Throughout December, Veuve Clicquot’s Emotions of the Sun exhibition at Youngblood Gallery — created in collaboration with the iconic Magnum Photos agency — invites visitors to experience the warmth and energy of the sun through photography.
Having travelled from Milan to New York before arriving in Cape Town, the exhibition is paired with the Sun on Your Plate Café, where its radiant theme is interpreted through food. Created by Cape Town creative Seth Shezi, the menu mirrors the exhibition’s focus on colour, texture and light, translating the visual experience into flavour.
The exhibition showcases 40 photographs by eight celebrated Magnum photographers, each exploring the Sun not as an object but as an emotion – an expression that echoes the Maison’s iconic solaire culture. At the Sun on Your Plate Café, Shezi translates this philosophy into a menu that mirrors the exhibition’s optimism and warmth. Seasonal ingredients, luminous colours and playful textures take centre stage. “Veuve Clicquot’s world is built on imagination and boldness,” says Shezi. “Designing this menu meant capturing that emotional temperature – warm, golden and surprising. Familiar enough to comfort, layered enough to intrigue.”
For Veuve Clicquot, the partnership is a natural extension of the Maison’s longstanding affinity for joyful, elevated dining. “Veuve Clicquot has become synonymous with unforgettable brunches around the world,” says Brune Failliot, Global Communication & Digital Director of Veuve Clicquot. “The Sun on Your Plate Café allows guests to experience a signature brunch by Veuve Clicquot. Our approach to food is rooted in the same values that define our champagne: generosity, creativity and a celebration of life’s bright moments.”
Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label threads through the experience as the ideal pairing. Its lively citrus, white fruit notes and subtle brioche character complement the menu’s fresh, sunlit flavours. “Yellow Label has a beautiful minerality that works across a wide range of dishes,” Shezi notes.
Signature dishes include truffle skinny fries with saffron aioli, goat’s cheese on yellow beetroot crisps with wild honey, and salmon sashimi on a turmeric blini. “Each dish captures sunlight on a plate,” Shezi adds. “Bright, celebratory, and unmistakably joyful – just like the exhibition itself.”
Tickets to the Emotions of the Sun exhibition are priced at R200 via howler.co.za, which includes a glass of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label as well as access to the immersive exhibition, Sun on Your Plate Café and gifting boutique.
Location: Youngblood Gallery, 70 Bree Street, Cape Town
Opening times: Monday to Sunday, 10am – 6pm
