Mastering The Art of Champagne & Cooking with Krug
Question: What do you get when you combine Gaggenau kitchen appliances, Michelin trained chefs, Scandinavian design and lashings of the champagne God gives his angels when they’ve been really good?
Answer: An unmissable invitation to cook, dine and discover the many pleasures of matching food with Krug champagnes in the luxurious surrounds of a purpose built private cooking studio next door to Fleet St, London.
#KrugKitchen recently invited a group of 10 lifestyle journalists to cook their own dinner under the expert guidance of professional chefs in a specially designed kitchen at Aveqia London, whilst enjoying matching individual dishes with different vintages of Champagne Krug – it literally was heaven on a plate but we had to sing for our supper!
On arrival at Aveqia HQ each guest was greeted in the bar with a sparkling flute of Krug Grande Cuvee accompanied by dainty spoon canapes of Souvas with Bleak Roe. This was a great way to set the mood for the night.
Aveqia founder David Berggren’s passion for gastronomy stems from working in Michelin star restaurants around the world and cooking for the Swedish Royal family, but his vision is to bring people closer together through cooking and conversation. Launched in Sweden in 1999, London is Aveqia’s first international site with a capacity of up to 75 guests per session. From suspended lamps to polished floorboards this cool quirky Scandinavian designed space houses a luxurious bar lounge area, the impressive Krug Kitchen and four modern cooking studios. The toilets even feature the Swedish royal colours of pink and gold and a lovely portrait of Queen Christina behind each loo door!
This is not a traditional cookery course, but rather a fun way to relax with friends or network with colleagues and customers in a social environment where fine food and wine are the common denominators. Aveqia’s motto is simply “connecting through gastronomy”.
Inspired by Scandinavian flavours and seasonal produce aveqia’s Krug Kitchen Menu currently incorporates the following dishes and champagne matches:
Grapefruit cured salmon, sea buckthorn dressing, salted pistachios, smoked mayonnaise paired with Krug 1998 (see pic below)
Foie Gras creme, verjus gelee, fresh black truffles, toasted brioche, glazed pineapple, red grapes paired with Krug 2000
Roasted Guinea fowl, Jerusalem artichoke foam, Vasterbotten cheese croquettes, morels paired with Krug Rose
Champagne sabayon, lemon and ginger curd, granny smith sorbet, hazelnut crumble, apple crisp paired with Krug Grande Cuvee
As Chefs David, Daniel and Celine split our group into teams I immediately blurted out I’m a champagne tragic and fervent foodie but my passions remain firmly confined to tasting and eating, not prepping, sweating and cooking. Unfazed by my premature culinary confession Swedish-French Chef Celine immediately set me to chopping and blanching the chard for my team’s Roasted Guinea Fowl dish – a task which I successfully completed on time (see pic below) thankfully proving at Aveqia there’s no standing on ceremony about being a cooking novice, rather than a wannabe rock star chef in the making.
Hours flew by as the champagne, cooking and conversation all flowed and each group proudly presented the results of their efforts to the rest of the room. A memorable thoroughly decadent convivial evening amongst new friends was enjoyed by all.
This exclusive effervescent experience is available for groups of 10 people at GBP 3,500 all inclusive. For more information or to book your own #KrugKitchen event visit www.aveqia.co.uk or call +44 203 3651 2972
About Krug Grande Cuvee
KEY CHARACTERISTICS: Complex, rich and powerful style with intricate harmony and finesse. An extravagant bouquet on the nose followed by an explosion of flavours on the palate, at once crisp and clean and yet mature and mellow.
BLEND: 50% Pinot Noir, 15% Pinot Meunier, 35% Chardonnay.
The world’s best known five-star champagne is a breathtaking wine of magnificent complexity and richness, as detailed and textured as a luxurious tapestry, containing wines from at least 20 different Cru (not all of them Grand or even Premier, one might note) across a decade’s worth of vintages.
Learn more about Champagne Krug
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