я (1)Water "sommelier" Doran Binder has curated the water menu for the French-style restaurant in northern England. courtesy Doran Binder
London
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The French are known for their love of fine wines. La Popote, a French-style restaurant in northern England, is no exception.
The Michelin Guide-listed eatery in the county of Cheshire offers diners the choice of almost 140 varieties of wine. But now the business is taking a bold step to cater for discerning non-drinkers by offering an entire menu of bottled water.
Diners will have the choice of three different bottles of still water and four sparkling beginning Friday, as well as complimentary tap water.
La Popote is tapping into a global trend away from alcohol. For example, based on a Gallup poll last year, 58% of adult Americans drink alcohol, down from 67% in 2022. A growing number of Americans are giving up alcohol, whether permanently or temporarily, while many restaurants are offering a bigger range of mocktails, and sober bars and non-alcoholic bottle shops are becoming increasingly popular.
Chef Joseph Rawlins, who founded and runs La Popote with his French partner Gaëlle Radigon, said they had initially been approached about the idea by Doran Binder, who was already supplying the restaurant with their ‘house’ water under his Crag Spring Water brand. A water sommelier, certified by the Fine Water Academy, Binder first suggested the idea of a water menu to the couple three years ago.
Owners Joseph Rawlins and Gaëlle Radigon outside their French-style restaurant La Popote.
Owners Joseph Rawlins and Gaëlle Radigon outside their French-style restaurant La Popote. courtesy Julian Kronfli
“I laughed it off,” Rawlins told CNN. “I initially thought it was a ridiculous idea.”
But when Binder invited the couple to a tasting at the “water bar” he owns in the Peak District, a national park in north-central England, they were sold.
“It was mind-blowing,” Rawlins said of the experience, adding that he now believes that “water isn’t just water.”
At that first tasting, they tried five or six different varieties. “Then we did a second tasting with exactly the same waters but we paired them with certain foods – like Manchego cheese, Comté cheese, chocolate, Parma ham, olives. Like with a wine, the taste just changed.”