Representing Singapore, chef Emmanuel Stroobant adds a dash of excellence to the world of gastronomy with a promising union between Saint Pierre and Dom Pérignon

Since its inception in 2000, Saint Pierre has become a household name in the upper echelons of fine dining in Singapore. And the creative force behind it is the inimitable chef-owner Emmanuel Stroobant, whose passion and affinity for Dom Pérignon is expressed through a series of synergistic collaborations throughout the years.

As if the stars aligned, both Stroobant and Saint Pierre have been recently inducted into the esteemed Dom Pérignon Society, an exclusive international community of culinary leaders that shares a commitment to excellence and the extraordinary through various champagne dinners and food pairing events.

The prestigious society, which was created in 2014, foster like-minded individuals with a shared passion for fine dining and Dom Pérignon champagnes. It now has presence in 18 countries and 67 inducted members, and Stroobant joins Dave Pynt, the chef-owner of modern steakhouse Burnt Ends, as the only two members in Singapore.

ABOVE Patrick Madendjian sharing a toast with Emmanuel Stroobant

At Stroobant’s induction ceremony, which was held at Saint Pierre on December 21, Patrick Madendjian, the managing director of Moët Hennessy Diageo Singapore and Malaysia, expressed that the Dom Pérignon Society is more than just a society. “It symbolises a great act of creation, to celebrate in a divine way so to speak. When you put talented chefs together in the same room, like chef Emmanuel himself, magic happens as time has proven us correct.” The chosen restaurants are the very few to have access to Dom Pérignon rarities where guests can enjoy the option to taste these rare vintages by the glass, “more often than not before anyone else in the market,” adds Madendjian.

Stroobant’s relationship with Dom Pérignon is certainly worthy of celebration. While he recalls his time as a young chef in the late 80s when it was tradition to open a bottle of Dom Pérignon whenever they celebrated an achievement, his favourite memory with the maison was when he developed an exclusive menu for the launch of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2004 Plénitude 2. “There were ingredients I introduced in the menu which were really risky and I was surprised they were accepted. That evening was probably the pinnacle of what we’ve (Saint Pierre) achieved in fine dining,” shares Stroobant.

On bringing that parallel for food and wine, Stroobant says: “I am obviously very happy. I really like the idea of collaborating with my industry peers and sharing ideas. Then there’s the opportunity to talk to the winemaker to understand what they had in mind when creating a vintage. This fraternity between chefs and winemakers, who bear a ton of similarities, evokes emotions that give way to something quite magical when we put our minds together.”

In the past 23 years, Saint Pierre rode the waves of the ever-evolving F&B landscape but there was one thing that remained constant—the care and attention dedicated to maintaining its focus on seasonality and its effects on specific ingredients. “Looking back 20 years ago, I would include many different elements into one dish. We infuse, we marinate and add four or five layers,” Stroobant reveals. From maximalist to minimalist, Stroobant now works toward stripping away the excess in hopes of shedding light on each chosen ingredient’s purity. Today, the cuisine at Saint Pierre presents a mastery of French techniques and Asian sensibilities.

ABOVE Emmanuel Stroobant nosing a glass of Dom Pérignon

Sharing admiration for one another, Dom Pérignon and Saint Pierre share a symbiotic bond. “Dom Pérignon wouldn’t produce a vintage with a year where the grapes are not excellent,” quips Stroobant. Tipping his glass of Dom Pérignon and gesturing to its purity, he lets on that “it is beautiful and refined. Whether it’s the 2009 vintage or even my favourite vintage of 1996, the Dom Pérignon style is very recognisable. It’s just like when you see a Picasso painting, you will know it is a Picasso. To match and pair with that, my food needs to remain very complex even if we’re now getting straight to the essence of an ingredient,” he expounds.

The culinary luminary is also one of the first to recently introduce a full-fledged vegetarian tasting menu in the fine dining sphere, “I think as professional chefs, we need to be able to cater to vegetarians with the same excellence,” he continues. “And maybe one of the reasons why we are still here is that we try to adapt to our customer’s point of view.”

As for gourmands, this marks the beginning of an exciting collaboration between two juggernauts in the food and wine world. While plans for Singapore aren’t set in stone just yet, Madendjian reassures with two upcoming releases of new vintages and perhaps bringing in Dom Pérignon Society chefs from other parts of the world to Singapore to collaborate. On Stroobant’s end, he promises new experiences for his upcoming menu which not only features Dom Pérignon pairings but also intricate dishes that cleverly weave in Dom Pérignon champagnes into sauces alongside prized ingredients such as beautiful black winter truffles.