I was one of the few epicurean bloggers and journalists in Montreal invited to experience the Bombay Sapphire Collins event last Tuesday at the upstairs meeting room of Le Local. It was a fun, intimate evening developed around cocktail, food and entertaining. The night seems tailored for At Home with Kim Vallee.
As a bonus, my husband Jerome is my official photographer at events. Jerome was delighted to help me out since he is always on the lookout to expand his bartender skills. On top of that, Bombay Sapphire is his favorite gin.
We got the chance to meet and chat with Merlin Griffiths, the renowned mixologist who is the global brand ambassador of Bombay Sapphire. He came from the United Kingdom for a Canadian tour. During the evening, Merlin demonstrated how to prepare 4 easy drinks; each one is perfect for when you have guests over. The cocktail recipes contain 4 ingredients each. And the best of all is the fact that these recipes take almost no time to make. Merlin is knowledgeable and passionate about what he does. He is funny and a great entertainer. Later when we chatted with him, Merlin gave my husband cool tricks. He helped him refine his green tea martini recipe.
In each city, Bombay Sapphire teamed up with a local Chef to pair appetizers with their drink recipes. You may have noticed that cocktails and food pairing for an entire meal is in vogue. We had the chance to learn how to make and taste 3 appetizers prepared by the popular young Chef Louis-François Marcotte of Le Local. I will publish the recipes of the cocktails with the harmonizing appetizers next Wednesday on my Gastronomic column.
Jerome took beautiful pictures. I had a hard time limiting the number of pictures when I produced my photo montages. The glittered Bombay Sapphire bottle, used for displays and photos, is made with Swarovski Crystals. It is gorgeously crafted.
We received a swag bag with everything except the shaker and the Tonic water to prepare a Sapphire Tom Collins at home. After we prepared our Sapphire Collins with the gears in front of us, everyone was thrilled to know that a cool lemon squeezer will be given to us. It is perfect for making drinks since you can put it on top of your glass and no pits will fall on the glass. Inside a luxurious pocket file, we found all the recipes discussed during the evening. Like I said, I will publish the recipes with photos next Wednesday.
We sat next to Carrie, Jennie and Eric of Zurbaines.com, Jenny Harrisson of Culinary Escapade. Amongst the attendees I met that night, I have a nice chat with the 2 guys behind Eat Well Montreal.
On a final note, I wish to compliment the organizing team. I am giving you my seal of approval when it comes to the set up, the activities, the swag bag and the overall party program. Putting an attention to details pays off. To be fair, I want to mention that it is not the first year that Bombay Sapphire with their agencies in Canada organizes this event. I am looking forward to next year’s event.
Update: See more photos of the evening on the dedicated album on my Fan page in Facebook.
MORE:
+ Bombay Sapphire
+ Le Local – get directions p (514) 397-7737
740 William Street, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3C 1P1
+ Simple et chic – a cookbook by Jean-Francois Marcotte $39.95 CAD at Amazon
How to do the Flaming Orange Zest and the Sapphire Cosmopolitan | At Home with Kim Vallee
May 9, 2009 at 17:49[…] first cocktail recipe. This is the most complicated cocktail recipe that was demonstrated at the Bombay Sapphire event. The difficulty comes from its garnish. It is easy to do once you know how. This bartender’s […]
Jerome Paradis
May 9, 2009 at 17:58It was one of the better event I have ever attended!
The hosts, Merlin and Jean-François were captivating and interesting. The decor was very nice and the intimacy of the event assured everyone access to the hosts. The do-it-yourself kits were fun and the duration of the event was perfect.
Chef Deck
May 9, 2009 at 18:28Hi Kim,
It was great meeting you at the event and I appreciate the link. Great images and writeup, you captured the mood very well. I agree with you Chef Louis-François Marcotte’s Rouleau de prosciutto et tomates were great and everyone should be making some this summer. I know I will
Chef Deck
May 9, 2009 at 18:29ps I would love to know how you got the twitter ID field in the comment box.
At Home with Kim Vallee
May 10, 2009 at 00:31I use the WP Twitip ID plugin. Depending on your template, you may need to tweak the formatting.
Sophie Labelle
May 11, 2009 at 09:48I’m glad you had a great night with us at the Bombay Sapphire event! As a blogger myself, it was also really nice to meet you and the other bloggers in person. We’ll definately be back next year, with another interesting concept!