A Culinary Tour De France

For our annual Christmas- New Year Celebration dinner we are going to take a Tour de France. No- not on a bicycle, but we will partake in the culinary traditions from stops along the way of France’s past Tours… we will dine on traditional dishes from the hamlets just off the beaten path, and the cities which have shaped France’s food. We will drink wines made by true artisans of the earth – generations of vines that have been handed down through families and history. 

We commence our dinner with that most festive and luxurious of all treats from the sea – ‘lobster in the evening clouds’ with a Vichyssoise jelly.  This will be paired with two wines from the Loire, both delicious at the tasting dinner, so we decided to offer you the chance to taste and compare. Domaine Lucian Crochet ‘Le Chene Marchand’ Sancerre 2008, from a house started in 1765, and for contrast, Domain Huet ‘ Le Haut Lieu’ Vouvray 2009 ,a bio-dynamic wine starting in 1990.

Cycling south at a good pace, we reach the Rhone valley for Bresse Pigeon, with  Foie Gras, Chestnut Puree, Caramelized Figs, elegantly presented, and partnered by the 100% Grenache Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2007 by Tardieu-Laurent, made from 106 year old vines and farmed biodynamically.

For our main course we reach Burgundy, where we’ll enjoy an Escoffier classic -  Beef Cheek Bourguignon, with truffled potato mousseline and shallot jam. 

To accompany, the premier Cru Domaine Anne Francoise Gros ‘Aux Reas’ 2008 Vosne Romanee, made in very small quantities, a real treat. Also, we will serve Domaine Matrot Auxey-Duresses 2005, a wine made with 30% new oak barrels.

Mentally you will be pedalling up the slopes of the Alps to be rewarded with cheese , a gently baked, oozingly runny (a spoon cheese) Vacherin de Mont D’Or (from the French Alps) with wines from

Chateau Boucasse Vieilles Vignes 1999 Madiran and Brumont Gros Manseng Doux 2008 Gascogne, a rare grape only found in the South-West of France.

We end our culinary Tour de France in Paris, the same as the boys on their bikes, in sight of the Arc du Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. Our finale is a caramelized Praline Paris Brest with a Hazelnut Crème Legere and a little surprise from the chef. A bit of foodie trivia here – the original Paris Brest was considered the ‘breakfast of champions’ created for the participants of the Tour de France in 1891.

Did they enjoy the désert wine Chateau Boucasse Vendemiare Pacherenc Moilleux 2006 as well?

Please send in your application forms promptly as this is alway a popular dinner. As last year the venue is the splendid Glass House of the Grand Hyatt, a private dining room created especially for formal dinners. We thought it would be impossible to top the Thomas Keller dinner of last year, but, having tasted the menu with chef, we are confident you and your guests will be happy.

See the full invitation here.