Mountain Gourmet Ski Experience: four chefs, 12 Michelin stars and two Gourmet Dinners
Following the success of the Mountain Gourmet Ski Experience last January, the 2016 event sees Clare Smyth join the culinary wizards Heston Blumenthal, Marcus Wareing and Sat Bains in the Italian resort of Courmayeur to lead guests on another tantalising gourmet adventure. This very special epicurean journey will unveil Clare’s unique menu championing imaginative and inspired dishes.
The Momentum Ski event, in the very heart of the Alps, will return on January 8 – 11, 2016. Heston, renowned for his multi-sensory approach to cooking, heads up the event, which will lift off from his Perfectionists’ Café in Terminal 2 at Heathrow.
Around 60 guests will then converge in Courmayeur for three whole days of indulging in fabulous food and drink – including one rustic and one gourmet dinner on the mountain, served up by Marcus, Sat and Clare. Guests will arrive in Courmayeur with a welcome reception celebrating the mountains and Aosta Valley feasting at the luxury five-star Grand Hotel Royal and Golf, where guests will stay over the course of their gourmet weekend.
The opening night promises to be a tempting, tongue-tingling celebratory journey around the Italian peninsula with a focus on the host region, the Aosta Valley. The second night will showcase Sat’s creative use of the local Alpine ingredients, Clare’s new twist and Marcus’s style of Knightsbridge to the Alps, while the grand finale at Maison Vieille – only accessible by snowmobile – will see guests enjoying rustic cusine at its most gourmet and partying at the top of the mountain. The entire event will take guests on a culinary journey to dishes they’ve never experienced before. There will be a stunning seven course tasting menu at the gourmet evening where each of Sat’s, Marcus’s and Clare’s team will prepare two canapes and two tantalizing courses with a special pasta course prepared by the Chaumiere kitchen.
The fun lasts right to the end with two full days of skiing with dedicated therapists from Physio Remedies available at the hotel and still time for some morning skiing on the Monday morning or dogsledding in the Aosta Valley. And, if that isn’t enough to whet everyone’s appetite, guests can enjoy fresh mountain air with experiencing the new Skyway Monte Bianco on Courmayeur’s slopes, all under the watchful eye of the towering peaks of Mont Blanc.
Heston, Marcus, Clare and Sat are, of course, kitchen luminaries: four of the most exciting and innovative names in modern cooking, and boasting some of the most prestigious accolades and awards in the industry.
All four promise to top the success of last year with even more magical culinary conjuring that showcases their exquisite talents – and the fabulous regional cuisine. Their menus will pay homage to Italy and the Aosta Valley whilst celebrating the chefs individual award winning approach.
The cosy and welcoming Alpine restaurants of Courmayeur will provide the perfect backdrop to the three-day feast, guaranteeing that every detail, Including lunches prepared by the host venues with menus and selected by the chefs will be a sensory delight.
All restaurants are accessible by foot, cable car and snowmobile so people can bring non skiing partners and friends who can just enjoy great food and company as well as the resort.
Heston Blumenthal said “This year I have invited another chef friend to balance the male/female ratio of this event and we are looking forward to delighting our guests palates. I think what is unique is the collaboration and the joint menu of three incredible chefs. Courmayeur quickly became one of my favourite ski haunts as it offers such amazing hospitality in its mountain restaurants: big plates of regional antipasti, bowls of homemade pasta, great wines and grappa. I realised it was my perfect holiday. Last year I invited a few chef friends to join me and now they too have the same ski fever. We are back again for Mountain Gourmet Ski Experience three. It is such a chilled out, friendly event and I’m really looking forward to catching up with some of the guests from last year and meeting some new faces”.
Prices start from £3,850 per person based on two sharing a deluxe room for 3 nights on B&B at the 5* Hotel Royal e Golf in Courmayeur with scheduled economy flight with Swiss International Airlines from London Heathrow AND in addition: Heston’s breakfast at his restaurant The Perfectionists’ Café in Terminal 2; return shared minivan transfers; 3 day ski pass, 2 half days ski guiding or instruction; First night gala evening at the hotel with Michelin star chef Maura Gosio and Heston, Sat, Clare and Marcus joining guests for dinner; second night gourmet dinner at La Chaumiere mountain restaurant by Sat, Clare and Marcus and last night rustic dinner at the Rifugio Maison Vieille on the mountain cooked by Sat, Clare and Marcus with transport by cable care and snowmobile followed by a party with the legendary live Samniax; wine is served with all three dinners.
For more information call Jessica at Momentum Ski on 020 7371 9111 or visit www.momentumski.com
