Podbit · Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
A three-top came in — an 80-year-old woman, her daughter, and granddaughter. She came to the kitchen after the meal, started crying, and said she never thought she'd have a meal like this and got to share it with the two most important people in her life. No Michelin star comes close to that.
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At 1:05:03 · chapter starts 1:03:45
Drawing on social science research about deathbed regret, Dax argues that the expensive restaurant meal is not indulgence but investment: experiences are how people evaluate whether their lives were well-lived, while possessions leave no trace in memory. He uses his own French Laundry dinner as evidence — he remembers every dish, the man dining solo in memory of his deceased wife, the mahogany truffle box, the moment he tried oysters for the first time and loved them. [1] — Dax Shepard "Social science is clear: people on their deathbeds evaluate their lives by experiences, not possessions. Dax spent a night at French Laundr…" 1:03:40 Achatz reciprocates with the story of an 80-year-old woman who came to Alinea with her daughter and granddaughter, came to the kitchen afterward crying with joy, and said she never imagined she would have a meal like this. 'That compliment goes way beyond stars,' Achatz says — beyond any Michelin recognition or press review, because it is the reason the whole enterprise exists. [2] — Grant Achatz "A three-top came in — an 80-year-old woman, her daughter, and granddaughter. She came to the kitchen after the meal, started crying, and sa…" 1:05:03
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