IWFS EDINBURGH FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 2016 - DAY THREE of FIVE

IWFS EDINBURGH FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 2016 - DAY THREE of FIVE

This was an IWFS event organised by the Europe Africa Zone entitled the "Edinburgh Festival". About 50 members from across the globe (though naturally most from the UK) got together for three days of food, wine and the delight of enjoying it all.

click here for Day One and Two>>

click here for Day Four and Five>>

Lenglui with Tartan Troos Guide

Wednesday 21st September 2016 - DAY THREE OF FIVE

Schedule

8:15

Board coach outside Balmoral Hotel 

Palace of Holyroodhouse

10:30

Pick up those not attending Holyroodhouse

Sight-seeing Coach trip of Edinburgh

12:30

Leith Vaults and Anfora Wine Bar

Visit, tasting, Andre Simon lecture and luncheon

15:30

Return to Balmoral Hotel

18:30 

Board coach outside Balmoral Hotel

Restaurant Martin Wishart

23:00

Return to Balmoral Hotel

Awoke at 4am following a fairly solid sleep and joined 007 for a morning hello. Attempts to get back to sleep proved fruitless so I grabbed the notebook and the proper pen for a sit down on the throne to recount my memories of the previous evening. There was light and space and no disturbing of the Lenglui. Finished at about 6 and crawled back under the covers for a final hour of snooze.

Up and at them at 7pm for early breakfast and an off to Holyroodhouse at 8:15am. Shout out for wonderful eggs and sausages at the Balmoral breakfast buffet - superbly peppered little doggies they were, and they along with runny fried egg with bread and butter became the breakfast of the gods for the next three days. I learnt not to drink too much of the orange juice from previous bus tours - end up squeezing the bladder and running and hunting for toilets everywhere as a result. Never assume a tour bus has a toilet. 

Holyroodhouse

It was also a chance to explore the content of the goodie bag. It was a strong well built tote bag made of hemp or sackcloth and I seem to recall somewhere along the line someone saying it was locally woven. It presently does service storing collections of travel papers and maps awaiting conversions into the peerless prose and witty asides that are the hallmark of this blog. Yes. There was also the booklet on what, where, when and so on which would prove useful reading on the bus and at the venues. Actually the booklet was brilliantly put together - well designed and printed. 

More Holyroodhouse

I seem to recall brilliant sunshine but a bit cool in the shade greeting the assembled as we all clambered onto the bus at 8.15am. Which trundled off pretty much on time, notwithstanding the three extra minutes given by the station clock across the road. Tootling along Princes Street to the gothic Sir Walter Scott memorial tower, and turning off to the right would become pretty much the normal route for wherever we would travel. Mostly Leith. 

The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of HM Queen Elizabeth II whilst resident in Scotland. I thought I heard a story that Holyroodhouse is not normally open to the public, but someone clearly pulled a couple of strings to get us on a private tour. It only took a short time to reach our destination, which looked glorious in the morning sun. Great light for photos, though many of mine did not come out too well. Bit shaky. 

Holyroodhouse in sunshine

And it was brilliant - so much history in a small place. Standout was the one long room on the upper floor which had portraits of all the Kings of Scotland along the walls, though we were advised no photos please. It is the room where State dinners get held.  Seems we had just missed Wills and Kate the previous day. So it goes. Lenglui has a soft spot for the Royals, especially the young Prince George. He sells a lot of Hello magazines in our household. O Yes he does. 

Lenglui with a Scots Man in a Kilt

As said, Holyroodhouse was brilliant in some bright sunshine - total history lesson in less than two hours with an excellent guide. In his tartan troos. Which was followed by free tea and cakes (though Lenglui had spotted a Cream Scone which we scoffed with the post tour tea) and a quick visit to the visitor's shop to buy some souvenirs. I did a couple more photos of the Lenglui then it was back on the bus for a brief tour of the city which involved a lot of criss crossing of Princes and other streets before a drop off for wine tasting and lunch at the Leith Vaults and Anfora Wine Bar. I quite enjoyed this bus tour, going around then out then back into the city. There are a lot of little historical places we passed on the bus which, without our guide, we would well have missed. And the architecture is wonderful. Mostly Georgian and old and well kept. Though I keep trying, photos from the bus invariably turn out bad - wrong angles, bad light, lampposts or wires or photo-bombing buses and traffic. 

