Doors
We all get a ridiculous amount of truly annoying Instagram ads but roughly 2 weeks ago I finally saw one that not only piqued my interest but actually had me clicking on links and auto-filling details – a chance to experience THE BEAR in person.
Disney+ South Africa would be hosting a 2-nights-only The Bear Joburg experience, and I had to be there. Was I secretly hoping that I would somehow land an invite, yup. Did I get a response? Nope. Was Seeing the stories from night 1 of a 2 night only event devastating? absolutely. . . not – because where there’s a will there’s a way and I had a way (a.k.a a well-connected girlfriend). On Friday morning, we had FOMO but by Friday evening we were walking into THE BEAR.
Napkins
An iconic yellow cab and graffiti wall, these are the first two things we saw as we pulled up to the event venue - reassuring us that Chicago had landed in Jozi. The activations team welcomed us with smiles and an illuminated light guiding us to "The Bear."
First up, we passed an entry way with memorabilia and arcade games – no ballbreaker unfortunately but definitely extra points for OG Street fighter and personal favourite Tetris.
Through another door, we stumbled into a world of Acid Food and Wine Bar—a cross between clearly well-funded Disney+ activation and pop-up restaurant with the charm of The Bear. They had managed to bottle the shows hype and release it into this tiny Randburg venue.
We were greeted by staff in those signature blue aprons and Seated right in front of the plating station, we felt like VIPs. Pristine white tablecloths and minimalist fine dining, the setups were on point. Each place adorned with an embroidered "The Bear" napkins which almost everyone refused to use in the hopes of snagging a free souvenir (spoiler: they let us keep them). Sure, the staff was not as hyper-attentive as what I assume the folks at Eleven Madison Park might be —massive shoutout one of the restaurants that inspired The Bear—but they had the enthusiasm and smiles to make the experience an 11/10.
Non-Negotiables
We kicked things off with a refreshing grapefruit towel (for hygiene and good vibes) and a welcome drink that went down way too easily.
The canepe was an umami rich mushroom ball. My girlfriend hates fungi with a passion, but as a result I was justifiably enthused by getting double the serving.
Then, Chef Greg Czarnecki took the stage. This charismatic French chef has a rich history in South Africa and an even richer history with food. He guided us through each course, sharing the inspiration behind it.
Now for something like this, it would be easy to take the meals from the show, serve that and call it a day. As guests we probably would’ve loved that but would go against the “non-negotiables”.
So, this Jeff decided to give us a thoughtful and carefully crafted four-part meal that was equal parts: generous, delicious, and way to short (because why would I not want a 10-course bonanza of awesomeness inspired by one of my favourite shows of all time).
Most fascinating was the ways that Chef linked the show and his personal history to the final menu we were presented.
Hands
Bread and Butter: Fresh baked bread, with 3 butters including one covered in onion ashes that was too good to be true.
Hake and MCC: A hake quanelle (a delicious but mysterious piece of work), accompanied by caviar and a reduced MCC sauce that was arguably the best seafood sauce I’ve ever tasted.
Roast Chicken: A modern take on a roast chicken Inspired by a homely meal from Chef’s childhood, with a beautifully textured mash, a simple but effective tender chicken, a hearty jus and the best crispy chicken skin ever.
Dessert: A 5-year vanilla creation with a rum and passionfruit soaked cake that very easily tricked me into consuming enough sugar for my next 57 cups of coffee.
Drinks: Notably I don’t like wine but every course in this meal had a wine pairing and I actually really enjoyed 2/3 selections, which is more wine that I’ve ever enjoyed.
Tweezers
When it comes to activations, there’s a lot that’s done intentionally and there’s a lot that just happens. These are some of my favourite details regardless:
Chicken Crisps: Chef recounted times in his childhood when him and his older brother would have a mad dash in the attempt to secure some crispy chicken skins. This memory is what drove him to develop the ever-crispy chicken skin, similar to how Carmy’s relationship with his older brother gave him the drive necessary to excel in in his journey as a chef.
Arcades at the Entrance: Nostalgia overload, Tetris is one of my top 3 favourite games of all time and I’ve never seen at in an arcade so that was really fun.
The Music from S3 E1 playing every time Chef went up to speak, particularly dope because the whole episode is about Carmy’s dedication to his craft and every time the music played during the night was while we were witnessing what that kind of dedication to craft can produce.
Chef's Shoes: A quirky detail that just added to the authenticity. Chef has the same shoes that Carmy and Syd wear in the show – I know they didn’t do that just for the activation and that just goes to show the level of detail the showrunners went through to make the series authentic.
The Bear Symbol: I unfortunately only realised this while already in my Uber leaving the venue but in addition to the awesome The Bear signage at the top of the street they also had the newer Bear emblem on the other side of the door, which was a nice touch.
“There’s no show or film that captures the real feeling of being a chef like this show. It even gave me some PTSD, feeling like I’m Carmy,” said by a Michelin-star trained chef. It doesn’t get more real than The Bear. It should be mentioned that Chef specifically called out Ratatouille as a “The Bear” tiered food entertainment – conveniently also found on Disney+.
Beef
My only beef with this experience? The 5 hours and 45 minutes I now have to spend rewatching The Bear S3. After a night like that, what else could I possibly want to do?
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