Velaa’s Aragu to host Billecart-Salmon Champagne pairing dinner

Velaa Private Island will host a Champagne pairing dinner at Aragu Signature Restaurant on 18 November 2026, bringing together a specially crafted menu and wines from Billecart-Salmon. The evening will be hosted by the Champagne house’s managing director, Alexandre Bader, and Asia-Pacific director, Sébastien Papin.

Each food and Champagne pairing will be presented during the dinner, placing the relationship between the kitchen’s dishes and the accompanying wines at the centre of the experience. For culinary professionals, the format highlights the connection between menu development, wine selection and the presentation of pairings during service.

Aragu provides a setting rooted in contemporary European cooking with Asian influences. Led by culinary director Gaushan de Silva, the restaurant places an emphasis on ingredient sourcing and sustainability alongside its approach to menu development.

Bader has been part of Billecart-Salmon since 1992. According to the resort, he has contributed to the house’s international growth, strengthened its reputation among leading restaurants and helped shape its modern identity. His work also involves sharing the producer’s heritage with guests and hospitality partners around the world.

His participation will bring that experience of the international restaurant sector to the Aragu dinner, alongside Papin’s knowledge of hospitality operations across Asia-Pacific.

Raised in Bordeaux within a family involved in winemaking, Papin developed an interest in wine and Champagne from an early age. As Billecart-Salmon’s Asia-Pacific director, he works closely with luxury hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants throughout the region.

His regional work includes leading tastings, masterclasses and dining experiences centred on the house’s craftsmanship and winemaking knowledge. This background connects his role with the practical presentation of Champagne within restaurant settings.

The dinner’s focus on heritage draws on a history dating to 1818, when Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon established the house in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, France.

For chefs interested in the production methods behind the wines, Billecart-Salmon’s approach includes cold settling and extended fermentation at low temperatures in stainless-steel tanks. The house uses small, temperature-controlled vessels and vinifies separately by grape variety and vineyard origin to preserve their individual characteristics. It identifies this slower fermentation as central to the fruit expression and delicate aromas of its Champagnes.

The individual Champagnes, vintages and menu dishes for the November dinner were not specified in the announcement.