Chef and sommelier Georges Blanc goes down in French culinary history for scoring a never-before attained 19.5 out of 20 in the prestigious Gault et Millau guide in 1985, four years after the same magazine named him France’s Chef of the Year. Today he is synonymous with his ‘village gourmand’, a collection of 17 houses surrounding his lauded Hotel Restaurant Georges Blanc in Vonnas in the Ain province of Eastern France.

To kickstart a gastronomic year, Resorts World Genting will fly in Frédéric Desmurs, Executive Chef of Restaurant Georges Blanc who is also the research and development trainer of the gourmet restaurant and bistro group. Chef Desmurs will be work hand-in-hand with sommelier Fabrice Sommier who was named France’s best sommelier in 2007. Together the duo will re-create the mastery of a Restaurant Georges Blanc meal, paired with some notable French wines up in Genting Highlands. The Georges Blanc Wine & Dine event will be held from 10 to 27 January 2017 at The Olive, Genting Grand Hotel, Resorts World Genting. Special appearance by Chef Frederic Desmurs will be from 10 to 13 January 2017.

The menu opens with an amuse-bouche of chestnut soup with black diamond candy foie gras, balsamic sailing paired with a Cremant de Bourgogne Domaine D’azenay Georges Blanc. The first course will feature a Oyster Gillardeau Jelly ‘Land and Sea’. The dish will be complemented by Ossetra Caviar Royal, one of the most prized and expensive types of caviar obtained from Ossetra sturgeon. Fittingly the wine pairing will be Georges Blanc’s Bourgogne Blanc Domaine D’azenay 2015, known for its strong minerality and earthiness.

The second course is a French classic. Coquilles St. Jacques is a scallop dish in a cream sauce flavoured with shallots, mushrooms and white wine. The Georges Blanc version will feature scarlet honey lemonade and verbena. The pick of prime seafood continues with the Burst of Lobster in wine and morels, which is paired with the floral and delicate Saint Romain JP Marchand.

Chef Desmurs’ fourth course will take diners back to farm and field, with a fillet mignon of veal in pepper sauce, served with polenta with black truffles, exquisitely paired to a JP Marchand clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2014. The meal crescendos with a decadent ‘Puck in Passion’ chocolate creation served with Armagnac 18 ans Gelas.