While most people would think nothing of drinking a 15-year-old wine or a 40-year-old scotch, you've probably never gone into a restaurant and asked the server, "Do you have any steaks that pre-date 9/11?" or "I'd like a steak older than my eighth-grader."
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But if the idea of a 15-year-old steak sounds disgusting, think again.
Alexandre Polmard is a sixth generation French butcher who carries on his family business, which started in 1846. Polmard uses a unique process to age cuts from his Blond Aquitaine cattle.
The process, conceived by his father and grandfather, blasts -43 degree (Celsius) air at speeds up to 75 miles per hour over the cuts of beef to cause them, as he puts it, to hibernate. The steaks are then aged for 15 years before being sold to exclusive restaurants around the world.
The cattle that eventually become these delicious and highly-sought-after steaks live lives of luxury in the northeastern Lorraine region of France. Polmard recently described his cattle's living situation to CNN.
"Here they are in the open air, living in forests and on parkland," said Polmard. "There are shelters they can choose to visit in case it rains or snows. It's really five-star accommodation!"
One restaurant that uses Polmard's incredible beef is Caprice at the Four Seasons Hong Kong, which boasts two Michelin stars. At Caprice, diners can purchase Polmard's "Rare Millesime Cote de Boeuf, Vintage 2000" on the lunch special, at the very special price of $700 per plate (wine costs extra).
And that's not the high end, the 2000 Vintage Cote de Boeuf can cost upwards of $3,200. That may seem excessive, but the waiting list to try the steaks are months long. And we think waiting in line for three hours for Franklin's BBQ sounds crazy.
