Liberation de Paris Wines celebrates this day in history Aug. 26

HOUSTON … In early August 1944, just two months after Allied troops clawed their way off the beaches of Normandy, a convoy of U.S. troops liberated the small village of la Vicomté-Sur-Rance, an ancient village near the coast of Brittany.

As the first Jeeps entered the community, the soldiers spotted a seven-year-old boy on the roadside. The Germans had stripped the town of all its food and left its residents to starve, so the emaciated child could only sit and watch as the liberators approached.

Stepping down from his Jeep, one soldier approached the child, offering a slim piece of chewing gum and a few bites of chocolate. The boy’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. At that moment, an eternal gratitude for the United States of America was born and still lives on in the man that boy is today – Joel Bonneté, still living in Brittany.

The retelling that story and how less than two weeks later, the city of Paris was liberated from Nazi rule will be a big part of a very special wine dinner at Ouisie’s Table on Thursday, Aug. 26.

On that night, the River Oaks restaurant will join with the French family of wines, Liberation de Paris, to present a five-course dinner featuring French-inspired dishes and five of the French wines. Special guest for the evening will be Jean-Francois Bonneté, who now lives in Houston and is not just the owner of the wines but also the son of the boy in Brittany who still remembers that stick of gum and few bites of chocolate 77 years later. The wines were named in honor of the roadside incident.

From sea scallops, duck confit and Dover sole meuniere to grilled lamb Provencal and pots de crème, the dinner celebrates all things French while remembering a summer that reversed the tide of war in Europe, including the day Nazi commanders surrendered Paris on Aug. 25.

The dinner begins at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 26, and the cost is $79 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required.

Ouisie’s Table is located at 3939 San Felipe and valet parking is available. For reservations and information, please call 713-528-2264 or go to www.ouisiestable.com.

Ouisie’s is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.

PARIS IS LIBERATED!

AUGUST, 1944

Join Ouisie’s Table and Liberation de Paris Wines

celebrating this day in history

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Aperitif

 A Liberation de Paris Kir Royal

Seared Sea Scallops

With creamy corn, leeks & tarragon sauce

Liberation de Paris Sauvignon Blanc 

Dover Sole Meuniere

With baby Yukon potatoes

 Liberation de Paris Chardonnay 

 Duck Confit with Glazed Peaches

Served with orange salad

Liberation de Paris Cotes du Rhone

Grilled Lamb Chops Provencal

With vegetable couscous

 Liberation de Paris Bordeaux

Pots de Creme

Liberation de Paris Pinot Noir