Eventually we trundled our way to Leith where a pre lunch tasting had been arranged at what were called the Old Vaults, which date back to before the 12th century. Story goes that around the turn of the century, Edinburgh port was a dropping point for storage of wines from France. In their guidebook, the Leith Local History Society says

"From the Medieval period, wine was imported into Leith. Ships sailed from Leith to Bordeaux and returned with large quantities of wine for the Court, the Church and the nobility. Later there was an extensive trade in wines from Spain and Portugal. It was difficult to transport the wine to Edinburgh for sale, as the route was a challenging journey over about a mile and a half of muddy uneven track. Leith merchants found ways round this requirement and used the deep cellars of the building known as the Vaults for storage of wine. The building dates from 1682 and presently houses the headquarters of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. It is Category A listed" (ref http://www.leithlocalhistorysociety.org.uk/guidebook/pdfs/guidebook.pdf)

Lenglui before lunch

We were led around the back to a door which took us to an old office style room (with a most welcome and modern toilet) and a circular staircase which led down to the cellar vaults. Here, our host and owner of Raeburn Wines Mr Zubair Mohammed was ready with the flutes of frothing fizz which we all sipped in the dank and cobweb strewn space. Zubair is of Pakistan origin but seems to have embraced Bacchus along with the Prophet somewhere along the way. Seems he still fretted about whether what he was doing was right in the eyes of the Almighties. Our Dr Jag assured him that as long as good was done in the time on the earth then the Almighties would be pleased. Amin and Shalom to that... A table had been set out for the bottles and glasses. Story went that the cobwebs were centuries old and actually listed as preserved items or national assets or something of that ilk. The vaults were certainly from a different age and hugely atmospheric, though perhaps a shade too Addams Family for me. Can't remember if photos were banned for fear of disturbing the cobwebs - I certainly have none. 

One of the older residents of the Bar

We would surface through a different stairway up through a cellar ramp into sunlight and straight in to the Anfora Wine Bar for our tastings and lunch. I recall getting hit by an amazing smell of curry wafting along the air (which unfortunately was not coming from our place of lunch). I did go for a swift search after lunch to try and find it which proved unsuccessful. Can still smell it now - well wicked. 

We clambered through the door into the Anfora which proved quite a pretty though small place for the forty plus of us. It also got a bit stuffy in that uniquely late Autumn way - still warm air stuck in a room needing a hit of fresh air circulation but unable to move as a result of someone choosing to keep doors and windows closed against the chill. We were very cosy around the small tables which would quickly fill with plates and glasses and the piling up of coats and scarfs on any available nail or hanger or spare chair. We all grabbed seating across six tables in two separate rooms, one of which was apparently renowned for the plaster which dated back to the very early days. As I now recall, I think perhaps this was why the doors remained barred against the elements; damp would certainly destroy old plaster quite quickly. I have no notes on the wines tasted nor the lunch, though the photos suggest the food was tasty. Free wifi also. 

Inside the Anfora Wine Bar

After lunch, Zubair gave the traditional Andre Simon lecture (traditional in that one gets given at significant gatherings of the IWFS Clans) of which little memory remains. Lectures are better retained and absorbed when they are given in a lecture hall and not really after a boozy tasting and lunch. Though it is available as a download (https://www.iwfs.org/assets/upload/images/Andre_Simon_Lectures/2016_Andre_Simon_Lecture_Zubair_Mohamed.pdf) some of which is condensed below. 

Salmon and Rye Crispbread

Seems that Leith was one of the chief wine-importing ports of the kingdom, and housed a large number of long established wine firms. The chief wines coming into Leith in the past were claret from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne via Dunkirk, Sherry from Cadiz, Port from Oporto, and red wines from Australia, usually imported in the cask and predominantly for the use of the Abbot and Canons of Holyrood (which had been an Abbey before it became a Royal Palace).

The Cod, Chorizo and Chickpea

By the beginning of the 14th century the main importation into English and Scottish ports was from the then English colony of Bordeaux (the rule of which was ironically broken by the combined forces of the Auld Alliance of France and Scotland in the 1450’s).

Lenglui after lunch

In the days of Mary Queen of Scots (1542 – 1567) claret from France was the chief wine imported into Leith. This trade continued to grow until the time of the Napoleonic wars, when it increased greatly in price owing to the duty imposed on it by the British Government. 

