The regional heats of the 2016 competition took place earlier this month whittling down the 36 teams who have progressed from the paper entry, to the 6 teams graduating to the Grand Finals in March. The heats started in Glasgow at the City of Glasgow College, then on to the University College Birmingham & finally at Westminster Kingsway College, Vincent Square, London in the following week.

Each team comprises of two chefs and one person responsible for the service who had to produce a starter, main and dessert for a table of eight at a lunch. The time pressure was on following a demo of the starter by Andrej Prokes from Nestlé Professional, the main course with Executive Chef David Atkinson from Pennyhill Park and a beautiful dessert with Graham Hornigold Executive Pastry Chef for the Hakkasan Group. From a service perspective each table was marked on presentation and the delivery of each of the dishes during the service.

The colleges who have successfully reached the final are Gloucestershire College, York College, Sheffield College, University College Birmingham, City of Glasgow College and University of Derby. They will compete in the finals over 4 days in March with the prestigious awards dinner taking place in April.

The Toque d’Or competition has the enviable reputation for motivating and inspiring catering students up and down the country offering real life experiences and exposure to key industry figures, as well as exciting challenges to get the very best out of the contestants.

The Wine Tipster is joining the judging team for the first time but has been involved throughout the heats, presenting Food & Wine Pairing Sessions. He has been following The WSET Guide to Food & Wine Pairing and their Systematic Approach to Wine Tasting and is delighted to welcome the Wine & Spirit Education Trust who are partnering with Toque D’Or for the first time this year.

Good luck to all the finalists!

The popularity of Champagne and Sparkling wines will continue to grow in 2016, as will the thirst for knowledge and useful tips amongst devoted bubbles fans.

Certainly from a presenting perspective at food festivals, race courses, wine societies and corporate events there is a much greater desire to know more about serving temperatures, vintages, magnums and different styles, providing this is communicated in a down to earth manner (not always the case as we know!). For example, The Wine Tipster’s Prosecco Consortium and Grana Padano sessions at the wonderful Taste of London show in Regent’s Park last year provided a great opportunity to educate and talk about the very bright future for Prosecco, not only in terms of the range of quality Proseccos in both spumante and frizzante styles, but also the differences between brut, dry and extra dry. A key pointer and interest for 2016 will be the growth of Prosecco sales over £10 retail, as the Prosecco story enters a new chapter in the UK. Here is a selection of The Wine Tipster’s winning bets:

Prosecco DOC Bosco del Merlo Millesimato 2014, Paladin, Veneto, Italy, £15.99. Stockist: www.thewinery,com  A real star at Taste of London was Bosco del Merlo, produced by Paladin, who are making a fine range of Proseccos. This Bosco del Merlo has attractive citrus fruit, subtle creamy character and crisp acidity. A perfect match with Grana Padano Riserva. Stylish!

Italia Collezione Prosecco Brut NV, Veneto, Italy, DOC, £11.99. Stockist: Waitrose  Prosecco is not only great for parties, it  is also perfect as a pre-dinner aperitif and this Italia Collezione certainly worked in our house over Christmas. Good value, well made, with aromas of white flowers, lovely refreshing green apple character and creamy texture. Cheers!

Daylesford Organic Prosecco NV, Veneto, Italy, DOC, £12.50: Stockist: Daylesford Daylesford is a cycle ride away for us so I’m a regular visitor not only for this delicious, well-balanced off-dry Prosecco but for their wonderful meats balls too!

Prosecco Salatin Extra Dry NV, DOC Treviso, Italy, £11.99 Stockist: Majestic Based in Cordignano north-east of Conegliano, Azienda Vinicola Salatin are producing a range of seriously good Proseccos. Off-dry, zesty, with citrus fruit and creamy character, Salatin was a great pairing with sushi over the festive period. A winner!

Valdo Oro Pura Prosecco Superiore NV Valdobbiadene, Veneto, Italy, £13.49. Stockist: Waitrose Really attractive, well made, rounded, soft citrus and creamy Prosecco with a subtle hint of sweetness and crisp acidity.  Well worth spending over a tenner for this excellent aperitif style or to pair with Grana Padano Riserva. A Grade One performer!

Prosecco DOC La Gioiosa Etamarosa NV Treviso, Veneto, Italy, £11.99. Stockist: Majestic Made by the well-known and high quality producer Gioiosa, this beautifully packaged Prosecco is lovely and elegant, making it a perfect match with seafood. Pure class!

 

 

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The Wine Tipster was in sparkling form in his On The Box Racing Plus column on Saturday. Each week The Wine Tipster has to make a selection from each of the races featured on Channel 4 Racing and yesterday he bagged a 225-1 four-timer.

First up, was his nap Village Vic trained by Philip Hobbs, in the feature Caspian Caviar Gold Cup, who dictated the pace as he likes with Richard Johnson on board. Village Vic never looked like being beaten, even when his stablemate Champagne West (ran a blinder on his return from injury and one to watch) came to challenge.

Next up was Who Dares Wins at Doncaster, an impressive Unknowwhatimeanharry at Prestbury and finally Southfield Royale winning in good style for Neil Mulholland.

The Wine Tipster celebrated with a delicious Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2004, which was a superb wine in fabulous form.

Look out for The Wine Tipster’s On The Box selections in Racing Plus next Saturday.  

