The restaurant Contrapunto Les Arts celebrates the opening of the Palau de Les Arts season with a menu inspired by Charles Gounod’s famous opera, which has been on show since October 3rd.
Valencia, October 2, 2025
The Palau de Les Arts opens its season this Friday with Faust by Charles Gounod, one of the great romantic operas exploring the eternal struggle between good and evil, temptation, and the price of selling one’s soul to the devil. To celebrate, Contrapunto Les Arts, the gastronomic space managed by Gourmet Catering & Eventos, presents a special menu that brings the opera’s story from stage to table, offering diners a fully immersive sensory experience inspired by the performance. Following this operatic journey, the experience continues at the table with a three-act menu that, like the opera itself, explores the deepest human passions.
The story begins with a man torn by the passage of time and the obsession to regain lost youth. This fiery opening is interpreted by the chefs at Gourmet Catering & Events as the starter, Faust Hot Wings, evoking the spark of the pact with the devil: spicy, vibrant wings that ignite the palate like the flame of temptation. A bold and seductive appetizer, preparing diners to delve into the darker aspects of the tale.
As the pact is sealed and the plot moves toward the earthly and carnal, the main course presents a juicy, elegant sirloin with mole poblano—a rich and complex sauce balancing sweet, bitter, and spiced notes, symbolizing the intricacies of human passion. Like Faust himself, torn between love, ambition, and desire, this main dish is a nuanced journey where each bite contains light and shadow.
The story culminates in the climactic struggle between damnation and redemption. Dark, intense chocolate is served in multiple textures, with a hint of spice reminiscent of Mephistopheles’ infernal fire. A dessert as tempting as the devil himself, playing on the duality between pleasure and danger.
Each dish is paired with carefully selected wines. Baigorri Fermentado en Barrica 2019, a fresh and characterful white enhancing the intensity of the starter; Adèle by Luca Bernasconi, an elegant, enveloping red complementing the flavors of the mole poblano; and Antigva Millésime, a vibrant, refined cava that elevates the dessert to a sparkling finale, like a final glimmer of redemption.
A Complete Operatic Experience
The special Faust menu will be available at Contrapunto Les Arts from October 3 to 15, for opera attendees as well as any diners wishing to enjoy this unique gastronomic proposal, with the option to pair it with the suggested wines.
