Pop-ups sometimes appear and then disappear again. The locations are usually unexpected and have that certain kick. So why not sit in the wine warehouse and experience a slightly different evening of enjoyment from the preparation kitchen? Last year, the idea of offering a French menu in many small courses with matching wines from France and from the French (by birth even: Parisian) Saxon winemaker Frédéric Fourré premiered in the "Salon Silbermöwe" at Gräfe's Wein&fein. We liked it, and other guests obviously did too: despite two additional dates (in the larger bistro), the pop-up was fully booked long before the cooking star hours began. How good it was that we had booked in good time!
Matthias Gräfe and Frédéric Fourré had come up with nine courses, each accompanied by a different wine - the idea was, of course, to match. That's a pretty tight program, even if it was called "The Night of Small Plates" and the portions were served correspondingly small. And yes, that's right: it wasn't called "The Night of Small Glasses", there was quite a lot of it... If that sounds like work to you: wrong - because it was an extremely relaxed and entertaining five and a half hours, during which (as they say) there was always something to munch on and drink. Input was provided by the winemaker, who presented the wines, and the host, who always had a story or two to tell about the individual dishes. With such a journey through the simple pleasures of French gourmandie, this is also a series of delicacies - told as well as eaten and drunk.
