Top Prize!

At Laithwaites Wine, we positively encourage members of staff from any area of the business, wine knowledgeable or not, to come and lend a hand at our events. We believe it makes our events unique and more authentic – it’s also vitally important for staff to feel connected to and to better understand our customer. For those on our extensive in-house wine education courses, it is a great opportunity to share the pleasure of what is being learned.

To reward our volunteers from the first six months of the year, we held a prize draw for a place at dinner at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons to one lucky winner - the more events you worked, the more entries in the draw. Here is a guest blog from our winner, Christian, who has helped at five events already this year, on his dinner prize:

“Le Manoir is Raymond Blanc’s stylish hotel and restaurant, situated amongst beautifully maintained grounds in Oxfordshire.

The restaurant at Le Manoir has two Michelin stars. I have no idea what you need to do to get three, but any restaurant that gains that status must prepare food that is almost celestial in quality. Being a fussy eater, I plumped for the vegetarian option, foregoing three of the most indulgent courses in the form of foie gras, lobster and angus beef steak, for a salad of compressed vanilla peaches, roasted red pepper with aubergine baba ganoush (note: Baba Ganoush is not, as I thought, a boxer) and roasted baby beetroots. All of the vegetables were grown on the estate’s two-acre kitchen garden and were harvested that day. There were three more courses plus canapés and to finish, coffee and petit fours. It was, to coin a phrase, a dinner fit for a King. A vegetarian one at least.

The dining room was resplendent, with it and all of the guests, draped in their very best finery. It looked as I imagine the final meal on-board the Titanic might have looked, but in contrast our evening was a triumph, without an iceberg in sight. Not even a lettuce. The evening was expertly hosted by our Events Manager, Ian Dunn. Before each course, Ian gave a brief description of the wines we were being served. Each one was a perfect match for the food. Laithwaite Grand Cru Vintage Champagne and elegant canapés, delicate Vermentino and ricotta ravioli, silky Pinot Noir from Central Otago with goat’s cheese and spiced cherries. My dessert was an exotic fruit raviole with coconut ice cream, matched with Botrytis Reserve Semillon from Australia. Oh, how the other half live!

All of this made for a fun atmosphere. Guests had travelled from far and wide to be there. The three friendly couples that dined on my table had come from Cornwall, Malvern and West Sussex. Despite meeting for the first time, the conversation was easy and relaxed. For many of the guests, the evening is a trip they make every year, but for me it was a very special treat, one that I feel very fortunate and grateful to have experienced. Should you ever get the opportunity to attend, I highly recommend it. All of our tasting events are fun and relaxed, but Le Manoir is truly unique.” Christian.

It was a great evening - lovely customers, attentive staff, exquisite food & wine. If this has inspired you to come along to one of our dinners, you’ll be pleased to learn that we are back at Le Manoir on Tuesday 15th November for a sumptuous seven-course menu gourmand or you can go for our lighter three-course Summer paella supper at Forbury’s in Reading on Tuesday 26th July.

Look forward to seeing you,

Ian

laithwaites.co.uk/events