I am a trained chef and have worked in the culinary upper-crust for several years before I got into design. I still do some events and supper clubs.
So needless to say, I am very passionate about food and it influences my design work constantly. Cooking is just design with a different medium.
It is difficult to pin point the “best” thing as everything is so context driven and based on emotions surrounding the meal. A hamburger can be mind blowing at some place and just be another lunch at another place.
What stuck with me though is the story telling ability of the Swedish chef Mathias Dalgren. He does some beautiful food and I would probably mention his tasting menu and a simple dish of bread, home churned butter from raw milk and foie gras as one of the best dishes I have had. Through it he told the story of him as a kid observing his Grandmother baking and making butter, then serving it to him still warm.
To me, the story is essential to a great meal. A personal connection. Otherwise it is often just nutrition.