Champagne Jacquart Rising Stars winners announced

The final, held at the Restaurant Show earlier today, saw eight pairs of young chefs and sommeliers prepare and cook a menu and champagne pairing.

After the announcement that they had won, Scottish-born Wetzler told BigHospitality of his delight at taking home the prestigious award.

“The first thing I did was to give my wife a big kiss,” he said. ““We came down on the sleeper train from Inverness, with all of our crabs wriggling about on ice. I thought it was going to be all that effort for nothing, but in the end it was worth it.

“At one point a judge came up to me and the crabs had only just boiled, and he asked if I was alright and I just said ‘I think so’, but I felt that I’d rushed it a bit.

“It was pretty stressful, but it was all good fun in the end.”

Teamwork and understanding​

Each team had to create a three-course menu and match each course to a Champagne Jacquart cuvee, highlighting the need for teamwork and understanding between chefs and sommeliers. The starter had to incorporate local produce, the main dish sustainable seafood, while the desert had to feature pairs.

The competition was judged by heavyweight chefs and sommeliers including Sat Bains and Ronan Sayburn MS.Mackay and Wetzler were announced winners at 4pm and rewarded with a trip for four to Jacquart’s headquarters, the Hotels de Brimont in Reims.

Laurent Reinteau, Managing Director of Champagne Jacqart, said: “Celebrating young talent is part of the DNA of Jaquart.

“The execution of the chefs and sommeliers was very impressive. Well done, it’s been a fantastic day. Hats off to all of them, they have been absolutely brilliant.”