The fourth edition of the Festival des Etoilés ended with a gala dinner in the historic Salle Empire of the Hôtel de Paris on Friday 11 October. The event was attended by HSH Prince Albert II, accompanied by Louis Ducruet, Marie Chevallier Ducruet and Camille Gottlieb. Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc and his partner Alexandra Saint Mleux were also in attendance.
The Michelin-starred chefs of the Société des Bains de Mer, Alain Ducasse, Emmanuel Pilon, Marcel Ravin, Dominique Lory and Yannick Alléno and their teams gathered to create a multi-starred dinner for the event. Six courses were served to the 136 privileged guests. This year’s gala paid tribute to the 150th anniversary of the Caves de l’Hôtel de Paris. The SBM’s sommelier artisans, Mathias Negro, Maxime Pastor, Gérard Veyrat and Franck Damatte, worked with the Chefs to design perfect food and wine pairings.
The SBM, with its thirty restaurants and bars, is the most starred Resort in Europe. For this fourth edition of the Festival, launched on 20 April 2024, SBM Starred Chefs offered seven exceptional four-handed dinners prepared with international starred Chefs, including: Chef Simon Rogan at Louis XV-Alain Ducasse, Chef David Toutain at Blue Bay Marcel Ravin, Chef Yohan Conte at Grill de l’Hôtel de Paris and Chef Richard Lee at Pavyllon Monte Carlo.
Stephane Valeri thanks the Chefs
The gala dinner was launched by Stephane Valeri, Deputy Chairman of the SBM and hosted by Sophie Menut Yovanovitch, editor-in-chief of gastronomic magazine ‘Cuisine & Vins de France’. At the end of the evening, Stephane Valeri presented a commemorative plaque to the Chefs.
“Gentlemen, through your art, you contribute to the influence of Monte-Carlo and the entire Principality of Monaco. I thank you for this magnificent dinner that you have imagined and created together this evening. A great moment of gastronomy, excellence and sharing,” said Stéphane Valeri as he thanked the chefs behind the event.
Celebrating the largest hotel cellar in the world…
The Caves de l’Hôtel de Paris is one of the most impressive jewels of Monegasque heritage and was created by Marie Blanc, wife of the founder of the Société des Bains de Mer. Deemed the largest hotel cellar in the world, it contains a treasure trove of over 350,000 bottles and grands crus.
The Menu!
The menu included: Norway lobster with ginger (by sushi master Yasunari Okazaki); Scallops, taro, calf’s foot and Osertra Caviar (by Yannick Alleno); Wood-fired coastal turbot with porcini mushrooms, chestnuts and cornelian cherries (by Marcel Ravin); Denis Heritier’s cardoon, chickpeas and black garlic, mushroom tapenade, purslane, pine nuts (by Alain Ducasse & Emmanuel Pilon).
For the food and wine pairing, the Chef Sommeliers selected outstanding bottles from the Hôtel de Paris Caves, including: Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs (2012), Sec de Doisy-Daëne Bordeaux White (2022); Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Pucelle Monopole Domaine Jean Chartron (2020); Château Calon-Ségur Saint-Estèphe 3ème Grand Cru Classé Magnum (2009); Château Troplon Mondot 1er grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion Magnum (2016); Château Doisy-Daëne Cru Classé en 1855 Barsac (2016).
