A taste of Las Vegas at Tomorrowland

By Izzy Brimeau

This year, Tomorrowland – a dance festival in Belgium – hosted a whopping 400,000 people over two three-day weekends… That’s 400,000 all-danced-out mouths to feed. There was, of course, the standard festival food stalls with fries, burgers and pizzas but there was also B-EAT by Las Vegas. I went along to test out fine dining at a festival. Oh the things you do for work…

Over the three weekends, a top-chef from Las Vegas joined forces with a DJ, from Tomorrowland, to curate a one-hour dine-and-party experience with a mystery three-course tasting menu and 60 minutes of dance beats. The music and the food were designed to contrast each other – for a complete multi-sensory experience.

The session began with a cocktail served in, what looked like, an over-sized lightbulb. As we waited for the stage area to fill, the lights lowered and the music started. Before we knew it the space was full of people from around the world dancing and waiting for their surprise tasting plates.

Our menu was created by Chef Jonah Resnick from Carbone. He kicked off the feast with a caprese salad – heirloom tomatoes with salsa verde, basil and freshly-made mozzarella.

The second dish, made with sweet, buttery Californian sweetcorn, showcased grilled prawns on a bed of corn polenta, drizzled with a oregano vinaigrette.

Dessert was amaretti ice cream, banana bread and flambé bananas – a heavenly end to the meal.

The next day, I got to try another menu (because one wouldn’t ever be enough) created by Chef Josh Smith of Bardot Brasserie. He took macaroni cheese to the next level, re-inventing it as a gratinée with green garlic béchamel and rainbow swiss chard. Next up, was smoked pork with creamy polenta then the meal finished with a tropical mille feuille – vibrant, creamy and incredibly moreish.

Of course, during both evenings the music was pumping and so was the atmosphere. The general consensus (judging by the looks on people’s faces) was a great experience that satisfied all senses. So, if you plan on heading to Tomorrowland next year I recommend steering clear of the run-of-the-mill food stalls and opting for something a little classier instead.

B-EAT tickets were available via the Tomorrowland website and priced at €35 per session. Tomorrowland is held annually in Boom, Belgium. For travel, from London, I recommend booking via Eurostar – direct trains to Brussels start from £58 return.