Krug Week Q&A With Published Published On Main Wine Director Jayton Paul

Experience the elegance of Krug Week, where Krug meets the delicate beauty of flowers. In Vancouver, chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson at Published on Main presents a rose-infused menu, while in Montreal, chef Olivier Vigneault at Jatoba offers floral-inspired dishes like Kampachi tartare. We chatted with Published’s wine director, Jayton Paul, for a deeper dive into the wine pairings and the concept behind Krug Week. —Noa Nichol

Krug has a long-standing tradition of celebrating a Single Ingredient each year, and in 2024 it’s the flower. Can you tell us how you approached pairing the delicate elegance of flowers with the complex profiles of Krug Grande Cuvée and Krug Rosé?

With this year’s single ingredient being flowers, we wanted to highlight the local roses native to the west coast. Chef has a selection of nootka and beach roses plated on top of our feature chicken liver dish in a multitude of preparations from a rosehip puree, pickled rose and fresh petals. I chose the Krug Rosé 27ème Édition to pair with this dish as it highlights the soft baking spice aromatics from the spekulatius cookies that border the chicken liver, as well as echoing those delicate floral characteristics found in the Champagne.

The relationship between food and wine is often described as a form of art. How did you collaborate with Chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson to design the champagne pairing menu for Krug Week that showcases the harmony between flower-inspired dishes and Krug champagne?

My approach to pairing wines with Chef’s cuisine is to elevate the dishes without overpowering them. I’m very fortunate that Gus’ food has so much nuance and freshness, making my job of pairing wines a bit easier. The natural acidity in Krug’s Champganes lend well with our inspired flower dish because the Rosé has enough freshness to cut the richness of the chicken liver while refreshing your palate having you going back for more.

Krug champagnes are known for their exquisite complexity and ability to transcend vintages and climate variations. What specific characteristics of Krug Grande Cuvée or Krug Rosé made them perfect for the flower-focused theme this year?

The Krug Rosé 27ème Édition is a blend of 38 wines from 9 different years. This level of quality and mastery of blending makes for a unique expression each year with a vein of similarity that makes Krug, Krug.

Flowers can bring a range of subtle aromas and flavours to a dish. How did you balance the nuanced floral notes with the richness of Krug champagne to create a seamless pairing experience?

Many of those nuanced floral tones in the dish are replicated in the Rosé Champagne. That balanced with refreshing acidity and luscious texture makes for an incredible pairing.

When pairing champagne with food, what are the key factors you consider to ensure that both the champagne and the dish enhance each other’s flavors? Can you share any standout pairings from this year’s Krug Week menu?

I believe that Champagne is one of the most universally safe pairings on any menu. I enjoy many Champagnes with fried foods, cheeses and of course caviar. We will be offering two different types of caviar during Krug Week, one that is our own branded “Published” Kaluga Caviar made by Kaluga Queen, as well as Kaviaari Kristal Caviar, both of which will be accompanied with crème fraîche and brown butter madeleines. The Krug Grande Cuvée  171ème Édition would be the perfect companion to these Caviars. Additionally, the other pairing we want to highlight is the Rosé 27ème Édition alongside this years ‘Single Ingredient’ dish chicken liver & rose.

As someone deeply connected to the world of wine, how does the celebration of a Single Ingredient like flower challenge or inspire you when curating wine pairings for such a prestigious event like Krug Week?

The inspiration comes from the sheer quality of these world class wines. I want to show off how complex and concentrated these wines are and when given a single ingredient to play off of, we get to highlight certain aspects of the wines that make them so great.

Krug Week offers an exclusive culinary experience for champagne lovers. What do you hope guests will take away from this year’s flower-themed pairings, and how do you think this event showcases the versatility and grandeur of Krug champagne?

I want our guests to have the opportunity to purchase wines from this prestige Champagne house and enjoy them by the glass. Of course these wines are quite premium, however we have priced our offerings very fairly. Giving our guests the opportunity to splurge, or just dip their toe into this world of fine wine. This event will make these wines more approachable to our guests, and give them the chance to taste a specifically curated pairing with amazing products.

Photos by Patrick Hinton