Benoit Blin President of Judges announces Winners of
the Vins de Roussillon Dessert Trophy

Above: UK winning team, Andrea Briccarello (left) and Daniel Fancett  (right) of Galvin La Chapelle

Galvin La Chapelle sommelier and pastry chef duo triumphed during the live cook-off at the fourth UK Wines of Roussillon Dessert Trophy
 
The Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon (CIVR) is delighted to announce that the winners of the prestigious 2010 Wines of Roussillon Dessert Trophy are head sommelier Andrea Briccarello and pastry chef Daniel Fancett of Galvin La Chapelle. The sommelier and chef team impressed the panel of wine and culinary experts with their creation of Lemon bavarois with citrus fruit salad paired with Muscat de Rivesaltes, Domaine Pouderoux 2009. 

The competition final, held on Monday 25 October at L’atelier des Chefs, London W1, saw four pastry chef and sommelier teams battle it out in the final stage of the competition, taking the judges on an epicurean adventure during the live cook-off. The four finalist teams (1 Lombard Street, Summer Lodge Hotel, Green's Restaurant and Oyster Bar and Galvin La Chapelle), were asked to prepare and present their perfect pairing of a unique citrus-themed dessert creation with a Roussillon Vin Doux Naturel from AOC Banyuls, Maury, Muscat de Rivesaltes or Rivesaltes.

Describing the winning dessert as “citrus on steroids”, sommelier Andrea Briccarello explained how the match came about. “The aim was to find the perfect balance between a sweet wine and a citrus dessert; in this case we felt the acidity of the wine – with peachy, rose-petal aromas and a hint of citrus – worked well with the lemon flavours and creamy texture of the dessert.” He added, “I have been waiting to find a top pastry chef with whom to enter this competition, one good enough to create a winning team. In this trade you always want to test yourself; I am delighted with the result!”

President of the jury and chef pâtissier at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, Benoit Blin, enthused: “The Wines of Roussillon Dessert Trophy puts the spotlight on the important role the pastry chef plays in the kitchen, and the ways in which both sommelier and chef can work together to create astounding flavour combinations. We look forward to seeing the winning team compete at the third Wines of Roussillon Dessert Trophy European Final in Perpignan in January next year, where they will represent the UK against Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Southern Catalonia. UK team Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons were winners of the second European final and we hope to see Galvin La Chapelle fare just as well.”  

This year's other finalists were:

RUNNER UP: 1 Lombard Street, EC3 for their ‘Citrus Lombardo with kumquat and orange sorbet’ paired with Maury Blanc, Domaine les Terres de Fagayra 2008, created by head pastry chef Arnaud Viatte and head sommelier/restaurant manager Matthew Mawtus

Green’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar, SW1 for their 'White grapefruit mousse with an Amedi dark chocolate and chilli spring roll, grapefruit and orange juice caviar', paired with Rivesaltes Ambré Domaine Fontanel 1998, created by head chef Luke Underhill and sommelier Frédéric Ahuir

Summer Lodge Hotel, Dorset for their ‘Orange and mandarin crêpe soufflé “Suzette”, paired with Muscat de Rivesaltes, Château de Jau, 2007, created by chef de partie (pastry) Sophie Mackenzie and assistant head sommelier Clement Robert

This year’s Wines of Roussillon Dessert Trophy judges were:

Benoit Blin – Chef Pâtissier, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
Sara Jayne Stanes OBE – chief executive, Academy of Culinary Arts
Tim Marson MW – buyer, Bibendum Wines
Sarah Jane Evans MW – writer and broadcaster, founder member of The Academy of Chocolate
Costanzo Scala – head sommelier, Benares

Anne Coquelin and Tibaut Pannas of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons were the winning team of this trophy in 2008.

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