The napkins were Egyptian linen, the tablecloths snow-white and crisply starched. The view from the windows was of the twinkling lights of Bangkok and the majestic Chao Phraya river. The company was exclusive, as was the wine list. And the food, the food was quite literally the best money can buy.
Wealthy gourmands from around the globe converged on a 65-storey luxury hotel in Thailand's capital last night to eat a unique 'millionaires' dinner' prepared by six Michelin three-star chefs flown in from Europe. The identity of those who spent one million Thai baht, more than £16,000 a head, to enjoy the four-hour extravaganza of the finest ingredients and rarest wines was kept tightly under wraps.
Staff at the 65th floor Mezzaluna restaurant at the lebua hotel had to hand in their camera mobile phones at the door to ensure secrecy for the diners, many of whom arrived in their private jets. The food had run up some eye-watering air miles too - beef was brought from Kobe, Japan, live lobsters journeyed from the north coast of France and the US state of Maine, oysters came from southern Australia, while white truffles came from Rome and black from Perigord in the Dordogne. From 35 cities around the world the finest ingredients were flown in at the last moment to ensure they would be in tip-top condition. In all the meal could not be declared eco-friendly.
Yet the hotel that dreamed up the event with the hefty price tag - 17 per cent tip and Thai government taxes not included - maintained that the high-rollers were more than prepared to shell out for 'a unique experience'.
Among the mysterious foodies was a casino-owner from Macau, a Taiwanese hotel owner, and shipping and property tycoons from the US and Europe. Each chef selected their signature dishes for the ten-course meal. Guests were brought up in a private lift and led up the sweeping staircase, where British wine master Alun Griffiths introduced the wines, including a 1985 Romanee Conti, a 1959 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, a 1967 Chateau d'Yquem and a 1961 Chateau Palmer, described by Griffiths as 'one of the greatest single wines of the 20th century'. Each bottle travelled from the chateau of origin to the suppliers, Berry Brothers & Rudd, of St James's in London and on to Bangkok. The wine for the meal alone cost £100,000.
Even the palate-cleansing sorbet was crafted out of Dom Perignon champagne. But still, even for Alain Soliveres, of Paris's renowned Taillevent restaurant, who opened with creme brulee of foie gras with Tonga beans, the bill was breathtaking. 'It's surreal. The whole thing's surreal,' he said. But, he added: 'To have brought together all of these three-star Michelin chefs and to serve these wines for so many people is an incredible feat.'
A select 15 paying guests enjoyed his mastery, along with that of the likes of Antoine Westermann, the chef-proprietor of Strasbourg's Buerehiesel, and the only woman, Annie Feolde, of Enoteca Pinchiorri, in Florence.
Westermann, reeling from the price tag despite some of the profits going to charity, did his bit to make it value for money. He shaved 100g of rare Perigord truffles worth about £180 on to every diner's plate.
Outside on the city streets far below a bowl of steaming pad thai noodles was still available for a reassuring - and carbon footprint-free - pound.
