300’S COMPANY

Audrey Hepburn might have quipped that “Paris is always a good idea” but, when you’re in the romantic City of Lights at the invitation of one of France’s most noble cognac houses, you can be sure the idée is nothing short of incroyable. Turning 300 years old is a landmark event. Not just for Martell, but for France as well. Certainly its oldest cognac house, the brand also stands for the many fine qualities associated with the country: heritage, innovation, quality, tradition and, above all, a steadfast dedication to the best pleasures life can offer. It is in this light the house of Martell fêted a great number of its friends and supporters – from international media to longstanding clients – to a journey to France; encompassing bespoke experiences around the city of Paris, a visit to its sister champagne house of Mumm and, the highlight of the three-day 360° experience, a gala dinner held at the legendary palace of Versailles.

DAY 1
Upon arrival at the renowned Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris, our Avenue Hoche base for the next three days, we were welcomed with classic French staples for petit dejeuner – café au lait and freshly baked viennoiseries like the famous Breton cake of Kouign-amman, the Bordelaise canelé and pain au chocolat by the renowned Pierre Hermé, dubbed the ‘Picasso of Pastry’ by French Vogue. After a short rest in the Philippe Starck-designed bedrooms or quick massage at the in-house Clarins Spa, we were whisked off to the Hexagone Restaurant for lunch. Helmed by Mathieu Pacaud, the 33-year-old culinary wunderkind whose father, Bernard, is the man behind the three Michelin-starred L’Ambroisie, we were treated to some of the younger Pacaud’s finest interpretations of contemporary French cuisine, like eggs blanc manger with pea cappuccino and poulet de Bresse with morels.

And, just as one eats, one must also drink. Up next was a rare treat of a mixology session with the Plaza Athénée hotel’s legendary Director of Bars, Thierry Hernandez, who has consistently kept the palates of the hotel’s cosseted guests purring with pleasure. At the Bar du Plaza’s spectacular Patrick Jouin-designed bar, handmade from a single piece of clear resin, we were coached by Hernandez on how to prepare The Independent – a special creation in honour of Martell’s tricentenaire. Paying particular tribute to Frédéric Martell, the son of Jean Martell and Rachel Lallemand, who succeeded his mother as the leader of the company, Hernandez shared: “I wanted a cocktail that captures the spirit of the terroir and, yet, with a touch of cedar to evoke the cognac’s requisite oak barrels. I enjoyed creating this cocktail as I feel the Plaza Athénée and Martell share the same DNA, in that we combine tradition as well as innovation. We also use only the best ingredients in whatever we serve here at the Bar du Plaza and, naturally, Martell is the best cognac of choice.”

Truly, none of the senses were forgotten. A visit to the Opera Garnier ensued, where a behind-the-scenes experience was arranged – the rarest of treats allowed only for a select few – affording us privileged peeks into a magical world where layers of tulle transformed dancers into sprite-like sylphs nightly. We visited the sewing ateliers on the fourth level, pretty much unchanged since 1860, to see where all the ballet costumes are made; as well as the particularly ornate and sumptuous dance foyer hidden behind the stage, adorned with paintings of 17th to 19th century ballerinas; and viewed the theatre’s magnificent ceiling, created by Marc Chagall in 1964 upon the bold and spectacular commission, four years earlier, by André Malraux, the then-Minister of Cultural Affairs. This was a particular highlight for me, having the time and relative solitude to take in the artist’s surrealist dream juxtaposed within Garnier’s jewel box of a theatre. I adored how the artist evoked significant works by celebrated composers into the painting, including Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Stravinsky’s The Firebird and Moussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. It was said that Chagall refused payment for his massive work, comprising 12 canvas panels surrounding a round central one, and totalling 240 sq m.

DAY 2
Continuing the stellar celebration, déjeuner for the day was at Apicius, Jean-Pierre Vigato’s famous Michelin-starred establishment, housed in a 19th-century hôtel particulier in Paris’ 8th Arrondissement, coddled amidst beautiful gardens, just behind the Champs-Elysées. It has been said that beauty doyenne Helena Rubenstein once lived here, before ownership passed to the film director, Luc Besson. Today, it is a place of pilgrimage for gourmets, who come to experience Vigato’s elegant take on cuisine bourgeois. And, indeed, as we sat down to lunch, fuelled by flutes of Mumm Blanc de Blancs champagne, it proved to be one to remember: wok-fried spider crab in its own emulsion, langoustines prepared three-ways, suckling lamb loin from Corréze in the Dordogne region and a variation of caramels for dessert, paired with Martell Cordon Bleu.

