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Galvin La Chapelle duo scoop Wines of Rousillon Dessert trophy

London restaurant Galvin La Chapelle's head sommelier and pastry chef have scooped the UK Wines of Rousillon Dessert trophy.

Head sommelier Andrea Briccarello and pastry chef Daniel Fancett combined a lemon bavarois with citrus fruit salad with Muscat de Rivesaltes, Domaine Pouderoux 2009, following a live cook-off. 



The final, held on Monday at L'atelier des Chefs, London W1, saw four pastry chef and sommelier teams from 1 Lombard Street, Summer Lodge Hotel, Green's Restaurant and Oyster Bar and Galvin La Chapelle battle it out. The aim was to prepare and present a citrus-themed dessert with a Roussillon Vin Doux Naturel from AOC Banyuls, Maury, Muscat de Rivesaltes or Rivesaltes.



The Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon (CIVR) have offered the UK final winners a four-day course at Olivier Bajard's Ecole Internationale de Pâtisserie in Perpignan for the chef, and a four-day trip to visit the producers of Roussillon's wines for the sommelier. 



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."



President of the jury and chef pâtissier at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, Benoit Blin, said: "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."
The UK's winning team will 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.



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

The judging panel comprised: Benoit Blin - chef pâtissier, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons; Sara Jayne Stanes OBE - chief executive, Academy of Culinary Arts and chairman, Academy of Chocolate; Tim Marson MW - buyer, Bibendum Wines; Sarah Jane Evans MW - writer and broadcaster, and author of Chocolate Unwrapped; Costanzo Scala - head sommelier, Benares.

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