Veuve Clicquot Collaborates With Chef Sally Abe to Present ‘La Grande DameGarden Gastronomy’ Tasting Experience at The Pem

Veuve Clicquot, the iconic champagne house, is collaborating with Sally Abé, one of the UK’s most celebrated and awarded chefs, to present ‘Garden Gastronomy’ paired with La Grande Dame 2015 at The Pem restaurant in Conrad London St. James in Westminster. Available to book from 8 June – 15 July 2023, this exciting new dining experience showcases extraordinary pairings of the Champagne house’s La Grande Dame 2015 with a rich array of local and seasonal garden vegetables which are picked in the morning and cooked in the afternoon.

For this 7-course tasting experience, Veuve Clicquot and chef Sally Abé have worked together on a ‘reversed dish approach’ in which vegetables take the centre stage, while meat, fish and eggs are a condiment to the experience. The menu, including dishes such as British garden peas, lemon grass and Exmoor caviar, with Dorset Razor Clams; Griddled British Asparagus with Yorkshire pecorino, Cornish little leaves and preserved ceps; Herb stuffed Cornish Brill with Tokyo turnips, wild garlic and sunflower seeds and Apricot Tart with Hazelnut frangipane, fresh almonds and apricot sorbet, aims to preserve the taste of exceptional produce until it reaches the plate, in the same vein as Madame Clicquot.

“It has been a joy to create this menu with the bounty of the garden in mind, La Grande Dame 2015 pairs so perfectly with the abundance of summer vegetables the British countryside has to offer at this time of year. It is an ideal match and will be a pleasure to cook!” says Chef Sally Abé.

The menu reflects the unique rhythm of the seasons and an authentic sense of place. In their elegant simplicity, the vegetables accentuate the complexity of Veuve Clicquot’s La Grande Dame wine, composed from one of the most historical Grand Cru vineyards. They offer infinite pairing possibilities through an aromatic palette, with a rich array of inventive recipes. Extremely fresh, with the outmost expressive power, intensity, and complexity of aromas: the menu pairs perfectly with the exceptional champagne that La Grande Dame is.

La Grande Dame is Veuve Clicquot’s showcase of excellence. Paying a tribute to Madame Clicquot herself who used to say “Our black grapes give the finest white wine”, La Grande Dame respects Madame Clicquot’s love for Pinot Noir using mostly historical Grands Crus from Veuve Clicquot’s terroir.

“La Grande Dame and Garden Gastronomy are intimately linked. Both are from the earth and work of men and women; both remind us of the cycle of the seasons, the apprehension before the harvest, the emotion of tasting the raw crops, feeling the characteristics of the soil as well as the year, we call ‘vintage.’” – Didier Mariotti, chef de Caves Veuve Clicquot.