Mumm Champagne in gastro-marketing campaign

Mumm Champagne is partnering some of London’s finest restaurants as part of a new UK-wide marketing campaign to celebrate its traditional links with gastronomy.  Also in the UK, it is supporting young culinary talent – and linking with a food.  It will also see its Champagne take centre stage in a gourmet spectacular in one of the farthest flung places in the world

Since its foundation in 1827, Champagne G H Mumm has forged relationships with gastronomy.  The house style focuses on pinot noir which provides both fruit and structure - two vital ingredients when it comes to successful wine and food pairing. 

The initiatives include:

The London Restaurant Festival
For the second year running GH Mumm has been named official Champagne sponsor.  This two-week event, the brainchild of restaurant critic Fay Maschler, runs from 4-18 October and celebrates all aspects of dining out in the capital. 

The Gourmet Odyssey was one of the most popular events at last year’s festival – and an extra-special Odyssey, from GH Mumm, has just been announced.  Diners will be ferried on an iconic Routemaster bus to enjoy a starter at Koffman’s at The Berkeley, a main course Hibiscus and dessert at Sake No Hana, all matched with a different GH Mumm style.  Other Gourmet Odyssey routes are also available – and all begin with a special Champagne reception at the Met Bar. 

GH Mumm’s festival support also includes its special Festival Menus.  All participating restaurants create an exceptional value three course lunch or dinner showcasing their specialist cuisine – and 25 will be sponsored by GH Mumm and enjoyed with its Champagne.

The Academy of Culinary Arts
GH Mumm has been the Champagne sponsor of the Academy's Annual Awards of Excellence for over 10 years – with the 2010 awards just announced.  The Academy is the professional association of head chefs, pastry chefs, restaurant managers and suppliers – and the awards recognise  and reward the hottest young culinary talents in the business. 

This year’s winners are Lucknam Park’s Mark Stinchcombe: Young Chef of the Year, Richard Phillips from le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons: Young Pastry Chef of the Year - and Katie Watson from Gleneagles, who scooped Young Waiter of the Year.  They are each awarded a year’s scholarship which includes a trip to GH Mumm in Reims and Paris.  Mark and Richard will also be involved in future food-pairing projects with Mumm.

Extreme Gastronomy
In September, GH Mumm  will host one of the most extreme gastronomic experiences ever witnessed. Among the desolate Khongoryn singing sand dunes of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, intrepid explorer Mike Horn will meet  Michelin-starred French chef Alain Passard.  Together they will set up camp to celebrate Horn’s crossing of the desert with a sublime gourmet extravaganza paired with Mumm Champagne. 

This is the fourth such extreme dinner Mike Horn has enjoyed.  In previous years he has dined on an ice floe in Greenland, on a sandbank on the Great Barrier Reef, and inside a volcano, all paying homage to explorer  Captain Charcot whom the House of Mumm sponsored a century ago.  Charcot famously celebrated with a meal and a bottle of Mumm Cordon Rouge when he landed in Antarctica in 1904.  

The 50 Best Restaurants in the World
This summer, for the first time, GH Mumm was chosen as the official Champagne partner of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.  The ’50 Best’ are the Oscars of the global dining scene and are voted for by 800 critics, journalists and food experts, many of whom attended the glittering event with its Mumm Champagne reception.  The rankings highlight the wealth of dynamic new chefs bringing new ideas and fabulous new venues  to the world of gastronomy.

1 September 2010 - Felicity Murray