Wine Industry Report

Academy of Food and Wine UK.
Gearoid Devaney, Head Sommelier
Tom Aikens Restaurant, London SW3

Last Wednesday Gearoid Devaney was announced as this year’s Academy of Food & Wine¹, UK Sommelier of the Year² following a closely fought final at London’s Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street. The standard of entrants this year was among the best the judges had ever seen.

It was schoolboy work experience at a hotel that persuaded 32-year old Gearoid Devaney, the son of two teachers from Ulster, to pursue a career in hospitality.

“I loved the contact with people and the buzz of service. I never pictured myself in a office job,” he says. Following a three-year hotel and catering management course he headed for London where he had applied for a food and beverage position at The Capital Hotel. But a job as a sommelier was also vacant and sounded more interesting.

“I wasn’t exactly sold the position – I was told it would be hard work, my life wouldn’t be my own and I’d have lots to learn. I had never come across a sommelier in Ulster, so it was a steep learning curve.”

The then head sommelier at The Capital showed him the ropes and Gearoid read as much as he could about wines, attended tastings and learnt from suppliers. “In the early days I did feel as if the customers knew more about wine than I did,” he says. Two years later, aged just 23, he took over as The Capital’s head sommelier.

After four years at The Capital Gearoid handed in his notice to spend six months at a chateau in Bordeaux, learning about wine-making. “The job was hard to give up – a lot of people thought I was crazy - but something in me said I must go to France. I wanted to learn another language and to see wine from the beginning of the process – the grapes and the vineyards. It took my knowledge to another level,” he says.

His next sommelier’s position was at the prestigious three-starred restaurant Pierre Gagnaire on the rue Balzac in Paris. “My French was quite colloquial at this stage, as I’d learnt mostly from the workers at the vineyard. I had to polish it up, but the customers understood me,” he says. “I learnt a huge amount about food and wine at Pierre Gagnaire as well as about the discipline and standards involved in running a three-starred restaurant.”

It was while he was in Paris that former Pied à Terre head chef Tom Aikens approached him. Aikens was about to open his own restaurant in London and was looking for a sommelier. A new establishment gave Gearoid the opportunity to start a wine list from scratch and be involved in a high-profile opening. The restaurant opened its doors in April 2003 and the following year won its first Michelin star.

This is the third time Gearoid has entered the Sommelier of the Year competition. “The first year I wasn’t sure what was going on, but last year I had more of a go at it and finished second. This year I went one better. I think the competition is a great way to learn, to see your fellow peers and to put yourself in a challenging position.”

Over 100 people entered the 2008 Sommelier of the Year competition, reduced to 70 following a tough written paper. Regional finals were held in five locations across the UK followed by the semi-finals and finals at The Royal Society of Medicine on Wimpole Street, London on 2 April 2008³.

The semi-final involved a blind wine tasting, a questionnaire testing competitors’ wine knowledge and a quick-fire scenario session where each semi-finalist was given two minutes to answer a question on how they would plan a special event in a hotel restaurant. The three finalists were put under further pressure when, on stage in front of an audience of over 150 people, they had to cope with four difficult customers in a role-playing situation involving decanting a bottle of wine, suggesting wines by the glass to accompany cheese dishes and serving a martini cocktail.

This was followed by a further blind tasting, a food and wine matching exercise and a test to find errors on a wine list. For the impressive finale the three were asked to pour a magnum of Champagne into 16 glasses, filling each equally without returning to any glass, spilling any Champagne and leaving the bottle empty. The line-up of judges⁴ included Gerard Basset MS, MW and Matt Wilkin MS, director of the Academy of Food & Wine.

“I wasn’t that nervous during the morning session,” comments Gearoid, “I knew I had done the best I could at the tasting and with the questionnaire. It was more stressful in the afternoon when I got down to the final three and was completing the scenario in front of the audience – I had to really concentrate.

“Winning was surreal. The announcement seemed to pass me by. I didn’t expect to win – despite getting down to the final three. I felt very happy and proud. Everyone at the restaurant was too.”

This year Gearoid hopes to complete his Master Sommelier qualification, despite confessing that he is not a natural student! “It’s the passion for what I do that keeps me going. As head sommelier you have a lot of freedom. When you are buying wines for the restaurant you can challenge your customers and show them new things. I am very happy to come to work each day.”

1. About the Academy of Food & Wine: Founded in 1988, the Academy of Food and Wine is the industry’s professional training body, dedicated to front-of-house skills, wine service and food service. The Academy’s purpose is to identify, promote and maintain the highest professional standards for the education and training of food and wine waiting staff and bar assistants in the UK hotel, restaurant, catering and bar industry. Its objectives are: for every practicing waiter/waitress, wine waiter and bar assistant in the industry to be a member of the Academy – their professional body; to gain greater recognition for these operatives throughout the industry by accreditation, badging and recognition; to help members develop, maintain and advance their knowledge, skills and ability; to provide an interface between educators, service staff and their employers; and to enhance member’s career prospects. Currently, there are 250 individual and 500 establishment members. [↩]
2. The UK Sommelier of the Year competition has been running for 28 years and is organised by the Academy of Food and Wine. It aims to identify and reward sommeliers who show enthusiasm and skill in their profession. The competition not only allows the most talented sommeliers to be discovered, but also brings them to the notice of the trade as well as their customers. [↩]
3. Acknowledgements: Abbey Well Water, Azienda Agricola Fratelli
   Muratori, Boutinot Ltd, Champagnes Piper-Heidsieck & Charlies Heidsieck, Hotel du Vin Group, Malmaison Group, New Zealand Wine Growers, Riedel Crystal, Quadrant Visual Solutions, Royal Society of Medicine 1 Wimpole Street, Top Selection Ltd, TryWines Expertise Ltd. [↩]
4. During this year’s final it was announced that Champagnes Piper-Heidsieck & Charles Heidsieck are to sponsor the competition for an initial three year contract.

   Judges: Gerard Basset MS, MW; Henri Chapon MS, director
   of purchasing, Malmaison and Hotel du Vin; Cesar Da Silva, head
   barman, Capital Hotel, London; Christian Holthausen, international
   house communications director, Champagne Piper-Heidsieck & Champagne Charles Heidsieck; Alan Holmes, restaurant manager, Chewton Glen Hotel, New Milton; Brian Julyan MS, chief executive, Guild of Master Sommeliers; Matthieu Longuere MS, head sommelier, La Trompette, London; Andy Lynes, food, drink and travel journalist; Claire Thevenot MS, group sommelier coach, Malmaison Group; Matt Wilkin MS, director, Academy of Food & Wine; Amy Wislocki, managing editor, Decanter; Xavier Rousset MS, manager & director, Texture Restaurant & Champagne Bar, London; and Eric Zweibel MS, cellar master, Summer Lodge Hotel, Evershot. [↩]