<
p style="text-align: justify;">
(This translation of my notes concerning the 278p>thp> dinner corresponds to three articles in French)
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The 278th dinner will be held tomorrow at the
pan style="color: blue;">Château d'Yquempan>. I leave my home in the eastern suburbs of
Paris at 7:30 a.m. to deliver the wines to the château so that they have time to rest there. To cover the first forty kilometers it takes me an hour and a half, as the traffic has exceeded the ca
pacity of the car lanes. That we can imagine welcoming new
po
pulations to the
Paris region is difficult to understand.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Trucks are extremely numerous on the highways and Eastern Euro
pean countries must bless our 35-hour week law, because trucks from
Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Lithuania and others re
present almost all of those on the road, com
peted in the o
pposite direction by trucks from Italy, S
pain and
Portugal, because French trucks have almost disa
ppeared, thanks to this wonderful law which made international trans
port im
possible for French com
panies.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I am welcomed at the castle by the smile of
pan style="color: blue;">Fatihapan>, who hel
ped me during
previous dinners at the castle and later by that of
pan style="color: blue;">Laetitiapan>, also
present during these events. I salute
pan style="color: blue;">Olivier Brulardpan>, the chef de cuisine of the château, MOF 1996, with whom I had the 230th dinner in this
place, five years ago now.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Olivier and I had already worked on the menu over the
phone and we revised each dish together so that every detail will be
perfect. Olivier understands well that each dish serves the wines, which means that each ingredient must be coherent in the construction of the dish. We understand each other half-heartedly and I like that. What im
presses me is the care Olivier takes to find the best
products. Whether quails or mushrooms, we are faced with the
perfection of the
product.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Chatting with Olivier is a real
pleasure.
pan style="color: blue;">Valérie Lailheuguepan>, the historical secretary of Alexandre de Lur Saluces and now of
Pierre Lurton comes to join me and we check all the details of the accommodation of those who will reside at the castle, the menus and all other details.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">A tradition has been established since several dinners that I had at the château, which is that at lunch on the day of the dinner, I "invite" (in a way) to an informal meal those who make the wine and I share with them a very old Yquem from my cellar. At the last dinner I o
pened the 1893, a legendary vintage. Tomorrow, I will "receive" (so to s
peak) Lorenzo
Pasquini, director of o
perations of the estate, Toni El Khawand, cellar master and Thomas Robert, head of cultivation. We therefore develo
ped with Olivier Brulard the menu which will allow us to check some of the dinner dishes while ada
pting to the wines.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">For this lunch I brought a Château Haut-Brion 1981 and a Yquem which I consider to be from a year close to 1880, because no year is readable on the label, the cork or the ca
psule. It turns out that I had
put a
photo of the label on Instagram which is a merchant label and not that of the domain. An astute reader found on my blog that I had o
pened a bottle with the same label in 2009. This bottle had a vintage: 1906. So we will
probably drink a Yquem 1906 but I still believe that we are rather around from 1880.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">It seems a
ppro
priate to o
pen this Yquem now, because if I arrive at the château tomorrow around 11 a.m., the wine will not have enough time to develo
p. So I o
pen it, with the intention of recorking the bottle. A new air will slowly blossom the wine. The scent of Yquem is extremely
promising. The very black ca
p gives no legible indication.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The
pre
parations having been made and the entire kitchen and castle team having been informed of the
program, I go to Langon to the
pan style="color: blue;">Maison Darroze hotelpan> where I will slee
p and where I will shortly have a dinner with three Americans who will
partici
pate in the dinner tomorrow at the Château d'Yquem.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I have known the Darroze house for decades, which enjoyed a fame that could be com
pared to that of the Auberge du
Père Bize where
political or entertainment celebrities flocked.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">At 7:30
p.m., all four of us are at the table. Two American friends are my most loyal dinner guests and Bill, an incredible globetrotter, joined our grou
p. He brought Un Château Guadet Saint-Emilion 2015, from an estate where he did the harvest.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">For the a
peritif, I choose a
pan style="color: red;">Champagne Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Extra Brut 2008pan> made from 55% chardonnay and 45%
pinot noir. This cham
pagne has a great
personality. He is noble and lively,
paving his way with conviction. It will gain with age in roundness and consistency, but it is already
pleasant with its shar
pness and its determination.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">We choose a very generous four-course menu. Having the wine list in hand I see that the list includes very old bottles at attractive
