PEAKLIFE

Blancpain and Fairmont Le Montreux Palace host Michelin-starred Dani García for an exclusive gourmet event.

Considered as the most internationally recognized Andalusian chef, Dani García exercised his art during two stellar evening events on September 26th and 27th.

The on-going friendship between Chef Dani García and Blancpain was showcased at events organized in partnership with the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace as well as the Tourbillon boutique located in the establishment.

On this occasion, Alain Delamuraz, Vice-President and Head of Marketing, Antonio Lopez, Vice-President and Head of Finance, HR & Administration, as well as Michael Smithuis, General Manager of Fairmont Le Montreux Palace, hosted a number brand patrons as well as representatives of the press. Guests enjoyed the opportunity to sample the gourmet world explored by the Spanish chef through a six-course menu inspired by Andalusian flavors.

Notably featuring caviar with cauliflower, green asparagus and dill mousse, as well as Spanish anchovies, black truffle, and fragrant flower emulsion, the dishes were skilfully prepared in the hotel kitchens by Dani García, wearing his trusty Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronograph Flyback.

Chef Dani Garcia at the Manufacturing, Vallee de Joux

During his stay in Switzerland, the Spanish culinary celebrity and friend of the Blancpain brand also had the pleasure of paying a visit to the watch Manufacture.Dani García began his time in Switzerland by visiting the Blancpain watch Manufacture located in the Vallée de Joux, accompanied by Alain Delamuraz, Vice-President, and Head of Marketing. The Michelin-starred chef thus had an opportunity to discover the brand DNA and his reaction was enthusiastic: “I realize just how complex creating a watch truly is. In my cuisine, I create dishes from around four to five ingredients, whereas a watch movement comprises several hundred.”

Dani García began his time in Switzerland by visiting the Blancpain watch Manufacture located in the Vallée de Joux, accompanied by Alain Delamuraz, Vice-President, and Head of Marketing. The Michelin-starred chef thus had an opportunity to discover the brand DNA and his reaction was enthusiastic: “I realize just how complex creating a watch truly is. In my cuisine, I create dishes from around four to five ingredients, whereas a watch movement comprises several hundred.”

Blancpain remains loyal to its tradition of innovation, as testified by the countless horological complications invented over the years. This same inventive spirit continues to drive the master-watchmakers of the Manufacture. A spirit of creativity that has naturally woven a connection between the watch Maison and the Art of Living, as Alain Delamuraz pointed out: “Today, partnerships between watchmaking and the Art of Living are fashionable, but the Manufacture has been part of this world for more than 30 years.”

Blancpain for the culinary stars

Among the highlights of this relationship, Blancpain presented Frédy Girardet with a specially engraved watch when he was named “World’s Best Chef” in 1986. Three years later, the watch brand confirmed its commitment in similar fashion when the Swiss chef, along with Paul Bocuse and Joël Robuchon, was named “Chefs of the Century” by the famous Gault & Millau gourmet guide. These engraved watches celebrated the common denominators between the two worlds: a quest for excellence, passionate enthusiasm, expertise, precision, sureness of touch and meticulous craftwork. Ever since, Blancpain has nurtured special relationships with the great names of haute cuisine, with over 100 Michelin stars studded around its circle of friends that includes Joël Robuchon and the young Andalusian chef Dani García.

Dani García’s culinary approach features an original mix of contrasts that combines traditional and contemporary flavors of Andalusian gastronomy, starring the cold and heat of nitrogen, along with broths, reductions and a whole wealth of textures and techniques. These atypical combinations highlight the chef’s great creativity with regards to haute cuisine.