Several of you have e-mailed me asking for details on the Story Wine Dinner that was held a couple of weeks ago in conjunction with Manresa Restaurant, so I thought I’d post a small re-cap here. Short story: it was a heck of a lot of fun, a great meal, and definitely something that I hope to do again.
The dinner sold out at a capacity of 26, but we ended up having six last minute cancellations so in all we ended up with twenty people, including myself.
I had selected five wines and in an afternoon of tasting and talking Chaf Kinch and I came up with a menu to match them, based around the idea of dishes with stories, with a couple of the dishes being made up on the spot by Chef (with a little encouragement from me).
Here’s the final menu with wine pairings:
| Gougeres Foie gras and cumin caramel Soup of local shellfish with oysters and urchin Roast squab with olives Roast lamb rib-eye and braised shoulder Caramelized pineapple cake and yogurt panna cotta Coffee and tea |
I was VERY pleased with how the pairings turned out. The collaboration between myself and Chef Kinch resulted in some fabulous combinations of flavors. We told stories about every dish and about each of the wines, and some of the folks attending shared funny or interesting stories about their experiences with a particular type of wine, etc. It felt much more intimate and fun than most of the wine dinners I’ve ever been to, which was very much the point.
If you’re interested in attending the next one, let me know by leaving a comment here, and I’ll make sure you’re the first to know about it.
Photo courtesy of Stellah Deville.
