Diner à Epernay, Champagne

Our first night in Epernay, we were treated to a dinner at the Michelin-starred restaurant: “Hotel Les Berceaux”.

The Michelin Guide is the premier guide to all the best restaurants in France and around the rest of the world. The most you can get is three Michelin stars, but even having one Michelin star is very good. You can get your own Michelin guide in most service stations around France, as ours would sell street directories, or, you can check out the online version.

The Guide was certainly right about Les Berceaux! The food was spectacular, speaking for both presentation and taste, and the service was excellent. It was also a great example of how the French can do vegetarian food well, and I really appreciated the extra effort.

My favourite course was the entrée with lightly grilled zucchini and tomato, garnished with white asparagus (of course, because it’s in season!).

The main course of green bean risotto with asparagus and mushroom was also very nice too.  It was different to the Italian style risotto I’m more used to as the rice was grainier and the sauce milkier, yet these differences helped join the asparagus and mushroom together better.

If you count the amuse bouches and petit fours, there were at least seven courses all up, all of it very tasty!

The most interesting wine we had for this dinner was a white Châteauneuf du Pape (Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Les Cèdres 2014). Most people who think about Châteauneuf du Pape recall the red wine, and given that 95% of this coveted appellation is red, you could be forgiven. However, the rarer white grapes, in this case Grenache blanc and Clairette, make a beautiful and often complex wine, typically with good acidity and notes of white flowers, stone fruit and citrus.