After many months of waiting we were finally able to join one another at our favourite place – the table. As we all know the Chaîne is a love of all things that exist on or around the table. Friends – new and old, wine young and aged, and most of all food: that exquisite thing that brings people together in the best of times and the most troubling of times.

Here in our small island paradise (where we are living COVID-19 free) we were able to gather around stunningly laid tables at the Blue Penny Cellar, located at the Constance Belle Mare Plage Resort. Reminiscent of a wine cellar, one can’t help but notice the earthiness of the space. Set in a sunken cellar with vaulted ceilings and multi-faceted gleaming wood embellishments, it is a natural setting for a luxury dinner.

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Semi-cooked pressed foie gras
gingerbread, tamarind jelly, condiment
Oremus Tokaji Late Harvest Mandolas 2017
Hungary

OSO organic prawns, two tone cannelloni, creamy bisque
Pouilly-Fume ‘Florilege’ 2018
Didier & Jonathan Pabiot, Loire Valley, France

Stuffed red mullet
fine ratatouille, candied fennel, bouillabaisse juice
IGP Collines Rhodaniennes ‘Primavera’ 2017
Pierre Jean Villa, Rhône Valley, France

Cappuccino porcini mushroom broth, crispy focaccia

Rosé duck breast
giraumon and potato boulangère, white truffle oil
Cornas ‘Granit 30’ 2016
Domaine Vincent Paris, Rhône Valley, France

Ugandan chocolate flakes with sea salt
Maury Vintage Rouge 2016
Mas Amiel, Roussillon, France

The two pairings of the evening that stood out for me were the pressed foie gras with the Oremus Tokaji, and the Rosé duck breast with the Cornas.

As a lifelong lover of foie gras, I loved the flavours arising from the sweetness of the Tokaji. Never one to miss an opportunity to swirl, the wine also had lovely legs, crawling the crevices of the glass.

For the duck, it was absolutely luxurious to have such a beautiful piece of meat, cooked to perfection with dreamy crunchy skin and that fatty rich flavour. The wine, a bold and slightly acidic white, was a perfect complement to the richness of the duck and the unctuousness of the truffle.

Lastly, when we thought we couldn’t eat another bite, we were served what many considered the best course, a dessert consisting of exotic Ugandan chocolate flakes with sea salt. Not typically one for sweets, even I could not resist this chocolate. Absolutely divine!

We finished the evening under the soaring exposed wood beams of the main bar where we caught up for ages having finally been able to congregate in this bizarre year we call 2020.

Tarweeza Sooba
Chargée de Missions