I have been tasked with plating a Michelin-level dish. Luckily, this particular example of chicken liver parfait sandwiched between spiced cookies at Published on Main will be eaten only by yours truly. Also in my favour: the hard part has been done by chef—my role is the addition of rosehip purée and pickled and fresh rose petals.
My version may not be as beautiful as the signature dish served by executive chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, but I’m not embarrassed by the result. And it was a smart decision on his part to bring me up close and personal with the floral garnish—its aroma, texture, and taste.
Edible flowers are this year’s Krug Ambassade challenge. The champagne house’s ambassade designation is currently bestowed on only 211 restaurants globally, of which Published is one of only two in Canada (the other being Montreal’s Jatoba). In the annual challenge, the house chooses a single ingredient, which must be featured in a dish that pairs with a specific edition of either Krug Grande Cuvée or Krug Rosé, the champagne itself to be offered by the glass for one week only.
Photo by Patrick Hinton.
For their floral pairing, Stieffenhofer-Brandson and wine director Jayton Paul chose the Krug Rosé 27ème Édition. Paul says he was excited to have the opportunity to pour this rosé by the glass, something he says is rarely done.
“When we started thinking about the dishes, the chicken liver has been something that’s been a staple for quite some time,” he notes. “And it has this amazing floral character.”
The dish calls for wild Nootka roses, something they knew would be in season and available to harvest and preserve.
Photo by Patrick Hinton.
“I started tasting a couple of sparkling wines and different champagnes that weren’t Krug just to see, to kind of calibrate what would work,” Paul explains. “But the intensity, the concentration, the lively vivacious quality of the 27 edition rosé was enough to cut the fat of the chicken liver and the butter.”
(There’s a lot of butter. Krug has compiled all the floral recipes in a commemorative book, and Stieffenhofer-Brandson’s recipe calls for 454 grams of butter to 500 grams of chicken livers.)
Photo by Patrick Hinton.
“Those beautiful baking spice aromatics in the spekulatius cookies for me really highlighted a little bit more the toasty qualities of the rosé,” Paul adds. “Texturally it made sense, because the acidity and the concentration and weight of the rosé holds up to the dish and washes your palate clean, which enables you to go back for more—and a number of the aromatics are mimicked in the dish.”
Krug’s Grande Cuvée is always of interest to champagne lovers excited to taste the annual house blend of the best grapes and vintages cellar master Julie Cavil can find. The 171ème Édition being offered during Krug Week to accompany the restaurant’s caviar service is made with 131 different wines from 12 different years. This is blending as a work of art, or a symphony.
Paul agrees: “It’s the best of everything for Grande Cuvée.”
Krug Week at Published on Main runs from September 13-22. Read more food and drink stories.
