Dancing with Bubbles: An Autumn Champagne Lunch at Restaurant de Dyck

The setting: garden and glass

Noon in Woubrugge, and from your table you look straight at the bed where the carrot for the first course is still waiting. Restaurant de Dyck has a green Michelin star and you feel it immediately. The kitchen starts in the garden, the wine list follows.

That’s a different starting point than most restaurants. Not a protein at the center with a wine sourced around it, but vegetables first. The Champagnes are picked carefully around them.

The result: vegetables don’t get steamrolled by the wine. They get room. And grower Champagne turns out to suit them remarkably well.

The pairings

The menu was specifically built around the Champagnes. You taste it in every match.

Opening: garden’s first whispers

Amuse: Onion and kohlrabi variations Champagne: Marx-Coutelas Tradition Brut Blend: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier Region: Vallée de la Marne Dégorgement: 12-2023

We start with Marx-Coutelas’s traditional blend, a clean introduction to the house. Fresh style, elegant backdrop for sweet onion and crisp kohlrabi. Sets the tone: garden vegetables can dance with fine bubbles. As de Dyck’s house Champagne, you understand why. Approachable, friendly, serious enough for a wide range of palates.

Breaking bread

Sourdough with two butters: smoked goat’s milk and a tribute to the local Groene Hart. Each butter says something different about local craft. The terroir feeling starts here.

First course: earth meets sky

Dish: Carrot with Douglas fir, sea buckthorn, and curry plant Champagne: Pierre Gerbais Grain de Celles Extra Brut Blend: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc Region: Aube Dégorgement: 04-2024

Grain de Celles, with an unusual dose of Pinot Blanc, gives a crystalline framework to the sweet earthy carrot. Served in a large glass to let the wine open. Mineral precision against the carrot’s sweetness and the curry’s exotic edge. Douglas fir adds a forest note, sea buckthorn brings bright acidity that picks up the bubbles. Exceptional combination.

Second course: fire and ice

Dish: Leek with jalapeño, verbena, and farmhouse cheese Champagne: Domaine Rousseaux-Batteux Blanc de Noir Extra Brut Grape: 100% Pinot Noir Region: Montagne de Reims Dégorgement: 09-2024

Pinot Noir’s range on display. Rousseaux-Batteux’s Blanc de Noirs comes from cherished plots on the Montagne de Reims and shows both power and finesse. The structure carries the jalapeño’s heat while harmonizing with the creamy cheese. Verbena builds a citrus bridge. My favorite Champagne of the lunch. Body, sharp acidity, smooth fruit sweetness.

Third course: depth and complexity

Dish: Fennel with onion, buckwheat, and blackcurrant Wine: Domaine Marx-Coutelas Les Grandes Jardins, Coteaux Champenois Rouge 2020 Grape: Pinot Noir Region: Vallée de la Marne

A surprising return to Marx-Coutelas, this time their still red. Coteaux Champenois from Pinot Noir, same producer that opened the lunch. The red fruit pairs strikingly well with the fennel’s anise, while buckwheat provides earthy ballast. A sublime match from Champagne territory in a style you don’t expect there.

Dish: Yogurt with elderflower, pearl barley, and rose Champagne: Joseph Perrier Demi-Sec Blend: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier Region: Vallée de la Marne Dégorgement: 01-2023

Joseph Perrier has held royal warrants since the Victorian era, and you taste why. The richly styled Demi-Sec balances sweetness with sharp acidity. Elderflower and rose hook into the wine’s floral notes. It doesn’t read as cloying. The interplay of sweet and savory does the work.

Final flourish

Dish: Blackberry with rosemary, pine, and hazelnut Wine: Goutorbe Bouillot Ratafia Champenois Blend: Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier Region: Vallée de la Marne

Closing with Ratafia, Champagne’s traditional fortified wine. Goutorbe Bouillot delivers a rare one. Rich character next to forest fruit and hazelnut. Rosemary and pine add aromatic layers. A contemplative ending.

Reflections

At € 155 per person you get aperitif, all Champagnes, water pairing, and coffee or tea with friandises. What sets the lunch apart is how naturally the garden-to-table ethos lines up with grower Champagne. Brouzje tells the story behind each bottle. The progression runs from crisp opener to contemplative Ratafia. Vegetables, treated with respect, hold their own next to traditional luxury ingredients.

Why this works

A real grasp of Champagne styles and seasonal produce. From the mineral clarity of Extra Brut to the smooth warmth of a Coteaux Rouge. Each dish has a wine that lifts it.

Closing

More than a lunch. A masterclass in Champagne and how far you can take a meal that starts with vegetables. The care in every pairing builds a story about terroir, in the glass and on the plate. Thanks to Restaurant de Dyck and Brouzje for the invitation.