In the Netherlands, we love fine dining where that combines deep understanding, exciting flavors and perception. Tony van Rooijen, the Dutch Glenfiddich ambassador, had the honour to be part of a prestigious whisky diner. The dinner was held in “de Ertepeller”, a JRE restaurant in Papendrecht in the south of Holland. Together with our host, Mark van den Berg and chef Arjan Kuipers, we had a number of sessions to create a surprising menu with ultimate food and whisky combinations. Through Arjan’s network, we invited David Goerne to join, a German chef, who cooks in France with an impressive curriculum including one Michelin star. Tony’s job was to be the bridge between the whisky and the food, sharing details about the precious whisky. The venue sold out in a day.
A brilliant team was involved in this great event. My colleague Tim Hoevenagel, Account manager Luxury & Cocktail Bars, welcomed the guests with the best cocktail they could have: a twelve year old Glenfiddich was used in a tea-based carbonated cocktail with tamarind. Two lovely canapés made the fifty guests comfortable to join their seat for the evening. The first course was served, the floral notes of the IPA were the perfect match with the lovely artichoke in the vitello tonnato.
The diner created by Arjan and David, was legendary. Every course was adjusted to the whisky which Mark and Tony had selected. The 21 year old Gran Reserva from the grand series blew away the guests in combination with foie gras. The lobster was brought by David, all the way from Normandy and supported the campfire smokiness and toffee sweetness of the Fire & Cane. My favorite Solera was used to reinforce the special prepared wagu with garlic.
The diner was crowned with the Glenfiddich 26y Grande Couronne, in combination with an apple stuffed macaron and a typical Dutch “dropijs”, in this ice-cream Arjan incorporated a famous liquorish candy, it was spiffing and left the audience with one thought; where next?
1 reactie