Entente cordiale
Pascal Barbot is a young award-winning chef in Paris who wasn’t too familiar with whisky before Glenfiddich challenged him.Martine Nouet reports
In quite a short time, pairing whisky and food has gone from the status of an anorak oddity to that of a challenging entertainment for all kinds of whisky lovers.
I remember when I started working on my whisky dinners some eight years ago, I had to struggle hard to convince marketing teams that proposing their 18 year old single malt with beef casserole (or worse, teasing the dish with the dram) would not affect its aura but highlight its aromatic profile.
I remember the incredulous smiles which seemed to say : “Crazy idea. Well, she is French... no wonder.” How things change.
Glenfiddich recently put quite a challenge to Pascal Barbot, chef of l’Astrance in Paris, one of the most respected addresses in Gourmet Paris at the moment. The game was to find a matching for each malt in the company’s range and thus compose a whisky menu.
Far better than a mere exercice de style, the two Michelin star chef has performed some of the most pertinent and natural pairings I have ever experienced.
Rather than giving recipes, most often too professional to be reproduced by amateurs, Pascal Barbot agreed to ‘revisit’ his creations for Whisky Magazine readers and give easy tips which will enable them to experiment these exquisite alliances.
So put on your apron and take up the challenge.
Glenfiddich Special Reserve 12 year old cocktail.
Acomplete innovation, the Glenfiddich was first diluted to 25 per cent, ‘sparkled’, then enriched with a dash of a liquid bitter orang.....
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By Martine Nouet
Section : Whisky and Food
Page number : 44
