I had just checked into a luxury hotel and was waiting for the key to my room which was being cleaned.
I walked over to the hotel's restaurant to have a look inside and see the menu which was posted outside the entrance.
The restaurant only served multi-course meals that all contained meat, chicken or fish and there didn't seem to be a vegetarian option.
Seeing me looking at the menu, the maître d' walked over to me and asked if he could answer any questions about the selection.
I told him I was a vegetarian and he apologized for not having a very large selection meat-free options.
He did go on to say that one of their starters was gazpacho and if I'd like, he would be delighted to treat me to a bowl in exchange for my opinion about it.
I gladly agreed telling the man that gazpacho was perhaps one of my favorite foods and that I had lived in Spain for many years.
The maître d' returned a few moments later with a clear glass bowl.
Looking into the bowl I was surprised to see the chef's unique interpretation of gazpacho which was nothing more than small mounds of finely diced tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers, croutons and, to my surprise, pomegranate seeds.
I told the maître d' I had never seen gazpacho quite like that before and he said it used to be more traditional until the restaurant received its Michelin star just a few weeks earlier.
He said it was called "gazpacho deconstructed with pomegranate seeds" and the idea was for the diner to mix all the components together to their liking and then to add a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper.
My wife, having seen me from the lobby talking to the maître d' walked into the restaurant and taking the bowl from my hands began to eat the gazpacho saying it was delicious but would have been better if the ingredients had been properly blended together.
I explained that it was Michelin-star restaurant and she and the maître d' laughed.
The maître d' then went to the kitchen and brought out a new bowl of gazpacho for me.
Then I woke up.
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