The events at the Exmouth Market restaurant will be named ‘Dirt’, and will have a competitive edge to them.
Once a month co-founder and wine buyer Mattia Bianchi will compete against two well-known sommeliers to present the best wines from one of three soil types: ‘magma’ (volcanic wines), ‘salt’ (wines of the sea), or ‘peak’ (wines from the mountains).
Wines will be presented to guests, ranging from the well-known bottles to the more obscure, and whoever’s wine bin is emptied first will come out on top.
Tickets for the events will cost £19, and the price will provide two glasses of wine and one mezze.
The mezze menu, devised by co-founder Josh Katz and priced between £5-7, will comprise tahini hummus, chickpeas, zhug and urfa chilli; freekeh with broccoli, almonds and preserved lemon; cauliflower shawarma with pomegranate molasses, green chilli, rose cucumber and pickled onion; and lamb shawarma with tahini, harissa and bread and butter pickles.
The first event on 29 October is themed ‘magma’, and the sommeliers taking part will be Heidi Knudsen of Ottolenghi, and Bubbledogs’ Sandia Chang.
November’s ‘salt’ theme will be led by Edouard-Charles Souchal from Manfreds, Copenhagen, and Nominoe Guillebot of Michelin-starred Lyle’s.
The final event in the series will be hosted by Alessandra Saponara from Fera, as well as Clément Jeannin from Vivant in Paris.
Berber & Q Shawarma Bar is the sister restaurant to Berber & Q Grill House, which former Ottolenghi chef Katz opened in Haggerston in 2015.
The brand is opening a third site in the Old Spitalfields Market redevelopment, launching next month.