An evening with Piedmont: six wines, one table

A table for twenty

Once a season we set one long table in the dining room and cook for twenty guests. This autumn the theme is Piedmont, from a light Dolcetto to a patient Barolo.

Elena introduces each glass, with a few words on the grower and the vintage. Dishes are cooked to match, not the other way round.

Piedmont is a region of small hills and long memories. Almost every producer on the list has farmed the same slopes for generations, and many still harvest by hand. The wines are a way of tasting that patience, and each bottle says a great deal about where it comes from.

Places are limited and released on the first of each month. Write to us or call the restaurant and we will hold a seat.

The growers

Each wine comes from a family estate that Elena has visited more than once. Most are within sight of one another, in hills that have been planted with vines for centuries.

Two of the growers will join us for the evening. They will pour, answer questions and, if the mood is right, tell the story of the bad harvest that changed their approach.

The long table, laid the afternoon before.

On the night itself the dining room is rearranged. The tables are pushed together, the lights are lowered and the usual menu cards are replaced by a single sheet, handwritten by the chef. Guests are seated beside strangers, and by the third glass the room is usually one conversation.

The dishes are cooked to follow the wines, beginning with a cold plate of raw veal and anchovy, then a hand-cut tajarin, then a braise that has been cooking since early morning.

The first glass, a young Dolcetto.

The decanter, ready for the Barolo.

The kitchen works backwards from the wines. Matteo tastes each bottle in the afternoon, makes notes on its weight and acidity, and adjusts the seasoning of the dish to match. A sauce might be a touch sharper, a garnish a touch bitter, so that wine and food meet halfway.

Each course arrives only when the table is ready for it. Glasses are refilled sparingly, and water is always on the table. We would like the evening to be unhurried.

We keep the evening unhurried on purpose. Each course is served only when the table is ready for it, and conversation is allowed to wander. People often stay long after the last plate has gone, which is, in the end, the best compliment the kitchen can receive.

Places are released on the first of each month and fill quickly. Write to us or call the restaurant, and we will hold a seat for you.

A seat held for a regular guest.

We hope to see you at the long table.