Champagne...on ice            (Sitegeist)  

If England is feeling a mite chilly, spare a thought for sailing adventurer Mike Horn who set course for Antarctica recently. The expedition was made more palatable by the patronage of champagne maker G.H.Mumm and Michelin gourmet dinners - albeit in some of the most inhospitable places on Earth.  Kenza Darley (1 Dec ’08)

The House of G.H. Mumm sponsors the Pangaea expedition, an epic journey launched in Monaco in May 2008. This expedition takes Mike Horn across all seven continents over almost four years in a 35-metre, state-of-the-art sailboat. The Pangaea expedition is motivated by environmental concerns and the preservation of the planet’s natural species for future generations. A number of ecological programmes will mark the project’s major stages.

(Above) Toasting history

The crew first set sail to Greenland in July 2008 enjoying a dinner orchestrated by two-star chef Sylvestre Wahid on an iceberg adrift in the middle of the Sermilik fjord. More recently they set course for Antarctica alongside Michelin three-star chef Gérard Boyer.

The Antarctica trip mirrors the trail of Captain Charcot, whose expedition the G.H.Mumm backed a century earlier. Indeed, Mike Horn and his team dined at the very spot where, on 14 July 1904, Captain Charcot’s crew celebrated their first steps on Antarctica. The achievement was toasted by the Captain popping open a bottle of Mumm Cordon Rouge.

  

The gourmet dinner element of the Pangaea expedition marks a tribute to the champagne House’s illustrious history since 1827.

This saw chef Gérard Boyer (pic below) prepare a menu featuring a South African variation on truffle and caviar themes.

The House’s pioneering support for human endeavour spans nearly two centuries.

Since Captain Charcot, the House continues to support renowned adventurers such as Dame Ellen MacArthur, Bear Grylls and Tom Avery.

“They continue to push back the frontiers of our day-to-day experience and urge us to look at the world we live in with fresh eyes,” says the House press.

The next dinner entitled the third “Mumm Explorer Experience” will take place at the end of 2009 in another unusual location and sealed with more Mumm Cordon Rouge.

RK  _________________________________________