Hampshire pair lift 2009 Gastronomy Team of the Year trophy
The Academy of Food and Wine (AFW) has announced a sommelier and chef team from Chewton Glen hotel and spa in New Milton, Hampshire, as the 2009 Gastronomy Team of the Year.
In the final held at Westminster Kingsway College, Chewton Glen head sommelier Alan Holmes and junior sous chef Nick Hewitt successfully created, cooked and served a two-course menu using Parma ham and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese matched with Burgundy wines, Port and Douro Valley wines.
The team impressed the panel of judges, headed by Gerard Basset, to beat off competition from Andaz Hotel, London, Bovey Castle, Dartmoor, The East India Club, London, and The George Hotel and Brasserie, Buckden, Cambridgeshire.
Basset said: “The Chewton Glen pair demonstrated a good example of great teamwork – you could see that this was a team that had pulled together to achieve a menu and accompanying wines that was very accomplished and that worked extremely well together.”
The Chewton Glen team’s menu featured a starter of crown of New Lane Orchard asparagus, Mudeford crab, langoustines, with Parmesan crisp and chilled asparagus soup, served with Château de la Saule Montagny 1er cru 2007, Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy. This was followed by a main course of roast chicken with a Parmesan bread sauce and sage stuffing and wrapped in Parma ham and served with a Quinta das Tecedeiras 2004, Douro, Portugal.
Sophie Roberts-Brown, executive director of AFW, said: “With every restaurant operation currently under pressure to retain customers and maintain sales it’s becoming more vital that front-of-house and the kitchen have a thorough understanding of each other’s departments in order to ensure customers receive the best service possible.”
The pair will now embark on an educational 10-day trip courtesy of Discover the Origin to Burgundy, Parma and the Douro Valley.
