The trend traces back centuries, but some trace the latest evolution to the mid-1990s and two highly lauded restaurants, Chef Ferran Adrià's El Bulli in Spain, and Chef Thomas Keller's French Laundry, in Napa Valley, north of San Francisco in the U.S., that offered tasting menus of 40 courses or more.
A long-standing culinary trend has its roots in centuries past, but some attribute its most recent evolution to the mid-1990s, when two highly acclaimed restaurants, El Bulli and French Laundry, under the leadership of Chef Ferran Adrià and Chef Thomas Keller, respectively, introduced elaborate tasting menus featuring 40 courses or more.