Gerard Basset, who was Master of Ceremonies for the day ‘I love sharing my passion’
Tanguy Martin triumphed at the Moët UK Sommelier of the Year 2015 competition despite some tense moments, including the last task: the renowned ‘pour’. Fiona Sims takes a ring-side seat
ou can hear a pin drop in the Savoy as the Vineyard’s head sommelier, Romain Bourger, sniffs and slurps his way along a row of four blacked-out wine glasses. He’s trying to guess what is in each and he has two minutes to get it right. But Bourger’s answers are very different to the previous finalist. “This one is definitely a wine-based spirit –
Y
a cognac?” he offers to the judges. He gets it right, we find out later, after all the finalists have taken their turn. He also pins down the single malt. “From Islay, I think,” he says. It is indeed – Lagavulin, another point scored. In case you haven’t already guessed, we are watching the final of the Moët UK Sommelier of the Year 2015 competition. Organised by the Academy of Food & Wine
Service (AFWS) and The Caterer and held at the Savoy hotel in London, the competition is now in its 36th year and has become one of the most sought-after titles for sommeliers and wine waiters working in the UK. The competition is partnered by venerable Champagne house Moët & Chandon, now in its fourth year with the competition, and it seeks out the sommelier who displays the best wine- and drink-related knowledge together with a battery of technical skills related to all things wine, as well as superior service.
The Moët UK Sommelier of the Year 2015 competitors
Arnaud Bardary, Maze by Gordon Ramsay, London Ladislav Basta, the Kitchin, Edinburgh Romain Bourger, the Vineyard at Stockcross – Wales & South West Sommelier of the Year Tobias Brauweiler, Hakkasan, London – London Sommelier of the Year Mathias Camilleri, Medlar, London – winner of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Young Sommelier competition Zigmars Grinbergs, Hotel du Vin, Brighton – South East of England Sommelier of the Year David Kubler, the Montagu Arms Hotel, Beaulieu, Hampshire – 2015 regional runner-up Olivier Marie, Coq d’Argent, London Tanguy Martin, Hotel Terravina – 2014 Moët UK Sommelier of the Year runner-up Laurent Richet, Restaurant Sat Bains – North of England Sommelier of the Year Stuart Skea, Champany Inn, Linlithgow, West Lothian – Scottish Sommelier of the Year Niels Sluiman, Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
And in case you are thinking this is just another day on the job, albeit in front of audi- ence, competitors have to put in hours of prac- tice and study, many returning to re-enter the competition after participating in previous years. Even getting to the final is praise indeed from peers that include past winners and more ‘masters’ than you can shake a stick at – namely master sommeliers and masters of wine. At the helm is Gerard Basset – master of wine and AFWS technical director – who is also master of ceremonies for the event. Basset is normally the head judge, but this
year one of Basset’s boys has reached the final so, in the interest of fairness, he has stepped aside to take on MC duties instead. In fact, Basset knows more than most about the hard graft it takes to get to the finals. He went all the way in 2010, scooping the World’s Best Sommelier prize – something all the competitors will have their eye on in future. A win here means automatic entry into the selection rounds for the prestigious global competition, where wine stardom beckons. Previous winners of the UK Sommelier of
the Year competition include Kathrine Larsen, Jan Konetzki at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, and Basset protégé Laura Rhys – all of whom
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23