The Rouxs trick diners into drinking English fizz

Chapel Down’s latest publicity stunt involved famed chefs Michel Roux Jr. and Emily Roux secretly serving English sparkling wine to their guests.

While an unashamed Francophile, Michel Roux Jr. has long been known as a supporter of English fizz, with sparkling wine from East Sussex’s Rathfinny Estate having featured on the list of his now-closed restaurant Le Gavroche.

The stunt, which took place at Caractère in Notting Hill, the restaurant where his daughter Emily is at the helm, was to promote Kent-based producer Chapel Down, despite Caractère having a reputation for only serving French and Italian wines.

Guests were told that they were attending an event to launch new cuvées, which were served alongside a classic Gallic menu – what was not revealed was the provenance of the wines.

To start, Chapel Down Brut was served alongside canapés such as pork rillette and pea tartelette. A main of roast Cornish cod with beurre blanc was complemented with Kit’s Coty Blanc de Blancs 2019. Dessert involved Chapel Down Rosé being poured to go with a dish of violette de sollies fig mille-feuille.

The guests were then asked to name which producer they thought had made the wines, with names such as Bollinger and Taittinger being shouted out before the answer, from somewhat closer to home, was revealed.

According to Chapel Down, the diners were unanimously pleased with the pairings, with 58% saying that they preferred Chapel Down to Champagne, and the remaining 42% claiming Chapel Down to be on a par.

Michel Roux Jr., who recently opened Chez Roux, an eatery at The Langham inspired by his childhood in Kent, said: “As someone who grew up in Kent, I’ve always been incredibly proud of the region and its craftsmanship. Chapel Down is a shining example of this, producing exceptional wines that I have served in my restaurants for many years. Today’s event was a wonderful opportunity to challenge people’s expectations and introduce them to the amazing quality of Chapel Down, which truly deserves its place alongside the very best.”

The Kit’s Coty Blanc de Blancs has now been added to the wine list at Caractère.

The stunt itself is very similar to Chapel Down’s 2023 effort, which saw it serve its wines to unwitting locals in Champagne alongside their local sparkling wine – that particular campaign supposedly resulted in 60% of those who took part in the tasting saying that they preferred Chapel Down, which was labelled as Chapelle en Bas to disguise its English origin.

However, marketing campaigns aside, Chapel Down is struggling at present, with the AIM-listed producer’s recent financial results revealing plummeting profits. CEO Andrew Carter is also due to leave the company next year to take the helm of Yorkshire brewery Timothy Taylor’s.

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