Hotel du Vin wipes out London restaurant competition hopes

A strong performance by Cambridge’s Hotel du Vin has ended hopes of a London restaurant representative in the Grand Final of the Champagne Jacquart Rising Stars Trophy 2010.

The Hotel du Vin team, which won the London, east & south east of England Regional Final, will now join the four remaining competitors in April’s Grand Final, which will be judged by Gerard Basset MS MW and chef John Torode.

Hailing from Edinburgh to Cornwall, and with the youngest entrant (a chef) aged just 16, the five grand finalists of the Champagne Jacquart Rising Stars Trophy 2010 can now be revealed. The five teams are:

Andrew Wildsmith and Brent Hulena, Hipping Hall, Cumbria
Pierre Pattieu and Jonathan Dean, Hotel du Vin, Cambridge
Igor Visser and William Boyter, Number One Restaurant (The Balmoral), Edinburgh
Heather McKnight and Jaillin Argent, The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, Marlborough, Wiltshire
Jason Weight and Robert Zabel, The Seafood Restaurant, Padstow, Cornwall

The competition is judged on a sommelier and chef team’s quality as well as the ability to enhance and support a working partner’s role in the restaurant.

The winners of the Grand Final will be rewarded with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Champagne and Paris, courtesy of Champagne Jacquart, as well as the opportunity to dine with the judges at The Luxe restaurant in London on the evening of the competition.

Full details of the Grand Final will be revealed in a special drinks business supplement on the entire 2010 event, which will be available at the London International Wine Fair in May.

Jane Parkinson, 23.03.2010