Aymeric Pollenne wins Young Sommelier of the Year GB
Aymeric Pollenne has been crowned Young Sommelier of the Year for Great Britain by Chaîne de Rotisseurs at its awards ceremony at the Dorchester, London on 23 March.
The 24 year-old Frenchman spent 18 months at the Lanesborough Hotel in London improving his sommelier skills in English and will now qualify for the global final later this year.
Aymeric, said: “The competition was very tight, with just a small number of marks between us all. I would like to thank the strong team at the Lanesborough for all their help and encouragement to get me here today.”
Alexandre Freguin of Moor Hall came second while Tony Le Curoux from Northcote Manor and Matteo Montone from Edition both tying for third place.
The Chaîne de Rotisseurs’ Young Sommelier of the Year Award is eligible aged between 21 and 30 working at the Chaine member establishments nationwide.
The competition takes place at the Gaggenau Showrooms, Wigmore Street where contestants take part in a series of practical activities, testing their wine knowledge, palate and service skills.
Under the chairmanship of Gerard Basset MS MW, judges for the event in 2018 were Nicolas Clerc MS, Piotr Pietras MS, Matthieu Longuere MS, Stephen Spurrier, Christelle Guibert, Philip Evins and Bailli Délégué.
Aymeric will now go on to represent Great Britain in the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’ International Young Sommelier Finals which take place in Mexico City on 18 – 20 September 2018.