The Four Seasons Hotel Milano is starting the summer season with Instant Taittinger, a Champagne-themed evening to be held in the garden courtyard on Thursday, May 24.
Hosted by Clovis Taittinger, deputy export director of the family-owned French Champagne house, with food courtesy of Executive Chef Sergio Mei, Instant Taittinger marks the first dinner to be held in the hotel's gardens. The courtyard, laid out in the 15th century when the Hotel was a convent, has been used for coffee breaks and summer cocktails, but never a formal dinner.
Following cocktails on the patio, Clovis Taittinger will descend the grand staircase in style, ringing in the evening with a saber slice to the neck of a magnum from Maison Taittinger. Dinner courses will be paired with Taittinger champagne: For example, scallops in the shell will go with Champagne Taittinger Brut; Onion and Prawn Royal with Champagne Taittinger Prelude Grands Crus; rice and scampi with Champagne Taittinger Brut Prestige Rose. Salt and mussels with potatoes and spinach will pair nicely with Champagne Taittinger Comtes de Champagne. To top it off, a Four Seasons Soufflé will be served with a Champagne Taittinger Nocturne.
We hear that a jazz ensemble will provide musical accompaniment for the evening, and that the event will be strictly black-tie (although ladies can probably eschew the tie for an evening gown, if they so choose).
The Four Seasons in Milan is located at Via Gesù, 6/8. Visit www.fourseasons.com/milan for more information.