High Notes and Haute Cuisine

Executive Chef and Maître Rôtisseur Amador Parada composed the dinner as a sequence of robust flavours and carefully judged pairings. Pâté en croûte brought together ham hock, duck breast, confit and liver with pork loin, plum chutney and chicory, matched with Louis Jadot Fleurie, Château des Jacques 2023. Monkfish followed with celeriac compote, samphire, roasted fish jus and sea herbs, refreshed by Giovanni Almondo Bricco delle Ciliegie Roero Arneis 2024.

The main course placed venison loin beside truffled potato gratin, sand carrot and Burgundy jus. Antinori’s Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2021 supplied depth and structure. A trio of Stilton, queso Manchego and Rosary goat’s cheese then met the powerful Don Maximiano Estate Kai Carménère 2021 from Chile’s Aconcagua Valley.

Dessert brought a suitably dramatic close: opera cake with caramelised and vanilla ice cream, partnered by Zuccardi Malamado from the Uco Valley. Yet the evening’s theatre was not confined to the plate. The Three Waiters, professional singers disguised among the service team, transformed dinner into a surprise operatic performance. Soon, members were heartily joining familiar classics, filling the room with warmth and laughter.

Amid the celebration, the Chaîne’s traditional raffle raised support for its nominated charity, The Clink. The gesture gave an evening of refinement a generous purpose. Combining precise cooking, expressive wines and spirited camaraderie, the gala captured the Chaîne at its best: honouring culinary craft while creating memories around the table.