La Paulée des Champs - Troisgros
Daniel Johnnes
June 8, 2023
The La Paulée team is just back from France where we had an extremely busy month of May.
We took on a divide and conquer mentality.
Raj and Matt Conway started the month with a scouting trip to the northern Rhone in preparation for the upcoming La Tablée, this December 2nd. I then flew over to meet Edouard and Jaime in Bordeaux where we were riding for the Bike to Care organization raising funds for mentorship in hospitality. Our team raised over $28,000 for Sommelier Scholarship Fund. Edouard then guided a few of our Pressoir travel clients to the Rhone for 4 days and another group to Burgundy and Champagne.
In spite of all the planning and activation of those commitments we were able to produce one of our most memorable events ever.
At the end of a trip to Burgundy last May, Jaime and I were sitting in the kitchen at Troisgros with Michel and Marie-Pierre. Almost out of nowhere, they asked how we would feel about collaborating with them to create a Paulée type event at their home restaurant in Ouches, France near Roanne. It didn’t take long to answer that question so off we went back to the US to start planning.
The first question Michel asked was, “which winemakers should we invite”? My answer was easy and immediate: Dominique Lafon, Jean-Marc Roulot, Véronique Drouhin, Frédéric and Chantal Lafarge, Marie-Andrée and Marie Christine Mugneret and Christophe Roumier. Michel’s response was equally easy and immediate: “me too”! Each winemaker quickly jumped on board this ship and we collectively started the planning process.
We have been hosting La Paulée for close to 25 years but - something about collaborating with the Troisgros family, who have been awarded three Michelin Stars for 55 years - the stakes took on another proportion. Fear was not one of the emotions. Quite the contrary. The challenge of raising the bar and performing on the same stage as a family with 4 generations of the best culinary talent in France was exilarating for all of us.
The winemakers put their best foot forward by offering their top appellations from great vintages. The reaction by our clients to the announcement was swift and furious and the Paulée team was energized.
The months go by and in between all the other projects of the month we celebrated this petite Paulée like never before, with perfect spring weather, a bike ride from Beaune to Ouches with Christophe Roumier and Edouard Bourgeois and two days of feasting and celebrating the pinnacle of Burgundy: cuisine et vin.
The attached photos will tell the story much better than words. We can only hope to do it again so stay tuned!!!
