Saturday, July 07, 2007

Gourmet 2008 - brainstorming.

Ive got to have some ideas for nexy years gourmet calendar. So in some form of brainstorming session, I thought I might throw out some ideas on here and see if anything looks any good "in the wild". Maybe get some feedback too?!?

Idea 1)
Wines of the Loire Valley - taking a more general look at a region rather than a specific producer. Obviously look at the expected wines - Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, but perhaps squeeze in something unexpected - Muscadet, Cour Cheverny, St Nicholas de Bourgeuil, Chinon who knows. Only certainty - I want to show something from Didier Dagauneau.

Idea 2)
Wines of Languedoc-Roussillon - after WBW 33 Its got my interest piqued again. Mind you, the negative side is that Ive got chuff all from their on my list at the moment apart from a quaint but uninspiring Picpoul.

Idea 3)
Wine and Chocolate evening - One for the ladies I suspect, but how cool would it be to do something like this? Im not sure cheffie would get behind it though, so I suspect this might die a death on the drawing board.

Idea 4)
Wines of the Pacific Northwest. I would love to do this one, but I know I would struggle with it. First- it is becoming nigh on impossible to find a decent range of wines from Oregon, Washington and British Columbia in the UK. What few are available all come with hefty prices, meaning this isnt going to be a cheap evening. I expect it would end up nearer the £150 per ticket, which of course is going to put people off. Im still going to persevere with this one thought.

Idea 5)
Decadence Evening - an evening off pure indulgence - Foie Gras - Jurancon from Didier Dagueneau - Caviar - Dom Perignon Champagne - Veal - Grand Cru white burgundy - Estate reared Welsh Black beef - First Growth Claret - you get the idea. Finishing with chocolate and gold truffles and obscenely expensive cognac! Be prepared to pay!!

And thats about as far as I go idea wise. We try to follow new directions and avoid repeating ourselves, but there are only so many ideas to be had.

3 comments:

Peter F May said...

I don't know what the average age of your diners are, but I suspect since a meal at your restaurant would cost a bit more than Pizza Express you attract a more mature clientele --so

How about a 'heritage' menu. You know how recipes come in and go out of fashion?

Do a menu of dishes popular 20 or 30 years ago, but cooked & presented with todays touches/knowledge.

Personally I have very fond memories from my earloy days of eating out of Escalope of Veal Holstein, but no restuarant offers that anymore. Maybe your patrons would also enjoy reliving meals from their courting days.....

Wines could be vintages of the same ear (for wines that age) and modern replacements for style spopular then...

grazza said...

Thats quite a cool idea, a bit similar to something we did the year before last - French Masters, where the exec chef Simon, prepared five courses all chosen from French Masters - Escoffier, Roux, Savoy, Gaignaire, and I forget the last.

Maybe we could use some of the mature burgundys we have sitting down in the cellar - 1970 Nuits Anyone?

grazza said...

ps we do a veal holstein on the La Brasserie menu. It sometimes appears on the Library menu as a special.