(NB26) I have pretty severe ARFID and I’m going to a Michelin star restaurant HELP
TLDR; I’m going to a very nice restaurant in France and I don’t want to come across like an asshole but I’m too scared to try anything on the menu. What do I do? Have you been to a Michelin star restaurant, or Le Cinq? What was your experience?
So my partners family is taking me to France with them in a couple weeks (we live in the US), I’m very excited but have been anxious about eating abroad. Thankfully there’s lots of options with bread and pastries so I think I’ll live for most of the trip. BUT we are going to Le Cinq at the end of our trip which is a very upscale 3 Michelin star restaurant, and I’ve decided to go with because I don’t want to be isolated by my arfid anymore. The thing is, nothing on the menu even slightly appeals to me, it all terrifies me aside from the dessert menu. I’ve never been to any upscale restaurants due to my condition, and this place is freakin FANCY like dress code fancy. So I’m very scared, I don’t want to order a 100-200 euro meal that I won’t be able to even try a bite of. But I know it would likely be extremely rude to take up space at a reservation just to be there and not order a meal. I also know that French culture is much different and I am extremely nervous about coming across as rude or childish because it seems like having ARFID as an adult is the most embarrassing, hard to comprehend thing in the world to most people. Thankfully his family knows about my Arfid and respect it, they offered to have me join them knowing it would be difficult for me but they want me to feel included and enjoy the full experience.
So I need your help, experience, and insight on what I should do. Should I just not go all together? Should I go and try to “share” something with my partner? I don’t want to miss out on the fine dining experience even if I’m too scared to eat much of anything.
(I’ve had ARFID for as long as I can remember and have been diagnosed for a little over a decade. My palette is extremely limited and I eat roughly the same 5-6 things generally. I have severe anxiety around trying new things obviously and I’ve been trying to push my limits with not too much luck, it’s exhausting.)