Leith became firmly established as one of the busiest wine importing ports from this linkage with Bordeaux, and through the centuries Leith-bottled claret earned an international reputation rivaling London and Bristol. When the wine arrived at Leith, it was clarified naturally by long ageing in barrel before being bottled for from ten to fifteen years. The temperature of these wine cellars (which stretched in tunnels and vaults underneath the streets of Leith) remains the same, day after day and year after year, never really changing which make for excellent natural storage conditions. This only changed when the French AOC rules specified that quality wine should be bottled where it was made. 

LEITH OLD VAULTS AND ANFORA WINE BAR

Champagne aperitif to be served in the Vaults cellars

Champagne Brut Decelle NV, Gyejacquot Freres, Aube

Tasting wines to be served in Anfora Wine Bar

Chablis, 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre, Domaine Chaude Ecuelle, 2008

Chateau Chasse-Spleen Blanc, Moulis 2012

Auxey-Duresses Rouge, Tres Vieille Vignes, Domaine Alain Gras, 2009

Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie, Canon Fronsac, 2000

LUNCH MENU

Cured Salmon, Rye Crisp, Creme Fraiche and Herb Salad

Saumur Blanc, Chateau de Breze 2012, Loire

Pan Fried Cod, Tomato, Pepper, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew

Crozes Hermitage Rouge "Silene", Selection Jean-Louis Chave 2011 Northern Rhone

Back on the bus and back to the hotel to rest and freshen up ahead of the evening dinner. Lenglui went shopping again whilst I decided to make a visit to the Golden Mile on foot across the North Bridge. Again, the sun was brilliant in a blue sky though the wind was a bit chill and crisp and necessitating a scarf against catching a cold.  The bridge offers excellent vistas across the city, all of which were and are too large for my Sony box brownie to take in. Lots of little touristy shops selling Tam O Shanters and (yes) tartan troos and fudge and the usual treats. I was off in search of whiskey to take back to the Boys Group of foodies and boozies for their tasting and found a brilliant whiskey store just over the bridge from the hotel. Floor to ceiling single malts of varying age. The new friend there gave me a brief introductory course in whiskey tasting from the bottles that were open on the counter. Would highly recommend it to anyone in Edinburgh. I now get whiskey. But I still won't drink it. I find it seriously bad juju for this brain. I will stick with the gin and tonic.

Shot of the Golden Mile

Got to the Golden Mile and pretty quickly got put off walking too far along it. It was all Tartan Troos and Kilts and more Tartan and pretty much all operated by people of Oriental origin. Which felt a little too much like too many other cities and somehow took a little of the romance of the Mile away. Along the Edinburgh visit, I heard many accents from pretty much all across Europe and the globe in the hotels and on the streets. But our Chinese and Indian friends seemed to have a lock on the knicky knacky tourist retail trade. I turned back and walked further up the North Bridge Road (which had now become South Bridge) where I saw a couple of Kebab Houses and a Charity Shop or two. But I did not get much in the way of charm here. So it goes.

Got back at the hotel to find that Lenglui had somehow misplaced a credit card. She had paid with it at a store, but between there and the room it had gone. It does get hugely confusing when cashiers hand you two receipts and the card in a package and perhaps the card went out with the bag in the bin. Darn frustrating - had to call the Credit Card company to cancel the card and not much chance when one is abroad to sort out a new one. One consolation though - the spending dipped drastically throughout the remainder of the trip.

Had a bath with James and Ursula and climbed beneath the covers to begin my viewing affair with The Jeremy Kyle Show. Jezza as he is known is the UK equivalent of Jerry Springer and brings warring friends to the cameras to uncover inconvenient truths, usually through lie detector tests. Total voyeurism into pretty much sub class styles of life and honour systems - but absolutely compelling television. It is sometimes as emotionally raw and as real as it can get. Kyle is a brilliant ringmaster, stabbing straight to the hearts of matters with piercing questions or direct and personal observations. If it sounds exploitative, well….  I can see how this view can get taken; but the JK Show does a tremendous amount in getting to the roots of people's personality disorders and takes active steps to get them back on a good road through rehab and social guidance programmes. Top man and top team. 

