Michelin restaurant launches UK's only bottled water menu
Joseph Rawlins, 32, has introduced the menu with bottles costing as much as £20 at his French fine dining restaurant, La Popote, in Marton, near Macclesfield, Cheshire.
The co-owner and head chef, from Wilmslow, worked alongside Doran Binder, one of only five British water sommeliers, to put the menu together.
Mr Binder, 52, from Wildboarclough in Macclesfield, has spent the past seven months selecting the seven bottles to include.
The bottles come from across Europe, including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Iceland and the UK, with prices starting at £5 for Mr Binder's own Crag spring water and reaching £19 for The Palace of Vidago, a Portuguese sparkling water.
Mr Rawlins, whose wine prices range from £28 to £400, says fewer diners want to drink alcohol so he decided to 'offer something different' to 'keep up with the market'.
He added: 'The restaurant scene has changed a lot over the years. We have been getting fewer big tables, more groups of twos and fours. That means at least one person there will mostly likely be driving and not be drinking as such.
'Everything has been positive, it is a bit of fun, and we are looking forward to seeing where it goes.'
Mr Rawlins took over the restaurant with his partner Gaëlle Radigon, 37, in 2019, and the pair were listed in the Michelin Guide for the first time in December 2022.
'An exciting new market'
Mr Binder's award-winning water, Crag, has been sold at the restaurant since 2018.
The sommelier first pitched the idea of a bottled water menu to Mr Rawlins in June 2023 when he invited the couple for a water tasting.
Mr Rawlins added: 'He had pitched the idea to us and we had a laugh about it as we were unsure what he meant by it at first.
'He then invited us down for a water tasting and that's when we realised that water isn't just water, and he explained that he thinks there is an exciting new market.'
According to Mr Binder, water has a taste established through the number of total dissolved solids (TDS) found in the liquid.
The solids include minerals which have been absorbed naturally from the earth into the water before it is taken from the source.
TDS levels range from low, which is between 0 to 50, to high, at 1,200 plus, although Mr Binder believes the perfect level is between 100 and 200.
He said: 'We have noticed in the last 18 months a lot of people don't drink as much and are looking for an alternative to alcohol.'
For still water Mr Binder chose the 'sharp, dry, and metallic tasting' low TDS Icelandic Glacier Water (£12).
He then chose still Crag (£5) which has 'no taste but a smooth creamy silky mouth feel' for mid-range TDS.
He then selected Brand 22 from La Rioja, Spain, (£11) for the high TDS range for its 'smooth mouth feel and delicate mineral taste'.
For sparkling he picked the 'delicate and sweet' Vichy Celastin (£9) and the 'delicate and salty' The Palace of Vidago (£19) for high TDS.
He chose sparkling Crag for mid-range TDS. For low TDS, he chose Lauretana (£12) which has a 'sharp and dry mouth feel with a metallic taste'.
'People thought it was a joke'
Mr Binder said: 'I had been working on a water menu for the last three or four years trying to get a restaurant to pick it up but it has been really difficult.
'People thought it was a joke and a gimmick but it was exciting when La Popote took me on.
'What I have done is put together a quality range of interesting water. It will elevate the dining experience for non-drinkers like myself and millions of others who aren't interested in a wine menu.
'Being able to chose a water with a story, something special and unique that you couldn't just get from a shop is elevating that experience. The water will be served in a wine glass, water will be put on a stage and shown respect.'
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