Clement Robert from The Summer Lodge hotel in Evershot, Dorset, has been named as The Chaine des Rotisseurs UK Young Sommelier of the Year.
Robert, previously head sommelier at Hotel Du Vin Cambridge, currently works under Eric Zwebel, the head sommelier of The Summer Lodge in Evershot, Dorset.
The panel of judges, headed by World’s Best Sommelier winner Gerard Basset, said all contestants demonstrated tremendous skill and precocious talent in their field.
“For the third year running we have seen that England as a whole is brimming with young wine talent and competitions such as this can only help to improve knowledge, understanding and appreciation for the skill of sommelierie,” said Basset.
Second place in the competition went to Erica Laler of London’s Texture restaurant and third was Loic Avril, the protégée of Isa Bal at the Fat Duck in Bray.
As UK winner of the Chaine des Rotisseurs event, which is open to those aged 21 to 35, Robert will now go on to represent the UK in the international finals to be held in Santander in Spain this October.
In April Christopher Delalonde was named the Academy of Food and Wine’s UK Sommelier of the Year 2010.