Aligot with Pierrick Gorrichon and Anthony Femia
Lunch with Friends
As the weather cools, we'll be dreaming of Après-Ski in the French mountains of Auvergne, over a special long lunch in our upstairs dining room. Join Gimlet Sommelier, Pierrick Gorrichon, and Maker & Monger’s cheesemonger, Anthony Femia, for a lunch that's a true celebration of wild mountain wine and cheese. Share four courses and conversations with Pierrick and Anthony, and soak up the region’s cuisine that culminates with a finale of Pommes Aligot - a dish of pureed potato enriched with Cantal cheese.
The Auvergne Region
The Auvergne region is made up of a unique landscape of inactive volcanoes that are UNESCO-protected. Its fertile land ensures a wonderful diversity of produce, both grown and made, from Puy lentils to wild berries, and from aged cheeses to charcuterie, all fueled by the purest of mineral waters. An array of these ingredients feature on our Aligot lunch menu, including the Cantal cheese made in the same village that Pierrick is from.
Pierrick Gorrichon
Born and raised in the village of Cantal in the south-west of France’s mountainous Auvergne region, Pierrick is a skilled sommelier from our sister venue, Gimlet at Cavendish House. Having worked as a sommelier for ten years, Pierrick has an exceptional passion for wine and earned his stripes in Michelin-star restaurant, City Social London, before moving to Melbourne. This lunch will see Pierrick transported back to Auvergne through the area's cheese and wine. When asked what he looks forward to when home, it’s without hesitation that Pierrick choses the semi-hard cow’s milk cheese, Salers, alongside his stepfather’s favourite wine, a Gamay d’Auvergne. Over our Aligot lunch, Pierrick will guide guests through a selection of wines to drink alongside each course.
Anthony Femia
Anthony is a local legend of Melbourne’s cheese world. Having helped to build the city’s first underground cheese cellar at Spring Street Grocer, Anthony opened his own store, Maker & Monger, at the Prahran Market in 2015. At first, they had only two offerings: Swiss Raclette over kipflers and the now-famous All-American grilled cheese. In 2019, Anthony opened an “all-encompassing cheese shop dubbed ‘the Chapel of Cheese’ with a purpose-built maturation room. It’s a location visitors flock to - to savour Anthony’s incomparable curation of local and international cheeses. The centrepiece of this lunch, Pommes Aligot, showcases a Cantal cheese selected by Anthony, especially for this dish.
The Wine
The vineyards of Auvergne have an ancient history and an exciting future, as young producers make their mark on the region. Little known even in France, and mostly consumed locally, the wines are largely produced from Gamay, although there is a little Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc planted in the geologically diverse soils. Pierrick Gorrichon and Cumulus Inc. sommelier Chris Webb have assembled a number of Auvergnat producers from the smattering that makes it to Australian shores. Accompanying the wines of Auvergne is a selection from regions that neighbour the Massif Central - South West, Rhône Valley, Languedoc - and other mountain wines from Savoie and Jura. We'll be pouring wines from Marie et Vincent Tricot, Domaine des Pothiers and Domaine des Troullières. A highlight of the list are a number of rare bottles from vanguard vigneron Henri Chauvet, drawing a line from his mentor, famed Cornas producer Thierry Allemand, to his inspiration, his vineyards at the heart of France.
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