prices. A wine catches my eye. It's a Beaune Grèves Domaine Ro
piteau Mignon 1947. The head waiter to whom I showed this wine immediately jum
ped: "oh don't take that, it's very
probably dead". Audouze is stubborn. I ask him to go get it. He comes back with a 1947 wine which is not the right one and which I don't like. He goes back to the cellar and brings the wine I wanted. The level has fallen but not abnormally.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I reassure the head waiter that I won't make a fuss if the wine isn't good. He seems reassured. I take out my tools and carefully I manage to extract the cork. Bill is sur
prised that I
play the surgeon who "o
perates" on the bottle. The nose is quite dusty but not off-
putting. There will not be enough time for slow oxygenation to do its job. Too bad.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The very
pleasant foie gras goes well with cham
pagne. The chef o
pens the
pan style="color: red;">Château Guadet Saint-Emilion 2015pan> and the nose gives me this thought: all wines of this age have the same scent. Indeed, it is rich,
powerful, and all well-made wines have the same message at this age.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">On the
palate, the wine would
probably not have much to say but fortunately the fish dish, the best dish of our meal, made the Saint-Emilion shine. The agreement is su
perb.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The main course based on
poultry is far from having the level of the fish main course. The
pan style="color: red;">Beaune Grèves Domaine Ropiteau Mignon 1947pan> with its discreet and subtle scent is tired. But if we ignore his fatigue, he tells infinitely more things than the young Bordeaux. You just have to listen to its subtleties which are just waiting to blossom.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The delicious soufflé is
pantagruelian.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">We are far from the luster of the Darroze house during its s
plendor, but we had a very
pleasant time with a su
perb fish dish and a tired relic from 1947.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">After a restful night, I arrive at the
pan style="color: blue;">Château d'Yquempan> at 11 a.m. Olivier Brulard has
planned the lunch menu: lightly smoked roast Breton lobster on our vine shoots, golden a
pple and truffle juice / beautiful Méracq
poultry, castle citrus fruits and oak lentins / Roquefort Le 12 AO
P and Régalis César du Mont Royal / mango and tangy delicacies with
passion fruit juice.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I want to o
pen the Yquem 1874 which is
planned for this evening with the following idea: This wine was reconditioned at the château in 1989. However, there have been some fake Yquems on the market
presented as being reconditioned at the château but in fact made by counterfeiters. I would like my guests this lunchtime to give me their olfactory o
pinion on this 1874. And, smelling the two wines, I would like to reserve the best of the two for dinner. We would drink the one that seemed less brilliant to us.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">
pan style="color: blue;">Lorenzo Pasquinipan>, o
perating director of the estate,
pan style="color: blue;">Toni El Khawandpan>, cellar master and
pan style="color: blue;">Thomas Robertpan>, head of cultivation, join me in the beautiful and large dining room that we will have this evening. Usually we took the smallest dining room but these three
peo
ple who are so im
portant to the life of the estate will use it for an olfactory
practice session with an olfactory analysis teacher.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">They acce
pt the exercise that I
pro
pose to them. For my nose, I find that the minty im
pression of the 1874 is a little strong while the su
pposed 1906 with the original cork o
pened yesterday is very comfortable and consistent with what we ex
pect. The three are unanimous in declaring that the 1874 conforms to what it should be because we often find this beautiful minty trace in wines from this
period.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">It seems obvious that the 1874 remains assigned to dinner. We will therefore drink the
probable 1906.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I go with Lorenzo to the cellar to choose a wine. It will be Yquem 2001, this vintage that I love. I wanted the lobster to host the red wine and the Yquem
poultry, but Lorenzo
prefers the o
pposite order. 'No worries' as we say more and more often in urban exchanges and not only in the south of France.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The
pan style="color: red;">Château d'Yquem 2001pan> is a very great Yquem but it has become more seated, comfortable, while I loved its wild side which almost made me faint when I drank it for the first time during its launch. The lobster is of exce
ptional quality.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">
pan style="color: red;">Château Haut Brion 1981pan> is from a vintage that has been underestimated for far too long. This balanced wine is of certain solidity. He is frank and very
pleasant and deserves much more than the image given to him. For decades I have considered 1981 a great year.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The
pan style="color: red;">Château d'Yquem 1906pan> is ca
ptivating. Let's imagine a flying saucer that sends waves in all directions. This Yquem is like that. It is round and sends com
plexities in all directions. It is magical and I fall under its s
pell, because des
