Last week, I was invited to an evening organized by Montreal’s Four Seasons Hotel and Dear Musa, the coolest event company around.
It was the first night in a new series of events that blend the elegance of a top chef’s dinner with the velvety, chilly ambience of an episode of Gossip Girl. It’s the perfect change of season – we’ve gone from beach parties, bare feet and big concerts in the streets in autumn, to lounge cafés , hushed martinis and the first snow.
Jazz, satin and apples
On the evening of Les Plaisirs de la Table: Taste of Autumn dinner, it was raining in torrents-an icy downpour that heralds the long, cold nights of winter.
After passing through the doors of the Four Seasons, and crossing the lobby with the marble clacking high heels with a festive echo -this is an evening with a dress code, and it was respected by all the guests, in black, white, red satin and velvet- I arrived early for dinner.
The ballroom of the Four Seasons, redecorated and draped in white by Dear Musa, was transformed into a banquet hall bathed in red, with a long table covered with apples in tarabiscotted pyramids. A jazz ensemble played continuously, and the old-world quality of the live music was an undeniable charm of the evening.
The evening – which had the mixed qualities of an excellent date, a university salon and a speed-dating for aristocrats – was first and foremost a supper.
The menu, presented by Four Seasons chef Jason Morris, included lobster bites (I ate six), gougères, gnocchi and an apple dessert-with wine and a box of chocolates to eat for breakfast the next morning.
At the end of the evening, we got to write a (love?) letter and seal it with red wax and a kiss. When I left the hotel, it had miraculously stopped raining.
Practical info
To take part in upcoming Four Seasons events with Dear Musa, sign up for the Dear Musa newsletter here and follow @dear.musa_ and the Four Seasons at @fsmontreal!
Thanks to the Four Seasons and Aditi for the invitation!