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 When I received an Invite from Florence, Cecilia, Rajeev, Morgan and Serge to attend the opening of SOLEIL Restaurant, I was slightly foxed. Cecilia is the Global Brand Ambassador and Rajeev of course is the founder CEO of Sula but I frankly did not know the other ‘Italian’ and ‘German’ hosts. It was later at lunch that I was introduced to Morgan Rainforth, Florence Tarbouriech and Serge Lozano as partners of the well-known Restaurant La Plage on Ashwem Beach, North Goa. I also found out that they were not only all- French but from the same town in Provence and had known each other ‘forever’ and that they make an awesome threesome. They have been in India for over 17 years running La Plage (The Beach) and another French restaurant simply called Le Restaurant Francais for 5 years.
La Plage has created waves in North Goa and is frequented by celebrities and the hip crowd. Since I normally visit South Goa, I never had an opportunity to visit the restaurant known for its French food. But as Chef Morgan puts it, ‘as a French Chef I don’t necessarily go for the French food but the French in me brings out the gourmet aspect of any dish.’ The twist because of his ingenuity was obvious when we were welcomed with the mundane palak paneer in a spoon as a starter with Sula Brut-but with fresh asparagus on top that changed the texture and took the flavour to another level. The ordinary moongi sabut dal served with lunch later had achieved an air of nobility with mushrooms and the Morgan style of cooking; I don’t know of anyone who did not take a second helping.
The ‘O’ in the SOLEIL logo in blue has the expected sun symbol that also adorns the original Sula labels on the wine bottles. But the different style was a giveaway that Soleil Brand was not exclusively owned by Sula. As confirmed by Florence and Rajeev, it is owned jointly by the Awesome Threesome and Sula; otherwise the Sula sun symbol might have logically shone in the logo.
 Did Rajeev always plan to have a restaurant called Soleil in Sula Vineyards? Perhaps not- though going by the scent of success at Sula, the restaurant and hospitality business would vie for the attention as expansion possibilities for the ambitious and visionary entrepreneur. In fact, no one could have visualized the name earlier. Says Florence, who has been in India for 17 years and running La Plage (she is known fondly as the Knife; Morgan is the ‘Fork’ while Serge is the ‘Spoon’), ‘after we had agreed on the collaboration, we were looking for an appropriate name and were still undecided. One day a bunch of us were driving around in Goa for fun when one of the friends suddenly suggested ‘Soleil’, the French word for Sun and voilà, SOLEIL was born!
The joint venture, or adventure as Sula likes to dub their current initiative in the wine tourism space, has been in the making for the last 5 years. Rajeev, who says he has known the trio for around 12 years, was in talks with them to convince them to come on board at the Nashik vineyards as partners, for the last 5 years. Now that they are on board, one can see that they are as passionate about food as Rajeev is about wine and the good life. Being fond of Indian food helps the thoroughly professional Chef Morgan take the Indian cuisine to a different level. He is quite unabashed about using his French culinary skills and adding a twist to the Indian dishes but also stresses that he does not intend to bring in fusion. Being regional in character, Indian food will naturally be predominant at Soleil at Sula but French cuisine will be an important and integral part of the Menu as well.
Does he keep in mind the pairing of food with wine? Chef Morgan who uses Sula wines generously with the Dindori Reserve apparently as his favourite wine in food, says, ‘I like to leave the pairing to the customer but all our dishes are wine friendly and offer an excellent gourmet experience’. The prices are very reasonable-in fact at the outset they seemed more reasonable than at the Beyond Vineyard Resort operated by Sula 3 kms away. A Soleil seasonal vegetarian thali costs only Rs. 310 while Goan Cafreil Chicken leg with exotic stuffings is priced at Rs. 350. Those with a sweet tooth would love their specialty, Thali au Chocolat- an assortment of four chocolate desserts that bring out the best in Sula Chenin Blanc Late Harvest dessert wine.
Dishes like Risotto with three types of mushrooms and spinach, made in tangy red wine reduction and a hint of bitter chocolate, would make many a Mumbai gourmet traverse the 2.5-hour distance (the time it could take from one end of Mumbai to the other end during busy traffic hours) to Nashik to relish the meal with a bottle of Dindori Shiraz or even Dindori Reserve Viognier, the new release of the dry and complex wine matured in oak barrels. A special attraction will soon be the Rasa Cabernet currently resting and maturing in the barrels. Priced at over Rs. 2500 (‘expected at $45 compared to $25 for the Rasa Shiraz’, says the visiting Master Winemaker Kerry Damskey who was on the last leg of his current quarterly visit to the vineyard, blending wines). All the 300 cases produced of the most expensive Indian wine will be sold only at the vineyard and will add to the gourmet experience.
 The restaurant is a jewel in the crown of Sula but it will also make a gourmet destination for the local denizens. Rajeev concurs that many gourmets will find it more convenient to come to Sula more frequently from Mumbai now to enjoy the cuisine by the much celebrated trio rather than going to Goa. Of course, with the food at Soleil by La Plage crying out for wine, the sale of Sula is bound to feel a positive nudge.
Having the advantage of knowing the Californian wine industry and the emphasis on wine tourism, Rajeev is a pioneer and had put Sula on the wine tourist map years ago with a Tasting Room, followed by an Amphi-theater which has become internationally known for the annual Sulafest and the Beyond Vineyard Resort. Basking in the successful launch of Soleil and a positive feedback from the guests, he informs delWine, ‘I think we are going to take a breather for a while in so far as the wine tourism is concerned. It is not easy to replicate a project of this nature.’ Expecting the arrival of 180,000 wine tourists this year, he feels it is time they push for more spending by each tourist rather than increasing the numbers.
SOLEIL by La Plage is a project that would let Sula achieve that…and more.
Subhash Arora
Voluntary Disclosure- The visit to SOLEIL by Plage at Nashik was sponsored by Sula Vineyards.
Tags: La Plage, Soleil, Nashik, SOLEIL by La Plage, Sula, Kerry Damskey |