since it is not only a question of creating an itinerary to eat in multiple restaurants in a single day, but also for the difficulty obtaining reservations in restaurants with the honor of Michelin stars.
Also, to achieve this record, all means of transportation used must be public transportation or on foot. The use of private means of transport such as taxis or even bicycles is not permitted.
According to Guinness, Eric Finkelstein “lived very frugally in New York for several years, rarely eating at sit-down restaurants, let alone Michelin-starred ones.”
When she temporarily moved out of town during the pandemic, Finkelstein began to appreciate the food opportunities she’d missed all those years.
The 34-year-old told Guinness that he started thinking about the record after joining a food-related group on the social platform Discord. “I loved the idea,” Eric said. “I would combine my love of interesting food, working on a checklist, and working on something silly.”
To get the most reservations in a single day, Finkelstein contacted more than 80 Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City’s five boroughs. He had some trouble planning his challenge because when he booked, some of them had lost their Michelin stars just 20 days before the date of the challenge attempt.
Finkelstein’s venture required months of planning and preparation. After a long series of calls and emails, he finally managed to come up with an 18-restaurant itinerary for October 26, 2022, and Guinness World Records recently certified Finkelstein’s achievement as an official world record.
The total cost of all of Finkelstein’s meals was $494, excluding taxes or tips. The man estimates that he consumed a total of 5,000 calories throughout the day.
Finkelstein acknowledged that eating fast is far from the best way to enjoy a meal at New York’s best restaurants. “Turning Michelin-starred restaurants into fast food is like going against the spirit of what they’re doing.”
The American began his challenge at Le Pavillon in Midtown, where he ate a $36 grilled avocado salad. He followed that up and headed to Caviar Russe for some caviar (with blini and crème fraiche), which cost $ 25.
Guinness reports that among the other restaurants Eric visited were: Tuome in Alphabet City, where he ate grilled scallops topped with grapefruit and chrysanthemum; Aquavit in Midtown where he ate a bowl of cranberries; Oiji Mi where he enjoyed beef tartare on toasted brioche with gherkins and Kaluga caviar; and The Modern, where he ate oysters for $26.
Eric Finkelstein finished his foodie adventure with a chawanmushi topped with uni (sea urchin) and caviar at Noda.
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