It has been a couple of years since the Chaine des Rotisseurs has had a major function at the Manila Peninsula Hotel. But with their newly refreshed team, headed by General Manager Jonathan Crook, Director of Food and Beverage Laurent Le Deu, and Chefs Adam Mathis and Gavin Sellars, we decided to accept their ambitious Bastille Day dinner invitation.

It is difficult to execute a seven-course menu for a private group, but it becomes extremely difficult when the group becomes 70 well-travelled and demanding gourmets. But Jonathan Crook set up no fences on the preparations and he clearly conveyed his underlying message to professionals and non-professionals in this gourmet society that “This is the Peninsula!” Service was a ratio of one waiter per two persons, everyone was well dressed and white gloved with every bottle of red wine decanted. The evening seemed to be a recreation of the grand Chaine dinners experienced by the members two decades ago.

The cuisine was truly haute and given days of preparation with beautiful arrangements on the plate. This was already clearly evident in the first course, Smoked Rabbit and Duck Foie Gras Terrine with Celery Root Salad. The smoked rabbit loin found its way to the middle of the duck liver terrine which I believe is in itself a labor of love and artistry by the cold kitchen. This is because these types of courses are hardly ever seen as restaurant courses. To add a contrast in texture, a fine julienne of celery root was placed on the side perfumed by white and black truffle essence and bits.

This was paired off with the house champagne of the Pen which is made by Deutz. The bready, dry and lemony champagne owned by Roederer, cut the richness of this cold starter.

Next was the orange-scented Lobster Consommé with a whole French flag made of pasta as a float. The soup was clear with a deep sparkling bronze color that showed excellent technique in clarification yet keeping the full flavor of the soup. The soup was redolent of roasted lobster chased by a hint of orange zest. Paired beautifully with this was a Gustave Lorentz Reserve Pinot Gris 2006 that displayed luscious shades of mango flesh and lychees with longans together.

For poultry, the oven braised Pigeon in Napoleon Cognac with pumpkin dumplings with Pont’L’Eveque and a fragrant foam of cinnamon topping worked really well with the deep caramelized roasting juices. The sweet spicy aromas of roasted pigeon and cinnamon immediately silenced everyone even before the waiters completely set down the plate.

A Les Vignes du Prince, Cotes du Rhone 2007 was the chosen partner for this dish, although the great fruit and subtlety of this wine with shades of candy got killed by the power of the pigeon dish. It was a good move on my part to have requested the waiter to not remove my Alsation Pinot Gris which was adulterously compatible though it came from the past course. Nevertheless, I would still go for a second plate of this aromatic dish and probably had a Chateauneuf or a powerful Pomerol or feminine Margaux (I fantasize) with it.

To cleanse our palates, a white peach sorbet with champagne was served and really got us ready for the next course. This was a Pan-roasted Venison Loin with a daring combination of sea scallop, sweet potato puree and bitter chocolate sauce. One has to take his hat off to the bravado involved, considering the combination of scallop and venison do not seem too correct.

But with an open mind and the combination put together, there seems to be flavors that work well, even with the wine, a Chateau La Tour de Mans, Margaux 2004 which has light tones of barnyard, black olive and plums. The venison was cooked to a pleasant pink considering there were seventy of us that had to be served this dish.

The next wine was not as feminine and silky but more attractively bolder because of it being more aromatically masculine. This was a Chateau Puy Guerand Cotes de Francs 2004, a more robust wine near St. Emilion which paired off with a cheese selection that included a cheese soufflé or gratin with glazed fruit.

For dessert we had a slow baked meringue, crème anglaise and raspberry mousse that embraced passionately with a Laurus Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2006 which was a dessert wine that seemed to be made for this dessert. It wasn’t cloyingly syrupy enough to kill the fruit in this dessert and blended with the custard sauce.

Finally, everyone was offered digestifs such as a full charged Chartreuse. I opted for an x.o. cognac instead and enjoyed their plate of pralines and confections.

Overall, the Pen, having been quiet in the gourmet club scene, has proven again that it is not just an institution that relishes on past glories. All you need are good leaders that care about cuisine and service, and lots of cojones.