Tell us a bit about yourself:
At a very young age I developed a love of cooking with my family, which lead me to go on and study hospitality at college. Winning chef competitions gave me the opportunity to work with some of the best chefs in the trade. This eventually took my career overseas where I cooked for some well recognised and acclaimed business people in Asia. I returned to the UK in 2000 and set up a pub in Dorset which I ran for 8 years and then a restaurant on the South coast. My Chef’s nose has always loved wine and the natural progression was to learn more about wines, to this day I love pairing food and wine.
What is your favourite wine for Autumn/Winter?
This changes with every year that passes and wine that I taste, but I find myself going back to a Pinot Noir from Oregon, USA or a Spanish Priorat.
Do you have a favourite grape?
It would have to be the versatility of Sangiovese. I’m enjoying watching it grow in popularity and pop up in different countries around the world.
Who is your favourite wine producer?
I have adored Planeta for years and looking forward to working closer with Saumaize-Michelin and Marques de Murrieta again.
Do any wines bring back a specific memory?
When I was visiting South Africa, during one of the many vineyard visits around the Cape, I was tasting at the cellar door of Boekenhoutskloof Estate. I got particularly excited about “The Chocolate Block” wine and bought far too much, it was only 60 rand a bottle (£2.80), at the time, long before it was being exported into the UK. I had to leave clothes and possessions in order to fit the wine into my suitcase, that was suddenly 3 times the weight!
Would you choose a cheeseboard or pudding?
Cheese board please with gooey and strong all the way.
What is your favourite food and wine pairing?
Fresh Vietnamese prawn rolls with a good Alsace Pinot Gris.
Outside of work, where might you be found?
In a good restaurant eating far too much, or dragging my Springer spaniel out of a river.
Outside of work, where might you be found?
I enjoy cooking for friends at home, a game of Scottish rugby and traveling to new places in the world.
What is your favourite fact about wine?
I love talking and teaching others of the notorious “judgement of Paris” in the mid 70’s, recreating the event at consumer tastings. As History goes in a blind tasting, one of my heroes of wine, Steven Spurrier, set up a France -Vs- California blind tasting of new vintage wines. The Americans triumphed over the French, much to the French dismay, sparking new interest and debate and elevating American wine to a global level.