 

The Wine Tipster was delighted to make his third consecutive appearance at The Aston Wine Club with his popular Champagne Tasting. He presented a total of 9 champagnes including Lanson Rosé Label Brut NV, Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut NV, Canard-Duchéne Authentic Réserve NV and Lanson Rosé Label Brut NV to a full house.

The keen and enthusiastic crowd also discussed glassware, magnums, key vintages and storage in relation to champagne learning a great deal whilst enjoying themselves. The Wine Tipster is delighted to be returning next year for The Aston Wine Club’s 20th Anniversary Tasting on May 20th 2016.

www.astonwineclub.co.uk

Unveiling its new wine list, which will be available across 15 racecourses, Jockey Club Catering will feature wines from some of the world’s finest vineyards including, for the first time, three wines from England as part of Jockey Club’s ‘Best of British’ range. The wines are the award winning Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2010, Bolney Estate Foxhole Vineyard Pinot Gris 2014 and Chapel Down English Rosé 2014.
Neil Phillips, The Wine Tipster and wine consultant for Jockey Club Catering, comments: “These are, quite rightly, exciting times for British wine with excellent quality leading to an increase in interest and demand. All three wines chosen have their own unique style, which we have complemented with excellent food pairings so race goers can enjoy them to their fullest.”
Nick Campbell, managing director of Jockey Club Catering, adds: “It is an absolute pleasure to announce that race goers will have the opportunity to experience our ‘Best of British’ range for the first time and we are confident that the wines will prove to be a huge success.”

Members of the Nespresso Connoisseur Club enjoyed two distinct but complementary sessions created to enrich their enjoyment of coffee at the Brompton Road boutique in London hosted by Neil Phillips.

The first session is an introduction to the sensory analysis of coffee. Members increase their understanding and enjoyment of fine coffee by educating their sense of taste with the aim of becoming a coffee connoisseur. They discover their preferences along with weird and wonderful food essences and work towards becoming a professional coffee taster. The second session aims to make coffee moments even better by enhancing favourite foodie moments. They developed coffee preferences in new directions making coffee and food even more enjoyable.

The Connoisseur Club provides their members with a unique learning experience, specially created for all those who want to understand more about the art of coffee and how to enjoy it at its finest. For more information about the club, and to register, please visit – https://www.nespresso.com/uk/en/pages/connoisseur-club

The Wine Tipster/Sommelier presented at Newmarket’s Dubai Future Champions Festival on 9th and 10th October in the Champions Gallery Restaurant at the Rowley Mile Course.

Guests were treated to some top class racing from a fantastic vantage point. They enjoyed a high quality dining experience including

Venison Scotch Egg, seared Cold Fillet and Sticky Pineapple Upside Cake paired with delicious wines. Popular choices were Moët & Chandon Rosé Imperial NV, Riva Leone Barbaresco DOCG 2011 Piemonte,

Jean Biecher & Fils Riesling 2014 Alsace and Chambolle-Musigny Domaine Roux 2012 Burgundy.

Stand out racing performances at the Dubai Future Champions Festival included the exciting Air Force Blue, Gifted Master and the remarkable Grumeti, who won the Betfred Cesarewitch, at 50/1. The Cesarewitch is one of the great flat races as a spectacle, with 34 runners racing over two miles two furlongs.

An ideal experiences for novices and regular racegoers alike.

Neil Phillips aka The Wine Tipster had hot footed it from presenting duties at The Cambridgeshire meeting at Newmarket Races to the Thame Food Festival (www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk) on September 26th.

For the 3rd year in a row, he presented a series of talks in the wonderful Thame Players Theatre (big thanks to Helen Johns and team) to a very enthusiastic and interactive audience. He featured wines from Champagne Taittinger, CVNE Rioja and The Wine Tipster’s Top Tips including Brancott Estate and Campo Viejo. Top wines Taittinger Brut Reserve NV, Nocturne Sec NV, CVNE Imperial Reserva 2009, Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc and Campo Viejo Reserva 2010 were enjoyed by the wine enthusiasts. Les Dauphins Côtes du Rhône Villages 2013 also featured alongside Cru Bourgeois 2012 Château Semeillan-Mazeau Listrac-Medoc receiving rave reviews in the cheese and wine masterclass.

The wonderful Kauto Star will be pre-parading ahead of The William Hill KIng George VI Chase on Boxing Day at Kempton Park. Without Kauto to dominate the race and the betting market this looks a very open, if slightly sub standard King George. Previously, The Wine Tipster has stated that Long Run will never win another Gold Gup and whilst his record around Kempton is x he may, subject to racing going ahead, find one i

Australia is certainly producing some good kit right now and it appears that there has been an unofficial memo telling producers not to over do the oak and alcohol on the barbie. To give you two good examples

of controlled and crafted wine making try a couple of wines from Vasse Felix, who are based in the Margaret River area in Western Australia. Vasse Felix Cabernet Merlot 2007, Australia £9.99 is well priced, delicious concentrated fruit and chocolaty flavours, finished with the correct dosage of solid structure.Stockist The Wine Tipster has always followed the Sauvignon/Semillon blends form closely and Vasse Felix Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 2008, Australia £9.99 has the correct portion of grassy and gooseberry Sauvignon balanced by the softer Semillon to produce a dry and refreshing finish. Stockist: Waitrose. In terms of a musical accompaniment, The Wine Tipster has always had more devotion to Aussie food than music because Crowded House are too nice and Nick Cave’s morbid journey has left me behind on occasions.But I would like to mention the recently departed Roland S Howard and his song Exit Everything.

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