Krug’s onion chronicles

When the Champagne maison peeled back the layers with a Chef Encounters stopover in Jaipur and some dishes to celebrate the humble bulb

There’s a symmetry at the heart of Krug’s annual Chef Encounters trips, which bring together their cellar master (chef de cave) and chef ambassadors (ambassades). Each trip focusses on a single ingredient and the chefs use their imagination to create dishes that elevate the simple into something striking — all to be paired with the Krug Grand Cuvée and Krug Rosé. In 2018, they travelled to Mallorca where fish was the focus. 2019 saw Oaxaca and its piquant pepper taking centrestage. Last year, just before the pandemic put an end to international travel, 11 chefs visited India, specifically Jaipur, to celebrate the humble onion. Julie Cavil, Krug’s new chef de cave (she took on the role early last year) explains that each excursion is similar to the maison’s Champagne-making philosophy, of “paying close attention to the vineyard’s character” and of “respecting the individuality of each plot and its wine” so as to allow each year’s cuvée to shine.