Finalists announced for Copa Jerez UK 2024

By James Bayley

Published: 13 September, 2024

The chef and sommelier teams selected to compete in the 2024 UK finals of Copa Jerez have been revealed. The finalists are: Chef Will Stoyle and sommelier Zoé Donadio from the Silo x Apricity collaboration, Chef Stephen James Thompson and sommelier Cong Cong Bo from The Foraging Chef x Amphora Cambridge, and chef Lily Stock with sommelier Yuri Humphreys from Raffles London at the OWO.

The teams will showcase their Sherry-paired menus at the live finals on Monday 30 September, hosted at Jason Atherton’s newly opened Mary’s est. 2024. Each team will prepare their dishes on-site, presenting them alongside selected Sherry pairings.

Commenting on the upcoming event, Atherton said: "We’re really proud to be hosting this prestigious event at Mary’s and I am really looking forward to judging our teams’ dishes and pairings at the UK finals. Sherry lends itself to inventiveness and creativity – I expect to be blown away!"

Read more: Indigo turns 21 with special guests tasting

The menus created by the finalists reflect their innovative approach to food and wine pairing:

Silo’s Will Stoyle and Apricity’s Zoé Donadio

Sea bass with foraged coastal herbs, turnip, ricotta and miso paired with Manzanilla 'Gabriela', Bodegas Sanchez Ayala.
Smoked pumpkin with cream, furikake and pumpkin skin marmalade paired with Palo Cortado ‘Viejo C.P’ VOS, Valdespino.
Beetroot amazake sorbet with holy basil oil and raspberry chong granita paired with 'Cruz del Mar' Cream, Bodegas César Florido.

The Foraging Chef’s Stephen James Thompson and Amphora Cambridge’s Cong Cong Bo

BBQ mackerel in pork belly fat with pickled potato, wakame and unripe mirabelle plum tartar sauce paired with Velo Flor Manzanilla, Bodegas Alonso.
Ox cheek braised in Oloroso with beetroot porridge, liver jam and sweet woodruff hollandaise paired with Oloroso ‘Don Gonzalo’ VOS, Valdespino.
Fermented birch polypore molasses meringue pie with burnt wheat vinegar and nutritional yeast snow paired with Pedro Ximénez Delicado 2022, Bodegas Ximénez-Spinola.

Private chef Lily Stock and Raffles London at the OWO’s Yuri Humphreys

Panisse with Thai peppercorn sauce, charred broccoli and pickled mustard seeds paired with Papirusa Solera Reserva Manzanilla, Emilio Lustau.
Lamb saddle with smoked aubergine, courgette tartlet and Sherry and pine nut jus paired with Oloroso Solera 1842 VOS, Valdespino.
Dark chocolate baked mousse with Sherry ganache and lime milk sorbet paired with Pedro Ximénez Tradición 20-Year-Old VOS, Bodegas Tradición.

Executive sommelier Roxane Dupuy, who will also judge the event, said: “It is our job as sommeliers to push boundaries. Sherry is such a magical wine that possibilities are endless. I’m looking forward to seeing contestants think outside the box and give Sherry the attention it deserves.”

Tamlyn Currin, chair of the judges, added: “We were very impressed with the level of entries this year and how all sommeliers and chefs worked closely to create wonderfully original pairings. Finalists demonstrated a strong understanding of Sherry and how to make their selected wines shine alongside exciting dishes. They thought outside the box and produced menus I am really excited to discover.”

The UK finals will determine which team will go on to represent the country at the international Copa Jerez competition.

Printer friendly version