pite a slightly dark color and a discreet fragrance, it is a festival of emotion. And I realize that it could enter the circle of the most beautiful Yquems that I have drunk. It's not as big as the magical 1861, but it's not far off.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I will have advanced the science of Olivier Brulard who defended Roquefort as a
partner of Yquem. I told him that Roquefort is not suitable and that Stilton is the ideal com
panion. The stilton won by technical knockout in the first round. There was no match.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Yquem was brilliant at all times and although 1906 is the natural lead since I drank one from a bottle with the same label, I think this wine is more in kee
ping with the
period around 1880.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Lorenzo, Toni and Thomas go to their olfaction session while I will now o
pen the dinner wines in the beautiful dining room where we just had our lunch. I am in an extremely serene and ha
ppy mood and I
put a lot of attention into my actions when removing the corks.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Y d'Yquem 1960 has the scent of a great wine with strong botrytis. As this is Y's second vintage, the sorting of the gra
pes had acce
pted a lot of botrytized gra
pes. This scent is engaging. The Jurançon 1993 has a nose of lychee which is of significant intensity.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The Hermitage blanc 1928 from an unknown domain has a discreet nose which will blossom and
promise. The Cheval Blanc 1934 has an extraordinary nose and is so full that I decided to
put a glass sto
pper to kee
p this
perfect
perfume. The Ausone 1985 has a rich scent but less bright than that of the 1934.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The noses of the two Nuits Saint Georges are large. That of Henri Jayer is extremely subtle.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I had announced a Chambertin Coron
Père &am
p; Fils 1929 because I have several, but I had read too quickly. On the torn label, the word Chambertin is on the right, which im
plies that it is
preceded by Gevrey or Charmes. As for the name of the merchant, the to
p of the ca
psule indicates René Téze in Ambrières. The
perfume seems to me to be one of the most beautiful that I have o
pened, exce
pt Cheval Blanc.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The
power of the nose of Château Chalon 1945 is unrivaled. The 1934 Yquem recorked at the château and remaining at the château, which is the contribution of
Pierre Lurton, seems to me to be incredibly young and has a lively scent.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I now o
pen the cham
pagnes. The Dom Ruinart 1990 gives me a nice s
pritz even if it is not thunderous. The two older cham
pagnes are dirty under the ca
p and their corks break when twisted. The nose of the Veuve Clicquot 1947 is very discreet and that of the Dom
Pérignon 1962 has a beautiful
personality.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Throughout the o
pening, I was focused, looking for the right gesture and I was amazed to see that all the wines were almost
perfect. Heaven was with me.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The guests who have rooms are arriving little by little. Quickly, I'm going to try to rest before welcoming the guests for a tour of the castle and a tasting before dinner.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The
pan style="color: blue;">278th dinnerpan> is held at the Château d'Yquem. I brought the wines yesterday, I o
pened them this afternoon.
Partici
pants who have a room at the castle arrived at 5
p.m. The a
ppointment for the visit to the castle is scheduled for 6:30
p.m. but we are informed that
Pierre Lurton,
president of Yquem and Cheval Blanc will be late.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">So it is
pan style="color: blue;">Léopan> who guides visitors to the castle, who takes us to the cellars and
praises the quality of the management of the vines, the organization of the harvest so that the botrytis has its best effect.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">
pan style="color: blue;">Pierre Lurtonpan> joins us for the tasting in the beautiful tasting room. We begin to taste the
pan style="color: red;">Y d'Yquem 2021pan> which des
pite its age has a magnificent
presence and freshness which make it a remarkable wine at this age of its life.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">We were su
pposed to taste the Yquem 2017 then the 2009 but it is reasonable to only taste the
pan style="color: red;">Château d'Yquem 2009pan> because we have a long dinner
program. We had already tasted the 2009 during the last dinner in Yquem. He has retained this astonishing freshness and an obvious joie de vivre. It's a great Yquem with a bright future.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">We return to the large living room for an a
peritif. In the
program sent to registrants there were two cham
pagnes but I felt that it was necessary to add a cham
pagne that was easier to understand, to
pre
pare our
palates for future wines. So we start with a
pan style="color: red;">Champagne Dom Ruinart 1990pan> which I love because 1990 was a year of total success for Dom Ruinart.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The a
ppetizers are: Im
perial Beluga Caviar (1st exce
ptional Beluga Caviar, 100% French and matured in New Aquitaine) / king crab, morning yuzu and garden flowers /
parmesan shortbread, Culatello di Zibello.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Cham
pagne combines the freshness of youth with the serenity of success. It's
pure ha
ppiness. The a
ppetizers are, like the cuisine of chef Olivier Brulard, based on quality
products. The Dom Ruinart 1990 is a very great cham
pagne that I cherish.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">There are twelve of us, including
Pierre Lurton,
president of Yquem, two Americans who are my most loyal dinner guests, a cou
ple of French friends, a globe-trotting American, an American of S
panish origin, a S
paniard, a Bordeaux native, a French man with origins in Eastern Euro
pe and the only new one of my dinners who lives in
Portugal. The dinner will be held in English but
Pierre Lurton, very fit and full of humor, will tell us some stories and
puns that are difficult to translate.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">We sit down at the table. The menu is distributed to everyone. It is written as follows: the best of Landes foie gras, three gourmet reci
pes to taste / Scallo
ps cooked naturally in a shell with Alba white truffle, "Served like a Garden" / silky turbot "Belle Meunière",
porcini mushrooms with Bordeaux corks
picked with dew / s
pecial "well-bred" quail from
Pierre Du
plantier, return from the vines / Girondin game venison, s
picy autumn casserole,
pe
pper sauce / 18 Month vintage Comté / stilton, Ford farmhouse cheddar and English Shro
pshire selected by Dominique Bouchait MOF cheese maker / Ente
plums from the new harvest enhanced with château wine, candied orange zest and "Candi" hazelnuts.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">It is a menu based on the highest quality
products and we have worked with the chef to ensure that every ingredient is com
pletely consistent with the wines which must be highlighted by the dishes.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">
pan style="color: blue;">Sébastien pan>served the wines, which is not easy as there are so many requirements.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">
pan style="color: red;">Champagne Veuve Clicquot 1947pan> and
pan style="color: red;">Champagne Dom Pérignon 1962pan> are served with the first course of foie gras. They are very different. Dom
Pérignon is more welcoming and comfortable while Veuve Clicquot is much more tense and com
plex. It's hard to com
pare them but both are su
perb. The votes will go towards 1947.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">On the next course I have
planned three wines, one of which I added to the
planned
program, the Jurançon and I must say that on the delicious shells I am very
proud to have
planned these three wines. Because the
pan style="color: red;">1960 Y d'Yquempan> is absolutely glorious. This is the second vintage of Y, the first being 1959 and this one is im
perial, with a marked botrytis which gives it a nice width.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The
pan style="color: red;">Jurançon Domaine de Souch dry 1993pan> which follows it has a nose of lychee and a strong energy of straight and dry but great intensity. Highly fruity with green vegetables, it traces its
path and it is then that the
pan style="color: red;">Hermitage Blanc 1928pan> a
ppears, with a subtle and delicate nose, a racy and accom
plished taste, calm and serene, which calms the
passion of Jurançon. You can switch from one to the other because the shell acce
pts all three wines, and this variety of tastes is magical. I think I had a great intuition to create this merry-go-round of tastes where the Y is royal, the Jurançon scoundrel and mad dog, and the Hermitage has the wisdom of the ancient and a remarkable serenity. For me, it's a big emotional moment of the meal.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">There are occasions in my life as a wine lover when I encounter
perfect wines.
pan style="color: red;">Château Cheval Blanc 1934pan> is one of them, because it reaches a level of
perfection that we feel. It is balanced, rich, obvious like a riddle that has been solved.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Next to it, the
pan style="color: red;">Château Ausone 1985pan> is a beautiful 'jeune
premier', rich and ex
pressive, but it is clear that the Cheval Blanc steals the show. Turbot shows us that it is a fish made for red wines and
porcini mushrooms are real sweets because they are so good.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Olivier Brulard showed me the s
plendid quails yesterday. They have a magical flesh that will allow two wines to coexist. The
pan style="color: red;">Nuits-Saint-Georges aux Murgers Méo Camuzet 2000pan> is young and solid, readable and frank. He is rich. The
pan style="color: red;">Nuits-Saint-Georges aux Murgers Henri Jayer 1981pan> is all delicacy and subtlety. One would have thought that the 1981 would have been much more
po
pular due to the fact that the winemaker is Henri Jayer who is crowned with glory, but to my great sur
prise, the Méo Camuzet will be in the votes of six guests, and the Henri Jayer also of six guests. They therefore deserved to be associated with quail, ideal for those two beautiful, ex
pressive and frank Burgundies.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The
pan style="color: red;">Gevrey-Chambertin René Téze à Ambrières 1929pan> is served with venison. I have a
particular love for the 1929 vintage which I consider to be the greatest of the 20th century. This wine has a balance that makes it almost eternal. It would have been my favorite if it weren't for the devilish Yquem wines. The venison is truly made for such an accom
plished wine and it is sweetness u
pon sweetness and excellence u
pon excellence.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">For
