A tasting menu showcases a chef's culinary talents and aims to tell a story woven through the meal’s ingredients, techniques, plating, and recipes of each course. Typically comprising five to twelve dishes, these decadent menus can be challenging, even for seasoned food enthusiasts.

However, Le Virtu, a South Philadelphia restaurant specializing in Abruzzese cuisine, once a year, creates a meal that seems like a tasting menu on steroids. Their extraordinary 40-course feast, which far transcends the boundaries of a conventional tasting menu, is inspired by an obscure Italian tradition known as “La Panarda.”