The latest in fine dining: a range of bottled water on a special menu
With more than one in five people abstaining from alcohol, Joseph Rawlins, the co-owner and head chef of French fine-dining restaurant La Popote, near Congleton, Cheshire, said it was the right time to offer customers 'something a bit different'.
'We have noticed in the last 18 months that a lot of people don't drink as much and are looking for an alternative to alcohol,' he said. 'We thought there was space for it, so why not?'
Working with Doran Binder, a British water sommelier, the pair selected seven bottled waters from France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Iceland and the UK.
Prices start at £5 for Binder's own Crag Spring Water all the way up to £19 for the Portuguese sparkling water, the Palace of Vidago. The water will be served in wine glasses.
The menu provides an alternative to the restaurant's wine selection which has bottles from £28 to £400.
Binder had been selling Crag Spring at the restaurant since Rawlins took it over with Gaëlle Radigon. his partner, in 2019.
'He pitched the idea to us and we had a laugh as we were unsure what he meant by it at first,' Rawlins said. 'He then invited us down for a water tasting and that's when we realised that water isn't just water. He explained he thinks there is an exciting new market.'
Rawlins gave Binder the green light in January. He has spent seven months finalising his H₂O selection, whittling down his list from hundreds of types of water.
Binder, who is one of only five British water sommeliers, said the taste of water was determined by the total dissolved solids, which include naturally absorbed minerals.
The solids are rated from super-low (0 to 50) to super-high (1200-plus). Binder, a non-drinker, reckons the perfect hydration level is between 100 and 200.
'I had been working on a water menu for the past three or four years trying to get a restaurant to pick it up but it has been really difficult,' he said. 'People thought it was a gimmick but it was exciting when La Popote took me on.
'I have put together a quality range of interesting water. It is a selection showing off the different [solids] water has to offer. They all have different tastes, mouth-feels and offer a different perspective on dining at a restaurant. It will elevate the dining experience for non-drinkers like myself and millions of others who aren't interested in a wine menu.'
If the water menu becomes too much for diners at La Popote — which received its Michelin listing in 2022 — there is the option of drinking tap water. And that is free.
La Popote's water menu will be launched on Friday.
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