One of the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France final

Although they completed the One of the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition with the traditional service test, which awards almost a third of the maximum score, the eight candidates have now been subjected to the waiting test. For the first time after seven editions for the sommeliers, the result was not revealed at the end of the on-site scoring. "The official deliberation report drawn up at the end of this final is submitted to a deliberation commission of the general jury chaired by the inspector general who then submits the list to the minister. The professional jury is sovereign, so there is no question of going back on this list, but the Ministry's validation is absolutely essential for the title to be awarded, followed by the diploma and the medal, all by mid-May," explained Anne-Marie Auboiron, a member of the general jury.

The official announcement should therefore be made in mid-November and by then, Gaëtan Bouvier (Saisons in Ecully), Emmanuel Cadieu (Le Cheval Blanc Paris), Bastien Debono ( Yoann Conte's restaurant in Veyrier-du-Lac), Antoine Lehebel (Le Wine in Belgium), Florent Martin (The Peninsula Paris), Julia Scavo (Julia Scavo formation), Xavier Thuizat (Le Crillon Paris) and Pierre Vila Palleja (Le petit sommelier Paris) will have time to recall the different stages of this final.

All aspects of the profession

It was a course marked out by eleven very varied stages "where we never tried to trap you but simply wanted to allow each of you to express yourself and be the best you could be", underlined Laurent Derhé, in charge of the subjects committee.

From the first day, we will remember in particular the test of the candidates' ability to take charge of two clerks in order to share their know-how in the opening and serving of a champagne bottle. Another innovation was the test before three juries at the same time to present the wine list creation project within the framework of the restaurant's creation. From the market study to the equipment purchase and the definition of the multiplier coefficients, nothing was to be forgotten.

The following day, starting at eight o'clock, no less than six four-minute workshops and twenty-four drinks to be discussed from different angles set the tone. Then followed the description of the service context in a restaurant divided between a bistro atmosphere (2 customers) and a gastronomic table (5 customers spread over two tables) and its development. The finalists unanimously appreciated the marathon, while Philippe Faure-Brac, president of the Sommellerie class, praised the jury's involvement and the mobilisation of the entire Le Touquet Hotel School.

Texte et photos Jérémy Martin