the judgement of Tyler (Hoult's character), but when discussing it with my wife, she pointed out that the chef has invited all of the people specifically as avatars of the things that have ruined his passion and crushed his spirit, and that Tyler isn't being punished because he thinks he's a chef, but because he is the epitome of a fanboy obsessed with being the best fanboy.
He is the starfucker who feeds the cult of personality, that deifies the pretentious, elitist, restricted "dining experience" as something other than food.
He has a parasocial obsession with Chef Slowik, but doesn't notice or care about the sous-chefs, despite them doing all the actual cooking and Slowik repeatedly crediting them and evincing their importance - he's only after a relationship with the headline act, cause that's who he considers to be his peer. He insists on trying to control his escort's experience, not because he wants her to have a perfect meal, but because he has to osentatiously display that he
understands the correct way to have the perfect meal.
The worst of it is his tears as Slowik gives his wanky introduction about "Do not eat! Consuuuuume, experience, live, laugh, love" (which Slowik himself notably doesn't even care about, cause he's forgotten he even said it when Margot snarkily references it later). The wankiness isn't something Slowik believes in, but he has to do it because it's an expected part of the experience that fans like Tyler demand - it's not about joy in food, but in being cultured enough to "understand the story that the chef is telling." It's about luxuriating in how much better a fan you are than others and Tyler ostentatiously demonstrates that through the film: name-dropping how he knows this technique, owns that tool, understands this reference, 'gets' the story that's being told, recognises a restaurant critic from afar, recognises the ingredient, uses the word "mouthfeel"
. He doesn't enjoy food; he enjoys winning at enjoying food.
It shows in how he continues to take photos even when he's asked not to - it's not enough for him to have the good food; he has to show off what he's 'experiencing' to demonstrate how much he is winning at being a gourmet. He is so over-the-top obsessed with being the best at **understanding** food, that he volunteers himself and his then girlfriend to die for what is clearly utter madness, because Chef has the ultimate **vision** and Tyler can't not be a part of that.
And at the same time, Tyler continually shows that he doesn't understand, not least when he swaps out his +1 for the death meal, without telling the restaurant that one of the 'ingredients' is changing - quite apart from the monstrosity of considering a sex-worker disposable, a fanboy like him would be aware of Chef Slowik's policy that, in his restaurant, "THERE ARE NO SUBSTITUTIONS!"
But Tyler's an exception, like every rich person is - he's a special boy and doesn't have to obey the rule about not taking photos, he doesn't have to stay quiet while the chef is introducing a dish, he doesn't have to tell them about his +1 changing (and run the risk of being disinvited?!
), he doesn't have to run away during the women's only course (and then steals the leftovers of the thing that he wasn't supposed to have).
With that context, the punishment of having it brutally demonstrated that he doesn't understand and that he isn't a peer of any of the sous-chefs, let alone Slowik, fits better. I'm willing to bet that the thing that Slowik whispers to him afterwards is that he's allowed to leave and survive, because he's not allowed to participate in the final course and die as part of the "dining experience" - he doesn't hang himself because of the cooking humiliation, but because he's ruined his chance to be part of "perfection."
.