To celebrate the launch of Veuve Clicquot’s La Grande Dame 2015 in South Africa, the Champagne house hosted an exclusive lunch at Chefs Warehouse at Maison in Franschhoek. Co-owner David Schneider and Head Chef Xavier Francis developed a once-off menu for the occasion to pair with the remarkable vintage. Taking inspiration from La Grande Dame and Veuve Clicquot’s ‘Garden Gastronomy’ concept, the theme reflects the unique rhythm of the seasons and an authentic sense of place. The elegant simplicity of the ingredients used accentuates the complexity of La Grande Dame 2015 cuvée, composed from Veuve Clicquot’s historical Grand Crus vineyards. Chefs David Schneider (DS) and Xavier Francis (XF) share how they drew inspiration from the gastronomy of the great outdoors — the garden, land, and sea — to create the perfect menu to accentuate the champagne.
As the global launch for La Grande Dame 2015 called on participating chefs to interpret their vision of ‘Garden Gastronomy’ to create a menu, what does “Garden Gastronomy” mean to you?
DS: Garden Gastronomy, to me, is not to be taken too literally. It’s about being seasonal and in touch with what’s happening right now. This culinary philosophy is about celebrating the freshest ingredients, harvested at their peak to create dishes that resonate with nature’s vibrancy, authenticity, and simplicity. It complements the complex qualities of Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015, while evoking textures, crispness, and freshness in every bite. The concept of Garden Gastronomy reminds us to allow the natural beauty of the produce to shine. As chefs, we just put it together in a meaningful way. It’s our duty to honour the produce and showcase the best of it. It keeps us in check and true to our craft.
What produce especially inspires you? What techniques do you employ to highlight the natural essence of the vegetables and other ingredients in your cooking?
DS: I love cooking to season, and I love the bounty of certain times of the year. I enjoy working with ingredients like asparagus, figs, and Jerusalem artichokes. We now also have beautiful local truffles coming up, sourced from Anthonij Rupert’s wine estate in Franschhoek. The idea was to merge the sophistication of La Grande Dame 2015 cuvée with the finest, simple ingredients, creating a harmonious culinary experience. We approached this menu with a focus on local, seasonal produce while allowing a touch of indulgence.
XF: I’m a Durban boy, so two things close to my heart are seafood and vegetables. Winter vegetables are my favourite, like Jerusalem artichokes and celeriac. It’s hyper-seasonal as there’s not a long window in the year that we can get our hands on them. For La Grande Dame 2015, we dedicated an entire course to Jerusalem artichokes. Similarly, we incorporated five dishes inspired by the sea, finishing with Seaweed-Baked Linefish, Smoked Bone Broth, Fennel and Spekboom straight from the garden.
When you’re thinking about a menu to pair with La Grande Dame 2015, what comes to mind? Do you pick out flavours and aromas of the wine and use them as a starting point for a menu?
DS: Normally when we create a wine-paired menu, we introduce a new wine per course, so it’s quite a challenge to pair an entire menu with just one wine, let alone such a structured vintage champagne. Ultimately, it’s about how to get the best out of the grape. Similarly, with ingredients like Jerusalem artichoke, it’s about getting the best out of them while ensuring they’re paired properly. La Grande Dame2015is a very light, clean champagne. To complement this, we’ve kept our dishes simple – no heavy chili, no sweetness. Naturally, we lean towards our seafood which makes up almost the entire first course. We have Saldanha Bay Oysters with Passionfruit Dressing and Radish, Smoked Snoek with Cabbage, Cultured Cream and Chives, a Yellowtail Ceviche with Lime, Sweet Potato and Corn, and finally, Snow Crab served with Achiote and Butternut. Whenever I have champagne, I tend towards bite-sized dishes over a substantial meal, so we’ve created an elevated menu intended to be shared.
XF: As David said, the aromas of La Grande Dame 2015 are soft and simple, so our dishes needed to be soft and simple too. We take a lot of time and pride in preparing our dishes, like sous-vide fish, wrapping something in kombu, and ageing our duck for a week before we get them to the table. So, while the ingredients may be simple, we use considered techniques to extract the very best out of them.
How do you balance the flavours and textures of the dishes to ensure they harmonise with the complexity of La Grande Dame 2015?
DS: Each dish brings something to the table in terms of distinct tasting notes, creating a well-rounded flavour profile rather than overwhelming a single dish. The goal is to blend fresh, seasonal produce with a touch of indulgence to elevate simple ingredients and create a memorable dining experience. It’s important not to let one dish try to balance all the complexities of the cuvée. Instead, each dish should spotlight an aspect of the champagne, so they all work in tandem.
For those looking to recreate a similar experience at home, what advice would you offer in terms of ingredient selection and flavour pairings?
XF: It’s not about complexity, it’s about flavour. The most important thing is the quality of produce and seasoning. Honestly, if you get those two things right, you don’t need much more than that. If you have a lovely Jerusalem artichoke, roast it in a pan with butter and season it properly, then you’ve got yourself a delicious dish that would pair perfectly with La Grande Dame 2015. The more steps and layers you add to your dishes, the more complex it becomes. Whatever your dish is, you want the dominant flavour to be the star. That’s the best advice I can offer, pick your star, and everything else that goes around it should work harmoniously with it.
