Sixty members and guests met at the beginning of the festive season for the Bailliage’s annual Gala Dinner.

La Grande Maison de Bernard Magrez - a Michelin 2-star flagship of the Bordeaux gastronomy scene - warmly welcomed us into its magnificently-decorated rooms.

The menu created by the teams of Pierre Gagnaire and his loyal disciple Chef Jean-Denis Le Bras, was delightful, combining originality, audacity and delicacy.

Examples of our menu included:

“Duck foie gras soup, lettuce stuffed with cod brandade, abalone with Sarawak pepper”

“Grilled octopus, broccoli with Mostarda di Cremona”

In addition to the culinary surprises, an entertaining competition gave two lucky guests the opportunity to win a prestigious bottle from the Bernard Magrez vineyards, as well as two theatre tickets provided by the private Trianon-Victoire-Molière theatres.

One of the evening's highlights was a speech by Dr Didier Portmann, who introduced Professor Georges Portmann, the Chaîne’s Grand Maître at the time, and presented a signed book about the “Anatomy of Gastronomy”, co-written in 1984 with Jean Valby, Grand Chancelier.

This was followed by Pierre Gagnaire’s exquisite and deliciously chocolaty desserts, a prelude to the generous gift from Serge Michaud, owner of the chocolate company Cadiot Badie: a scrumptious box of praline ganache chocolates.

As is customary, Thierry Passe paid tribute to the team for enchanting the guests’ discerning palates, before the highly anticipated “wine chronicle rich in historical facts” by Dr Jacqueline Mazuel, the Bailliage’s Vice-Échanson.

This wonderful evening led our friends to arrange to meet again very soon for another gourmet adventure with the same friendly atmosphere.

Dominique Naboulet, Conseiller Gastronomique
and
Jean-François Guichard, Bailli Délégué