There’s rosé cider (made with red-fleshed apples) and there’s frosé, a slushy frozen rosé. And just in time for summer 2023, Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts has introduced a special rosé sorbet, inspired by Whispering Angel rosé.
The dessert was developed by Meredith Hayden, a private chef for clients such as fashion designer Joseph Altuzzarra. Hayden, who previously worked at the restaurant Charlie Bird, in Manhattan, has grown an eager social media following as @wishbonekitchen on TikTok. She updates a website under the same name with recipes for relatively easy-to-make dishes, including Lobster Cobb Salad and avocado eggrolls like the ones they serve at Cheesecake Factory.
To devise the sorbet, which has undercurrents of strawberry, Hayden visited Chateau d’Esclans, the home of the Whispering Angel brand, for inspiration. She then met with Laurent Colin, the executive chef at Le Méridien Beach Plaza in Monaco to concretize the recipe.
In anticipation of the second Saturday in June, otherwise known as National Rosé Day, Hayden introduced the sorbet at Le Scoop, the gelato bar at the newly-renovated Le Méridien Lav in Split, Croatia.
“Split is the ideal spot to soak up endless summer, so it just made sense we debut there,” says Hayden. “It’s a place that truly embodies a leisurely, European-style spirit of summer.”
The presentation of the sorbet is nearly as important as its flavor. Available as part of Le Méridien’s annual Au Soleil program, through the end of October, a portion arrives in a small dish usually used for caviar service. That small caviar dish rests above a large, stemless wine globe of Whispering Angel rosé.
The idea is that the sorbet and the wine can be consumed side-by-side or concurrently.
“It’s such a chic and playful way to dress up something as simple as sorbet,” explains Hayden. “People I spoke to loved the lightness of the pairing. They said they could order it again and again as a treat or to finish off a meal by the ocean.”
The sorbet is also available alcohol free or on its own sans additional rosé, but Hayden has another off-the-menu suggestion.
“My favorite trick is to ask for a scoop of vanilla gelato on top,” she says. “The combination of the bright and acidic rosé sorbet with the creamy gelato is just perfection.”