It was a bit wet when we all were leaving for dinner. So everyone stole the remaining umbrellas from the concierge and tried to quickly scuttle out onto the bus. Naturally, lots of waiting at the door whilst the members necessarily disemboweled their brollies before boarding so there were a few growls as those behind got a bit more wet than wanted. But it all faded as everyone boarded in timely fashion and we were off. 

Inside the Martin Wishart Restaurant

Our restaurant for the evening was the Martin Wishart, a one star Michelin place situated in Leith. Hmmm… Didn't we just leave here four hours ago? Well, Leith is not small, so perhaps the bus is necessary. Though given that our dinner on the morrow would also be in Leith Dock, the Scot in me kind of wondered why we couldn't have found a more local hotel and saved some money. But that is the Scot talking. If we'd listened to him, I'd never have had a bath with JB and Ursula…

"Classically French, Proudly Scottish, and Simply Delicious Cuisine" runs one of the taglines on the website. Chef Martin is a home grown local Edinburgh boy made good. He started his career at age fifteen and trained under many masters of classical French cuisine before returning to his native Edinburgh, where he has earned himself a legion of loyal fans across his restaurants. Chef Martin pretty much focuses on ingredients and produce from in and around Scotland, with Seafood and Game pretty much dominating the menu. The menus change with the seasons, though classical French cuisine remains the backbone of Chef's creations. Restaurant Martin Wishart gained a Michelin star in 2001 and has retained it ever since.

The webbie goes on to say:

"Martin has a great entrepreneurial attitude and is always looking for new and exciting opportunities. To date he has three restaurants, one cook school, outside catering opportunities and an unrivalled reputation for consistently delivering a top-quality dining experience." He is an honorary Doctor of Edinburgh University for his “contribution to the raising standards of Scottish cuisine, specifically in Edinburgh, to the international regard it currently holds” 

The bus pulled up near to the restaurant and everyone disembarked with umbrellas flailing against the quite hard rain that was still falling. The restaurant is set on a canal, which made for a postcard picture vision in the evening rain and light on the cobble streets. Whilst it wasn't black tie, the men were in jackets whilst the ladies were casually elegant. So coats were worn to keep off the rain and chill and again all got piled on the nearest hangers. The restaurant looked like a narrowish place but magically opened out once inside the central dining area. Seats were found and introductions made and all got ready for the off. 

Initially, the atmosphere was again a bit stuffy given all the people and the heaters being switched on to counter the late September evening chill. But as layers of clothes got divested to adjust it all seemed to come into temperature balance. 

The chilled and cherry nosed Prosecco got poured and clinked and came off as somewhat grapey and citrus in the mouth but not bad for that. The full salted and yeasty olive bread gave good carbo substance to soak up the fizz and the remains of the Amuse.

I can't remember much about the taste of the Amuse Bouche. The notes say it was some Horseradish Sauce inside a kind of Macarron French wafer thingy, and came off looking like a Chinese Birthday dumpling.

There was also a dollop of celeriac infused potato mash with scrambled egg for salt and taste and some pelota ham which came off as a misty smooth mouthful. No memory. No photo either. Om.

Wine 1 was apparently a Chenin Blanc and was delightful, with none of the usual oily characteristic I usually associate with this varietal. Nice hit of flinty minerality, sour apricot on the nose. Great texture, with chewy peach on the cheeks and some floral notes leading to a medium finish. Very nice and auguring well for a fine evening. 

Dish 1 was the visually cute Crab and Langoustine. The Crab had been wrapped in  a slice of courgette to resemble a mini Spring Roll and had been parked on the side of a pond of cold pea consomme, in which the Langoustine held court over all on the plate. The Avocado had been blitzed and piped whilst the runner beans had been similarly blitzed and chilled (or nitrogen gassed?) into perfect little cups of misty green mousse. There were a lot of tastes going on here, but they all seemed to work together to give brilliant little zips and zaps and clean green and slap on the tongue delights. The central Langoustine and Avocado was exquisite - the crunchy fresh sweetly salt meat meshing with the creamy green gunky fruit mash - wonderful. Equally wonderful and borderline genius was the addition of Rock Melon cubes on top of the Runner Bean humps - gave a soft fruit sugar crunch to the mushy green vegetable and rocked each others worlds. O yes they did. 

Langoustine and Crab - well wicked

All of which went wonderfully well with the wine. The shellfish sweet meat and vegetal adds lightened the acidity and cleaned up the slight element of chew in the fruit to give a leaner, cleaner mouthfeel. Good match.

