The Silk Road, the Spice Route… These words evoke long journeys, exoticism, freedom, caravans following their own rules from India to Morocco—the perfect theme for a dinner setting the stage for the release of 2000 Dom Pérignon Rosé and the launch of 1990 Dom Pérignon Rosé Œnothèque.
Let’s go behind the scenes to discover how this event came to life—I hope this will inspire you and make you look at Dom Pérignon from a new perspective.
Ever since the project in Kyoto I have kept elaborating on dinner experiences to highlight the many facets of each wine and to create as many sensations. Going far beyond conventional food-wine pairing, they create a mysterious and poetic atmosphere conducive to an ultimate goal of sensuality. Pascal Tingaud, the chef de cuisine at Dom Pérignon, has been contributing to the project for the past ten years. Pascal travels with me and prepares these dinners, whatever our destination. This sometimes leads to rather exciting situations involving a mix of great logistics and total improvisation!
As you can see below from the menu, I tried to stay as open-minded as possible. Formalism was kept to a strict minimum: I did not feel restricted to a vague “starter-main course-dessert” structure, nor to specific regions. Rather than unity of time or space, I aimed at embracing different cultures: the menu is based on unpretentious generous traditional dishes, selected to respond to the wine and to build a steady progression through the meal. Each wine has its own story to tell: my role was to listen, interpret the images and ambiances that it evoked and translate them into an exploration of the cooking treasures of the Orient.
The Mezze, served with 2000 Dom Pérignon Rosé, bring us from one end of the Silk Road to the other, with both classics (Baba Ghanoush) and rarities (Watermelon Curry from Rajasthan). Each dish has its own role to play, its own dialogue with the wine: carrots and ginger to amplify the fruit; a salad of beetroot, orange and cinnamon to shape a contrast of textures. The couscous, prepared with sea bass and rose petals and served with 1990 Dom Pérignon Rosé Œnothèque, plays with the paradox of amplitude and precision. The Harira soup (a celebration of the end of Ramadan in North Africa) surprises with its caressing concentration and lightness. The sweet dishes, particularly the rose Turkish delight (loukhoum) ice cream, magnify the onctuosity and sensuality of the wine. A seamless conclusion to the journey? We simply have to accept the rule of the ancient caravans: no step is ever final, the journey is all that counts.
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MEZZE Sautéed herb salad with hot pepper and preserved lemon Beet and orange salad Watermelon Curry — COUSCOUS Couscous voilé à la rose SOUPE Essence d’Harira au carvi — DOUCEURS Rose Turkish delight (loukhoum) ice cream |
Thank you for all that you do to promote the brand and the product! It`s always exciting searching for information on Dom Perignon and I am glad that this site was created to allow the public to get a glimpse into the world of Dom Perignon. I am on the lookout for all of your products as soon as they hit the Japan market.
Jonathan Trent
Tokyo, Japan