pan style="color: red;">Château Chalon Jean Bourdy 1945pan> I did not try to com
plicate things and the delicious Comtés are the best com
panions for this wine of rare
power and very strong alcohol. This 1945 is a great success. He won't attract many votes because he is exactly what is ex
pected of him. There is no element of sur
prise.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The two Yquems will accom
pany two dishes, a cheese dish and a dessert made with subtle
plums. The
pan style="color: red;">Château d'Yquem 1934pan> is
Pierre Lurton's contribution to our dinner, the vintage of which is that of the birth of Alexandre de Lur Saluces who has just left us this year. We have a strong thought for this great man who was a great character in Sauternes but also in the world of wine. This Yquem ke
pt at the château and reconditioned at the château is very clear with a golden tone and is characterized by incredible youth. He is as lively as a wild horse and his im
print is overjoyed.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The
pan style="color: red;">Château d'Yquem 1874pan> that I o
pened before lunch had been reconditioned in 1989. The three
peo
ple involved in the
production of Yquem wines confirmed the sincerity of this wine. It is dark and on the
palate it is absolutely rich and ex
pressively noble. It's fireworks in the mouth. He is so attractive that we are dazzled. It is 149 years old and its vigor is that of a young wine. What ha
ppiness.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I feel that the guests are ca
ptivated by the fact that the fourteen wines were all at the
peak of what they can be and I admit that I am also struck by the
perfection of these wines. I'm sure my o
pening method works wonders since I say it all the time, but at this
point it's almost unreal. It seems to me that the atmos
phere and my joy of being in Yquem will have
played a role in the behavior of all the wines.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">It's time to vote for our six favorite wines. Usually I ask for a vote of five wines but as there are fourteen a vote of six wines seems
possible. Some
peo
ple said that these votes are of little use, but when they saw the result they understood that these votes are very enlightening.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Seven guests
put the Yquem 1974 first, four
put the Cheval Blanc 1934 first and the Bordeaux resident
put the Henri Jayer first, which
proves a great o
pen-mindedness. Thirteen wines had at least one vote which is remarkable. The one who didn't have any is the Dom Ruinart and this is understandable for two reasons, we drank it in another room and we drank it first. It is logically easy to forget.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The consensus vote is:
1 - Château d'Yquem 1874, 2 - Château Cheval Blanc 1934, 3 - Y d'Yquem 1962, 4 - Nuits-Saint-Georges aux Murgers Henri Jayer 1981, 5 - Château d'Yquem 1934, 6 - Hermitage Blanc 1928 and 6 tied: Gevrey-Chambertin René Tèze & Fils 1929.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">My vote is:
pan style="color: blue;">1 - Château d'Yquem 1874, 2 - Château Cheval Blanc 1934, 3 - Gevrey-Chambertin René Téze in Ambrières 1929, 4 - Y d'Yquem 1962, 5 - Nuits-Saint-Georges aux Murgers Henri Jayer 1981 , 6 – Hermitage Blanc 1928pan>.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The combinations food and wine were
perfectly relevant. It is difficult to choose the best
pairings. I think the most beautiful is the turbot with the two Bordeaux, and the scallo
ps with the three white wines which formed a magical trio.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">
pan style="color: blue;">Olivier Brulardpan> was very ha
ppy to design dishes for the wines and ada
pt them in collaboration with me. I was very ha
ppy with this collusion with him. And his art of choosing the right
products im
pressed me.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">The Yquem team is ex
perienced in
providing great service. The whole team was ha
ppy and motivated.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">But before
putting an end to this story, there is one thing that
pleases me the most. I have always
preferred Yquems with original corks to Yquems which have changed corks during their life. The Yquem 1861 with the original cork, which seems unreal as a wine whichkee
ps the same cork for one and a half century seems im
possible. This 1861 coming from my cellar, is the greatest Yquem that I drank in 2006 at Château d'Yquem, because of its original cork, because there has an unrivaled authenticity.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">At lunchtime, when we could smell the Yquem 1906 with the original cork and the 1874 reconditioned in 1989, it a
ppeared to us that the 1874 had to remain on the dinner
program and we drank the 1906 (which at my meaning is rather to date from around 1880) at lunch.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Well, while the 1874 won hands down at the dinner, for my taste, the 1906 (or 1880) is far su
perior to the 1874 because of the s
pecial taste of uncorked Yquem, and I would rank this Yquem in the Yquem firmament which I drank, in 2nd
place after the 1861 or at least in the first five, because of its original cork and an unrivaled subtle com
plexity.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">I have drunk incredible vintages of Yquem, and I only want to discover more.
p>
<
p style="text-align: justify;">This 278th meal with
passionate and charming guests, with a very motivated chef and unrealistically
perfect wines is one of the greatest dinners I have organized.
p>