Noted the excellence of the service at this point. We were being overseen by tall young slender men in grey suits who had been taught to fold the napkin and put in on the table when someone left the table. Box duly ticked.

My initial note on Dish 2 says "wow!" This was the Orkney Scallop and Cepe and the Scallop would prove absolutely magnificent, putting the little doggies we get from Hokkaido to shame in terms of size and fullness of taste. Darn near perfect. The Cepe sauce (which is Porcini Mushroom with shallots and garlic and ham) dotted with the roast hazelnuts kind of coated the upper mouth and cheeks, though not overpoweringly so. The Foie Gras was in there, but again not so that it dominated the ensemble with overtones of goose liver. The whole was a mouth of brilliance and balance, texture and finish. Beyond sublime. Triple wow. 

Orkney Scallop and Cepe - magnifico

It was being paired with an Alsatian Riesling which was clean on the tongue and zippy on the cheeks. Light to medium body, mouth of pineapple and citrus, lovely understated acidity presumably from its four years in bottle and leading to a clean firm finish. Good for cleaning the gunk from the cheeks and standing up nicely to the Cepe and Foie Gras elements. Another great match. 

Wine 3 was delightful, and I initially thought it was a full on classic Chablis of banana and tropicals and body with a good belt of citrus. This frisky fruit bomb set the senses singing "Zing went the strings of my tongue" - lovely zappy drop to toast with the table. Which was now proving quite talkative after a somewhat slow start. Slap me across the face with a kipper when I discovered the wine was a South African Chenin. This cheeksucker was so, so good, giving off peach further down the glass. As elsewhere said, my Chenin experience has been one of oil on the cheeks, which seems to invariably get combined with harsh throat raking aged apricot and sour mango. Have to start looking out for this one on the Malaysian shelves. Good stuff. 

Dish 3 was the soft Shetland Squid and salty Bellota Ham perched on a dollop of lentils rising out of the brownly saltish rouille. This felt the most French Bistro of all the dishes to date given the richly dark and brooding gravy. Two knobs of what felt like fine mashed potato got blended in with the rouille to add some necessary butter to the mix and send the Provencal sauce to church. Texturally, the squid and ham fit well, though the squid lacked the rubbery firmness we associate with the boy here in Malaysia. In terms of flow, this Bistro bomb seemed a bit at odds with the lightness and delicacy of the foregoing and, looking at the menu, the forthcoming dishes. But it was still seafood and there was game to follow, and I get it that no way can seafood follow game. It had to fit where it had to fit. So. 

Shetland Squid and Bellota Ham - well French

A bold dish needing a bold wine - the Chenin stood up well to the rich Bistro style. Can't recall the match in any great detail, but it was far from a mismatch. No notes usually mean I was enjoying it with the table. My notes just say "so good, crispy crunchy zippy zing citrus bomb". Yum.

As said, the table was warming up and I recall talking to a new American friend Dennis Marsh about 1970s music and a band Kansas in particular. I shared my Youtube and Wikiloops sites with him and he advised to look out for the Kansas DVD documenting the miracle of their road to global dominance from the middle of America. Have yet to find it. But we shared memories of our favourite songs and concerts which made for a fun evening. He also used to play bass guitar but hadn't picked it up for years due to a workplace accident. I tried to persuade him to get back to it. Not sure I succeeded. Have to get in touch to see how. 

Also met up with an apparent old friend of one of my Law Lecturers from University College Cardiff days (now Cardiff University) who had been trying to reconnect without much success. So I offered to help. Within a day I had got an email address and passed it to the table mate just before checkout on our final day. He was very happy. 

Dish 4 was a Ravioli of Borders Partridge, which on first bite felt like a big rich whack of foie gras woof - big meaty sucker. It was a bit like biting into a Chinese dumpling and the jus exploding in the mouth (and down the shirt if not careful). The second bite got through to the delicious Partridge, and the now lessened jus made for a delightful bite of bird and pasta, with the genius cabbage giving perfect vegetal backbone and structure to weld the tastes together. Not sure I am a great fan of partridge, not having much occasion to eat the thing in the past, but have to say that this one had a creamy texture about it whilst retaining enough of a gamey whack for interest. 

