DETAILS: Come on a journey showcasing the many different crus from Beaujolais, some with vintages from 2009-2019 and some in large format bottles. A great approach to drinking wines from the great unsung properties in Beaujolais and experience the differences found throughout the region. Beaujolais is one of Chef Damian’s favorite wine regions in France, dear to his heart and palate—enamored with how each Cru and wine expresses a different personality and expression with age. The team will expertly prepare a classic, five-course meal of French inspired dishes to pair with each wine. 5 courses, 6 wines. Seating is very limited.

Before Chef Damian Sansonetti was the acclaimed chef de cuisine at the uber-French Bar Boulud in New York, co-owner Damian Sansonetti grew up savoring his mother's and grandmother's cooking.  From handmade pasta to grilled fish to learning how to cure meat and make sausages with his grandfather. A career in food was practically his birthright. Graduating from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, Sansonetti worked at Nantucket’s Brant Point Grill and Pittsburgh’s Steelhead Grill, moving to New York to open Heartbeat in the W Hotel. Sansonetti met Daniel Boulud while working at Shallots in Midtown and eventually took a position at Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne. Today he sits as a 2022 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef Northeast. Perhaps by the time of this dinner he’ll have the award.

Chef Ilma Lopez has worked in some of the most demanding and rewarding kitchens in the industry, such as DB Bistro, Corton, Tailor, El Bulli, Café Boulud, and Le Bernardin. When she left New York City to the quieter reaches of Maine, Lopez found a new terrain she couldn’t resist. Arriving with a mastery of colors, flavors, textures, and spices—and a seasoned ability to work under pressure—Lopez makes classic dishes her own, with attention to micro-detail and thoughtful twists. For her work, Lopez earned a 2014 StarChefs Coastal New England Rising Star Pastry Chef Award, Has been a multiple-time James Beard top-Chef finalist, and you may have seen her name in the September issue of Bon Appetit Magazine highlighting her incredible talents when naming Portland, Maine as their pick for Restaurant City of The Year.

COST: $129 per person + tax & gratuity (includes wines and food)

RESERVE: 207-772-1110 or reservations@chavalmaine.com

LINKS: chavalmaine.com