Cultivating vine appreciation

[L-R]Eric Artiere, Julien Coron(top), Ritwik Shastri and Sebastien Duvocelle

A select group of the region’s top sommeliers met with Caterer Middle East at French brasserie Margaux in Souk Al Bahar to discuss their roles in today’s restaurant scene and how they hope to see the industry progress in future

What exactly does the role of a sommelier involve?

Julien Coron: The basis of the work of a sommelier is to make recommendations to guests who are dining in the restaurant, as well as developing the menus, sourcing new products and keeping costs balanced.

Eric Artiere: In a restaurant, your role is to get people the best bottle at the best price. But working on the floor is probably on about 40% of what comprises a sommelier’s job. The other elements are stock ordering, taking care of turnover and cost prices, and generating profit, which is the most important part of the business.

At the end of the day, the beverage element is different in this market as opposed to other areas of the world, such as London or wherever. There is a very high percentage of tax on alcoholic beverages. And this makes it a very challenging location for sommeliers.

Ritwik Shastri: Yes, I would agree with that. A sommelier’s role is very important because he’s the one who introduces new lines, thinks about what will work, what the client base will like and how much he can actually sell.

We have to stock an increasingly wide selection, because people are becoming more knowledgeable and they want to order specific vintages.

A sommelier’s job can also include updating beverage menus, taking team training so they can efficiently sell and understand the products, dealing with suppliers to get the best price, and trying to keep your beverage costs at the budgeted level.

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Are there any particular trends you’re seeing in this market at the moment?

Sebastien Duvocelle: Well, I’ve only really be exposed to the UK market and the French market, and I find that the market here is similar to how the UK trends were looking a few years ago. So about six years ago in Britain, people were really looking for New World varieties; that particular market was booming — and that’s what’s happening right now in Dubai.

It’s the same thing with other beverage trends and I think it has a lot to do with the people living in Dubai and also the transit factor, the people passing through this region from other parts of the world.

Also, the major trend right now is very much on quality rather than quantity.

Artiere: In my view, this area of business was pretty badly hit by the financial crisis over this past year. Fortunately things now seem to be picking up and we’re hoping the coming year will see a bit more turnover.

Sebastien interestingly noted the trends reflecting London; London has always been number one market in this industry.

The Middle East seems to take a lot from London, as well as the Asian market. There are a lot of influences here — ex-pats from all over the world, and that’s what makes it such an interesting region to be in.

But we are still in a situation where business is not at the stage it was before, when people were spending an incredible amount on beverages.

And it is more difficult for us nowadays, because you still need to generate profit knowing that the average customer spend has been reduced.

Shastri: I would say the trends have changed now because the clients are becoming smarter and more knowledgeable about what they’re drinking; they want to make sure they’re getting real value for what they’re paying. So there are clients who will still spend, as long as they can understand the value behind the price.

But the enthusiasm for education is something we’re really seeing, which is why we have started our monthly master-classes at Fairmont. And once people learn about a grape variety that they like, they will return and they will look for it.

Coron: As a sommelier, I would say it’s your job to educate and broaden people’s tastes. For example, if someone loves a particular grape variety, always drinks it and therefore asks for it with their meal as a matter of course, regardless of what they’re eating, I would see my job as to say ‘Yes, that’s a wonderful bottle — but this one shares some characteristics that you might enjoy and also goes very well with the dish you have selected; perhaps you would care to try it instead?’