QT Hotels are hosting an unexpected gastronomic series which not only matches a special menu to champagne (and documents it on camera), but also allows diners to experience a dish from each state.

The Art of Tasting, starring food enthusiast and presenter, Melissa Leong – who was just announced as the new MasterChef judge! Alongside Maison Perrier-Jouët’s Global Ambassador Chris Sheehy and a line-up of QT’s acclaimed Executive Chefs, is a five-part series that uncovers the art of champagne pairing, coupling Maison Perrier-Jouët’s suite of enigmatic cuvées with QT’s creative interior spaces and truly unique dining experiences.

You’ll learn all the Champagne queen essentials like how many times you should turn the cork before popthe answer is six FYI.

The menu takes you on a ‘tour de QT’, the series borrows a dish from QT Canberra, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne; each tasked to use an ingredient of local produce and to pair with a fancy French liquid.

Making Canberra’s food scene look incredible, is Capitol Bar & Grill’s Mushroom Crostata by Executive Chef Josh Smith-Thirkell. His delicious Italian tart is filled with a mushroom ragu, featuring four types of mushrooms from Murrumbateman’s Majestic Mushrooms. The Mushroom Crostata is paired with the Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé. These bubbles are peach in complexation, exude stone fruit flavours and the dryness is well suited to the sweetness of the polenta at the base of the mushroom ragu.

QT Canberra guests can also try Perth’s, Wood-roasted Marron; Sydney’s, Duck L’Orange and Melbourne’s, Apple Crumble Soufflé, all with matched champagnes.

Check out the Canberra episode here: