Krug Champagne Invites 6 Hong Kong Chefs to Spotlight the Humble Pepper

Every year the esteemed House of Krug invites a worldwide Ambassade Chef collective to highlight a single ingredient and craft interesting pairings with Krug Champagne in their cookbook series. This year, thirteen top chefs have been enlisted to highlight the pepper. Playfully named 'Rock Pepper Scissors', this marks the fifth book which features Chef Guillaume Galliot of Hong Kong's three-Michelin-starred Caprice, and is the follow up to the popular potato, egg, mushroom and fish series in previous years. But what of this new and rather unexpected pairing with the pepper? Well, much like Krug, the pepper is incredibly versatile and comes in various forms; long, round, small, sweet, spicy, red, yellow and even numbing -- the list goes on, and I haven't even got to the multitude of raw or cooked preparations and presentations it can come in. All of which make it quite the intriguing match with Krug Champagne. Interpreting the pepper in Hong Kong, six Krug Ambassade Chefs including Umberto Bombana of 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo, Guillaume Galliot of Caprice, Vicky Cheng of VEA, Uwe Opocensky of Petrus, Mori Tomoaki of Daigo by Mori Tomoaki, and Robin Zavou from The Krug Room at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, will also be creating imaginative pairings for Krug Grande Cuvée or Krug Rosé. A blend of over 120 wines from more than 10 different vintages, Krug Grande Cuvée is one of the fullest expressions of Champagne. With toasty notes of bread, hazelnut, and a fresh sweetness of jellied fruits enhanced by elegant bubbles, the Grande Cuvée holds exceptional finesse which matches perfectly with refined gastronomy. Krug Rosé is just as extensive in aromatic palette and harmonises puff pastry with red berries, before developing towards sweet honey and citrus -- a taste experience heightened by the finest of bubbles. So without further ado, here are the six chefs who have drawn inspiration from their individual cuisines and cultures to create their pepper-inspired Krug pairings, which are now available (for a limited time only) at their respective restaurants:  

8 1/2 Otto E Mezzo Bombana: Chef Umberto Bombana

Starring: pimiento, friggitello, cruschi, senise, red cherry chilli peppers Pairing: Krug Grande Cuvée 167^ème Édition  

Caprice: Chef Guillaume Galliot

Starring: piquillios pepper Pairing: Krug Rosé 21^ème Édition  

Daigo by Mori Tomoaki: Chef Mori Tomoaki

Starring: red and green manganji tougarashi Pairing: Krug Rosé 21^ème Édition  

The Krug Room, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong: Chef Robin Zavou

Starring: shishito pepper Pairing: Krug Grande Cuvée 167^ème Édition  

Petrus, Island Shangri-La Hong Kong: Chef Uwe Opocensky

Starring: Trinidad scorpion, scotch bonnet, habanada, shishito pepper, red sweet Italian pepper Pairing: Krug Grande Cuvée 167^ème Édition  

VEA Restaurant & Lounge: Chef Vicky Cheng

Starring: red jalapeño, red habanero, Italian sweet chilli peppers Pairing: Krug Rosé 21^ème Édition   For more information on Krug x Pepper and the Rock Pepper Scissors book, view the website here. 

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