The Club Village Pierre et Vacances in Sainte-Anne welcomed the island’s fine food lovers and accomplished gastronomes for the Bailliage’s 46th Chapitre. In a tropical garden awash with flowers, the temperature was decidedly autumnal on this late-November day.

During the cocktail reception, members and their guests enjoyed freshly pressed exotic fruit juices, 2013 vintage premium Montebello rum, Grain de Glace Rosé de Provence and Glenfarclas Scotch whisky. The pleasant aperitif served in the “Anthorium” room followed the induction of two new Chaîne members, six new Ordre Mondial members and the promotion of nine Professionals by Inducting Officer Benoît Fragnière, Member of the Conseil d’Administration, who had come from Switzerland for the occasion.

After we finished catching-up and exchanging greetings, the dinner menu delighted us with its use of local ingredients, giving the young kitchen chefs, pastry chefs, master chocolatiers and ice-cream chefs the chance to introduce or familiarise guests with their creations.

The mango and basil souskai added a spicy Indian note to the cuttlefish ink risotto – delicious!

Root vegetable croquettes glazed with Bourbon vanilla were served with a tournedos of freshly-caught deep sea fish.

The sugarcane sorbet took us all back to our childhood. Our taste buds tingled with the reminiscence of sun-drenched sugarcane fields, the scent of warm straw and gently melting sugar. The delectable loin of venison, served with white truffles, was pleasantly tender.

An exquisite pure Arabica coffee followed dessert, a perfect combination of white chocolate, passion fruit and mandarin sorbet.

Wines and champagne chosen from vineyard owners-winemakers like Pierre Legras and François Villard enhanced this delicious social occasion.

An elegant and joyful event, the Chapitre and its gala dinner have become an annual must for discerning food-lovers.

Richard Chaville, Bailli Délégué
and
Micheline Mounsamy, Chancelier Honoraire