FOR FRENCH QUARTER CHEF TOM WOLFE, THE QUALITY OF THE VODKA IS ULTRA IMPORTANT WHEN USING IT IN FOOD

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NEW ORLEANS, May 2, 2007…Chef/Proprietor Tom Wolfe of Peristyle Restaurant in the French Quarter got interested in cooking with vodka when he saw it becoming the preferred libation of an increasing number of his customers. He got passionate about it when he discovered Peureux Perfect 1864, a new ultra premium vodka from France.

“I like pairings. I’ve been doing it with wine for years,” Wolfe says. “It gives customers the option of having a link between what they are drinking and their meal. It can be the basis for a very good dining experience. Pairings are a different matter with spirits, however. Because they are so much higher in alcohol content, they tend to have a greater impact on the dish. That impact can vary significantly depending on the quality of the spirit, I’ve found.”

Wolfe experimented with several vodkas when he first started to feature items that included it. “I liked the dishes and so did the customers,” he says. “The pairings aspect worked great but I was never totally comfortable with the impact of the vodka on taste. It seemed that there was a hint of harshness that came through with the brands we tried. When cooking, you can’t mask it with ice like you can in a martini.”

With that general feeling in mind, Wolfe’s first taste of Peureux Perfect 1864 Vodka was a revelation. “When their people came here, I was surprised that they did not ask for some ice for their taste tests,” he says. “After one sip, I knew why. Their product was amazingly smooth at room temperature, which was not the case with the others we had used. It was no great leap to think that Perfect 1864 could be the answer to my one issue with using vodka in food.”

Wolfe was right to think that way--and then some. “There wasn’t a trace of harshness in the dishes we made with Perfect 1864,” he says. “In fact, its ultra smooth taste becomes a distinguishable component of the food that adds to its character and enjoyability.”

Peristyle’s repertoire now includes several recipes featuring Perfect 1864 vodka, including a vodka cocktail sauce and a chive vodka crème fraiche served with strawberry black pepper cured salmon. Peristyle also recommends Perfect 1864 to customers as their preferred ultra premium vodka. “I’ve become a fan myself,” says Wolfe. “To tell the truth, I’ve always been a bourbon man when it comes to spirits. I’d never really liked vodka before this one came along.”

About Peristyle Restaurant

Located at 1041 Rue Dumaine in the French Quarter, Peristyle combines traditional New Orleans cooking with adventuresome variations. Chef Wolfe traces his passion for cooking to his boyhood in a large New Orleans family that grew its own fruits and vegetables and approached meals as joyous events. He also worked with some of New Orleans’ most admired chefs including Gerard Maras of Mister B’s Bistro and Emeril Lagasse, prior to going off on his own. While with Emeril Lagassi, he had the opportunity to work beside some of the best-know chefs in the US, including Charlie Trotter, Larry Forgione, Norman Van Aken and Patrick Clark. He gratefully acknowledges their positive influences on his work. Peristyle is actually Chef Wolfe’s second restaurant. The first, the award-winning Wolfe’s of New Orleans, located on Lake Pontchetrain, was damaged significantly during Hurricane Katrina and has not yet reopened.

About Peureux Perfect 1864 Vodka

Peureux Perfect 1864 vodka was developed by Grandes Distilleries Peureux de Fougerolles, one of the oldest and most respected spirits producers in France, as a joint venture with Legacy Imports, Inc., of West Palm Beach, FL. Founded in 1864, Grandes Distilleries Peureux was best known previously as one of the world’s leading producers of premium quality fruit-based eaux-de-vie, which are marketed primarily under the La Cigogne brand. The company’s CEO, Bernard Baud, is a past president of the French Distillers Association.

According to Paul Connors, president of Legacy Imports, Perfect 1864’s smoothness is attributable to being made from exceptional ingredients in accord with superior distillation and production methods. Each batch of Perfect 1864, for example, includes certificates attesting that the wheat base was sourced exclusively from a soft variety found only in France's Brie Champagne region and that the water comes only from ancient natural springs in the Vosges Mountains near France's border with Switzerland. Perfect 1864 is the only vodka to provide certified support for the origin and quality of its ingredients. This policy mirrors that of the appellation control system that France maintains to ensure the quality and consistency of the ingredients in its wines, champagnes and cognacs.

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