Saturday night, a flurry of high-rollers descended on Bangkok’s luxury State Tower to eat a very expensive meal . The 10-course dinner was prepared by six three-star Michelin chefs (including Alain Soliveres of the Taillevent in Paris and Antoine Westermann of the Buerehiesel in Strasbourg), each serving up their signature dish – a pleasure the diners would be paying £17,000 for.

The stunt was organized by Deepak Ohri, managing director of the Dome restaurant at the Thai capital’s 64-floor State Tower, “to improve the standard and inspire Thai chefs to raise their level of inspiration.” However, among the crème brûlée of foie gras, Kobe beef tartar and Don Perignon palette-cleansing sorbet, there was a notable absence of any actual Thai dishes.

The event has certainly generated some publicity but it’s not been of the good kind. The chefs had ingredients flown in from 35 different countries, and many guests – naturally –arrived by private jet.

Deepak Ohri defended the event, saying that if it helped generate quality tourism then the environmental costs would be recouped later, though it is unclear how this relates to the environment as Mr Ohri then went on to equate ‘quality tourism’ with fewer tourists paying higher prices.

He also came under fire from locals who think the whole thing is a waste of money.

“You could buy a house with that,” said 48-year-old Sommai Promjan, who sells ice-cream from a street cart near the State Tower.

It seems that many of the locals are unhappy because of the dinner’s apparent clash with the philosophy of moderation espoused by King Bhumibol Adulyadej which the leaders of last year’s coup against billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra promote heavily.

The distraction tactic was to donate the proceeds from the evening to Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Chaipattana Foundation – a rural development charity set up by the king to promote his “sufficiency economy” way of life.

But Mr Ohri persevered: “We are not selling a meal – we are selling the whole experience. You cannot put a value on the experience,” he said.

“We are not looking at the individual costs of this or that, but at the total experience we are offering. Some guests are among the world’s most prominent business people — seeking a unique adventure in the realm of gastronomic celebration.”

Whichever way you describe it, still leaves a rather unpleasant aftertaste.