With a wicked grin, Monsieur Krug clasped the sledgehammer firmly in both hands and led his audience away from their meal. Their fate would lie beyond an indiscriminate looking brick wall…
Fear not, the finale to this Krug spectacular was not a Bret Easton Ellis inspired blood bath, although the stark warehouse-style venue, smart suits and said sledgehammer could easily have served as ingredients for a scene from American Psycho. The final chapter to this event, provocatively entitled in the menu as ‘Demolition’, involved Olivier Krug smashing his way through a chocolate brick wall, revealing a building site made entirely of candy, sweets and chocolate, lots of chocolate.
In Grande Cuvee, Krug have over the decades crafted one of the world’s most singular wines, in recent years however they can also happily boast the world’s most singular wine dinners. Last year’s ‘Krug Room with a View’ event really pushed the boundaries with what one can create with champagne and food. That special and unqiue night would take some topping.
This year’s follow up event; ‘The Krug Room (Echoes)’, was shrouded in mystery. We knew the Champagnes being poured on the night, the Chef and we knew the venue - but that was it. Of course we speculated at length on what the theme or concept might be. Something to do with sound perhaps? A cheeky repeat (echo, get it) of last year’s event? What transpired on the night was nothing short of mind-blowing. In Krug’s own words:
‘Welcome to the Krug Room (Echoes). This evening, you are gong to embark on a culinary symphony of the senses in this unusual setting. Your five senses of sight, sound, smell, touch - and, of course, taste – will be heightened not only by Chef Uwe Opocensky and his team’s seven-course opus of gastronomic innovation, but also by members of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, who will perform pieces that have been selected to pair audibly with the rich complexities of the most prestigious cuvees from the House of Krug. To add to this sensory feast, we also have a light installation by French artist Laurent Segretier, who gives us his interpretation of a visual and metaphorical echo, specially created for Krug.’
To be honest though, words rarely do the world of Krug justice such is the imagination, flair and execution with which they do things. Their events are on such a different level and so far beyond what anyone else is doing that it will take a while for the relevant superlatives to catch up. Thus, I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Bravo and thank you to Olivier Krug, Uwe Opocensky and their respective teams. This was another unforgettable occasion.