Cultivating vine appreciation

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.

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?’

Duvocelle: This has a lot to do with the environment where you’re working. For example, in Margaux, you would expect and hope to see a lot of French varieties on the list.

In somewhere with a different theme, such as Asado, our authentic Argentinean steakhouse, you have to specifically push products from that part of the world. And this does help in guiding the consumer, because you have an identity and a structure behind your menu, so your beverages match both the food and the experience.

Coron: At Reflets, we try to offer our guests a full experience, and that’s what they come expecting; so very often we have guests who ask our advice and want to take our recommendations about pairing wine and food; so in fact they very rarely select a bottle entirely by themselves.

What are the main challenges facing sommeliers in the Middle East today?

Artiere: The price of the product, the price of stocking and trying to find the best way to get quality and volume at the right price.

We operate with two good companies here in Dubai, both of whom offer a different range of products — but there are only these two, so we purchase what they offer and that’s that.

Duvocelle: If you want something then you simply have to buy it, regardless of price. That’s a key challenge.

Shastri: I think another factor we’re dealing with here is that you get an extremely diverse range of clients. You have to make sure you stock a wide range to appeal to all customer bases.

Duvocelle: Our sommelier has a skill to sell, so it is somewhat about consumers and trends, but I think at some point when you have very qualified people arriving in the market, then the trend will follow the sommelier themselves as they set it, rather than customers dictating them as is the case now.

Are you finding that consumers are increasingly interested in learning about what they’re purchasing?

Shastri: It’s definitely a trend we’re seeing and that we’re catering for with our guest master-classes. And this helps a great deal in educating the customer regarding what we offer on our menu, so they do come back and order it.

Artiere: We produce a page on the menu called ‘The Sommelier’s Selection’, where we showcase the best lines on the market at the moment.

We also have other promotions planned for the future, such as inviting famous vineyard owners to come to Margaux for a few nights, along with a famous chef, then having clients from our database come along for an evening and enjoy an amazing gastronomic experience, trying really specifically-paired foods and vintages.

Since the economic downturn has impacted consumer spend, how are you balancing customer expectations with costs?

Duvocelle: We’re very lucky and haven’t been affected by the downturn, thank goodness; we are one of the very fortunate companies that is still growing.

We have not had to increase prices and we have not changed our strategy this year, nor are we planning to do so. We have simply continued doing what we do: offering guests quality and value for money.

Artiere: From an operational stand-point, we are quite a different offering: firstly we are independent, so we are not tied to a hotel, and we actually rely on The Palace for our license — of course, we have to pay for delivery with that. And this does impact how profitable an operation can be.

It’s a different challenge from working in a hotel; in an independent company you are dealing with your own strengths and weaknesses head-on, because you have nothing else to balance the F&B side out, like other outlets, or rooms, or banqueting.

We are just our own operation, we are what we are. Location-wise, we have an outstanding spot; we just need to see that pay off more now the economy is picking up.

How would you like to see the industry change in future?

Artiere: I think if you look at September and October 2008, we have been badly hit since then with a difficult year. But that period seems to be coming to an end — it’s not totally finished, but things are getting better.

We are at a stage now where quite a lot of people are coming to Margaux, experiencing what we have to offer. But it’s not like in the past, when things were so busy — it was go, go, go all the time at outlets in Dubai.

So in future if we could maybe go back to a situation approaching that, not the same but approaching it, that would make a big difference in the coming year.

Shastri: I think we’re going to see people moving more towards drinking a wider range of vintages and grape varieties, so our suppliers here will bring a broader variety in.

Duvocelle: I think the future is in the hands of independent outlets, such as Margaux. At the moment, hotels are supplying these independent outlets with their licenses — but in future, who knows; maybe we’ll see real free-standing structures being permitted licenses.

Of course, we have to bear in mind the cultural side of where we are living — so whether that is asking too much, I don’t know. But the only way to progress and really nurture this business will be to have free-standing outlets with licenses.

Coron: I’d like to see more sommeliers operating here and consequently having more buying power.

And with greater communication within the sommelier community, we could group together to request that our suppliers bring in a certain product; that way we could actually set the trends regarding what people are drinking.