Grant Achtaz Reveals Forthcoming Next Menu Concepts

Sometimes it's difficult to choose an item from a menu, but now that Grant Achatz has revealed the next few menus for Next, picking a full menu may be the harder decision. In an interview with Time Out Chicago, Achatz revealed the follow-up to the current Tour of Thailand menu will be "Childhood," set to emerge in mid October.

"I have a thing called the Pancake Theory, where even though my mom made her pancakes out of a box of Bisquick, they were the best, and every one I have after them gets compared to that," Achatz told writer Heather Shouse.

The "Childhood" menu will peg more to people's early memories and emotions, what it means to be a child, rather than hitting specific food we may eat as kids—although that will likely come into play during the menu formation.

Achatz also revealed that Kyoto will be the Spring 2012 menu, followed by Sicily for the summer. At some point, he wants to re-create the menu from his first day working at Napa's The French Laundry, which was October 28, 1996 and that he plans to do a menu based around Spain's famed elBulli, which closed last month. For that, Achatz said they'll have each course represent every year that Ferran Adria was in the kitchen there, which began in 1987, so expect that to be quite a lengthy meal.
· Grant Achatz Talks What's Next for Next [TOC]
· Next Gearing Up for Thai Concept, Achatz Releases Menu [~EChi~]
· Grant Achatz, Friends Pay Homage to Now Closed elBulli [~EChi~]

Grant Achatz and Dave Beran look toward the Next menus [Photo: Twitter]