After, yet another spectacular experience awaited. We were taken to a secret location along Rue Fortuny in the 17th Arrondissement, where we participated in a macaron masterclass by none other than Maison Pierre Hermé, the most acclaimed name for the French confection. Here, we were welcomed by Christophe Pienkowski, Martell’s Brand Ambassador, who announced: “We are about to celebrate the marriage between the world’s most elegant cognac and its finest macarons. It will be a unique experience that celebrates the French art de vivre.” Indeed, echoing the Chagall experience at the Opera Garnier, it did feel a little surreal as, watched over by two of M Hermé’s pâtissiers, we experienced creating the confections firsthand in Hermé’s private workshop. “Of course, this place is not normally open to the public,” pointed out Pienkowski. “But today is different. It is open to celebrate Martell’s birthday.” Smelling of chocolate and butter, we then adjourned to the lounge and terrace, where a magnificent spread of Pierre Hermé’s best was laid out, which we enjoyed with more Martell Cordon Bleu, so we could detect and savour the nuances in the assortment of confections, mirroring the cognac’s own rounded flavours and distinctive notes of chocolate, vanilla, roasted nuts, citrus peel and flowers.

The evening, however, proved to be the apex of the itinerary. Commandeering the entirety of the Palace of Versailles for a glittering gala dinner that would see over 300 VIP guests from 15 countries in attendance, one thing was instantly evident: Martell was indeed the maître of l’art de vivre. How fitting then that this imposing architectural symbol of power and beauty would be the setting for Martell’s tricentenaire. After all, few places in the world can match Versailles’ sheer magnificence, from the gardens crafted by the legendary Le Nôtre to its incomparable Hall of Mirrors, which, it was reputed, Catherine the Great wanted to replicate in her Summer Palace in Saint Petersburg. Versailles, in its elegant entirety, would indeed go on to inspire and be the ideal for Europe’s other grand palaces, including Frederick the Great’s Sans Souci in Potsdam.

After a private tour, guests adjourned to the beautiful gardens where a spectacular flypast, performed by the world-renowned Patrouille de France, which, according to rumour, necessitated the partial closure of Orly Airport for the occasion, set expectations soaring for the rest of the evening. Sitting down to dinner amidst the vastness of Versailles’ l’Orangerie, guests then embarked on a gustatory voyage with Paul Pairet, the extraordinary talent behind Shanghai’s Ultraviolet and Mr & Mrs Bund, who had been flown in for the occasion. Famed for his signature multi-sensory approach to dining, the Perpignan-born chef, accustomed to cooking for only 10 pax at Ultraviolet each night, certainly rose to the occasion for Martell, as he conjured up a  seven-course banquet for the heaving hall of guests, aided by Potel et Chabot, widely acknowledged as France’s best caterers since 1820. The menu, crafted to Pairet’s signature ideals of ‘psycho-taste’ – which aims to engage psychology and emotion via sight, sound and smell when dining – unfurled with a pique-nique in Jersey, inviting guests to assemble their own lobster rolls, before moving on to a marine-inspired seaweed, oyster and scallop melba. The spirit of Cognac was also invoked in Vineyard, Barrels and Alembic – a dish starring chicken, cleverly presented in a jar – as well as the zingy Martell’s Library dessert, which paired an innovative lemon tart with the nec plus ultra Martell Premier Voyage, a new limited edition blend containing 18 eaux-de-vie from Martell’s cellars, aged in barrels made from the oak of a 300-year-old tree. Only 300 bottles of this exceptionally limited-edition blend have been made and, priced at EUR10,000, undoubtedly was a digestif  worthy of the occasion. In the words of Benoît Fil, Martell’s Cellar Master and creator of the cognac, the Premier Voyage, named in honour of founder Jean Martell’s journey and history, “truly captures three centuries of Martell turning cognac into art”. Following dinner, guests were invited into the gardens once more to witness a marvellous fireworks display, illuminating the night sky in a manner which the Sun King himself would have heartily approved.

DAY 3
After the lavish high of the tercentenary gala, the house of Martell must have supposed it would have been too drastic a plunge to end it there and then. To ease us gently back into reality, we were taken on a final excursion to the champagne capital of Reims, about an hour and a half’s drive from Paris. Prior to lunch and a private tour of the cellars at GH Mumm, we made a stop at the historical cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and where the kings of France are traditionally crowned. It was in the church’s cool dark interiors that the spirit of Marc Chagall appeared once more – this time in the bright colours of his stained glass window, which visitors may admire in the axis of the apse. As we proceeded to lunch in the Moulin de Verzenay, a historical landmark and converted windmill situated right in the heart of Champagne’s most acclaimed Pinot Noir vineyards, the thought struck that ‘surreal’ seems the most apt adjective by which to describe the past three days. After all, art historians have long praised the dream-like quality of the Russian-French artist’s works, with Picasso himself even hailing Chagall as “the only painter who understands what colour really is”. Drawing parallels between the artist and the house of Martell, I suppose the similarities are obvious, with each possessing an innate talent to bring to life dreams of beauty, taste and perfection; only expressed through different mediums – one through art, the other, l’art de vivre. Either way, it is art.