Partridge Ravioli

The Chinon had a lean and firm fruit mouthfeel of cherry and dark berry. Firm tannins, with fair degree of raspberry and redcurrant in the mouth but absolutely nothing in the way of finish. Total fruit bomb that fizzled in the gut. Odd. Again, must admit to little experience with Loire reds, so perhaps this is the style. And I must say it sang with the food - the combo of veggie, jus, bird and pasta melted the tannins and the fruit simply soared. There you go - should always think about foods when drinking a new wine and never judge on the immediate taste. Good reminder of an old lesson. Another score to Chef and Sommelier. 

And on to the Grouse - my first ever taste of it. For some reason, I got taken back to childhood and tins of Spam; total pork luncheon meat in texture and mouthfeel. Though I also got a large hit of Foie Gras. It was like located somewhere between the two; solid foie gras Spam. Which initially felt quite strange, though it came into focus when chewed in context with the rest of the plate. The sweet crunchy onion, the mushroom nimble in the mouth and the walnut risotto all lent their textures and tastes to create an amazing blend of rich, salt, sweet chew and taste. Very good indeed. Now there is a baseline for Grouse breast - all future can be measured against. Lead me to the shoot.

The Grouse

It was being paired with a 2001 Musar, a Lebanese wine which seems to sell well in Malaysia (I have attended tastings and it has been served at some of our KL IWFS events). Though frankly I have yet to get the Musar - to me it seems over priced for what it seems to offer in taste and development in bottle. Though some compadres salivate at the thought. There you go. This one presented a shade rough - firm acidity and tannins, and I found the fruit a bit sour. One of those that sends a shiver down the back - brrrrrr..OUGH!!! They were still pouring the Chinon which made for a WAY better accompaniment, letting the food remain tasty without getting in the way. 

Dessert

And finally dessert, which also got a "wow" in the notes. Spiced rich Valrhona (apparently 100% cocoa) chocolate with pineapple and clementine melded into a gunky goo that was both richly sweet and citrus sour and loaded with toffee apple caramel. This was perhaps the most AMAZING mouthful of chocolate goo ever to pass the tongue. Sinful and wicked - but only if you think so. 

And the tokaji was lovely. Mid weight, raisins and honey sweet. Not as bold as those others tried previously; more delicate and subtle. Gorgeous wine, which matched reasonably well with the dessert (thanks mainly to the fruit elements) but for me the only thing that goes with chocolate is ice cream or coffee (and whiskey, for some reason, according to my whiskey snifter buddies). 

And the decaff coffee that came quickly out did indeed cap the dessert off perfectly and bring to a close an absolutely cracking evening of wine and food. I am often a bit skeptical with the Michelin star places but I have to say that the Martin Wishart was fantastic. The food quality, the preparations and presentations, the service and the selection of wines were all indeed stellar. Very, very happy to have done this. Highly recommended if you find yourself in Leith. 

[Note - subsequent to the Festival, the IWFS EAZ awarded the Restaurant Martin Wishart with an, er, award and were forced to revisit Edinburgh to present it. Also to meet up again with Zubair from the Leith Vaults. Oh, the pain...  ]

Can't remember the ride back to the Balmoral on the bus. Think I snoozed. Crawled into bed to the sound of the news on the TV. Slept like a pig. 

"Mair waine fer eeyeou Mizz?" Why aye!!

RESTAURANT MARTIN WISHART MENU

Aperitif

Kir Royal or Prosecco Brut, Borgo Molino, Treviso

Crab and Langoustine

Courgette, Runner Bean, and Avocado

Savennieres, Trie Speciale, Domaine des Beaumard, 2010 Loire

Orkney Scallop and Cepe

Warm Duck Liver Parfait and Roasted Hazelnuts

Riesling, Rolly Gassmann, 2012 Alsace

Shetland Squid

Puy Lentils, Lomo de Bellota and Rouille

FMC Chenin Blanc, Ken Forrester, Stellenbosch 2014

Ravioli of Borders Partridge

Cabbage and Truffle Cream

Chinon, Domaine de la Noblaie, 2014 Loire

Grouse Breast

Wild Mushroom, Caramelized Onion and Walnut Risotto

Chateau Musar 2001

Spiced Valrhona Chocolate

Macerated Golden Pineapple, Cocoa Tuile and Clementine Juice

Tokaji, 5 Puttunyos, 2009 Royal Tokaji

Tea or Coffee, Petit Fours