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Gérard Bbadet, a hotelier and master sommelier who died of cancer, was not only one of the world's largest wine authorities, according to chef Raymond Blanc, but also changed the perception of wine service around the world while introducing a more adventurous approach. the approach of wine consumption to the general public through its chain of luxury shops, Hotel du Vin
The only one to have won the very competitive competitions of British, European and world-renowned sommeliers, he was the most successful sommelier of his generation, or any other previous generation, and was one of only three people ever to qualify for both master sommelier and master of wine, the two largest titles in the wine service industry.
More importantly, it directly influenced a considerable number of people involved in the service of wine to the public. As the Hotel du Vin chain grew and hotels opened in cities such as Harrogate, Tunbridge Wells and Birmingham, a growing number of sommeliers were introduced to its open attitude. . During a conversation around the year 2000, he told me, "I like to give my staff the freedom to express themselves and learn. They therefore choose most of the wines that they sell, just as chefs choose the dishes that they prepare. "
There was no time either for the traditional style of sommeliers, which is to tell customers what they should drink. As he stated in an interview in 2012: "You should ask a lot of questions. How can I help you choose a wine that suits you if I do not know how much you want to spend, what do you really like? Although I think this pinot noir is the best wine for this dish, if you hate pinot noir, you will not appreciate it. "
Gerard was an unlikely candidate for this type of career. Born in the industrial city of St Etienne, a midwife Marguerite (nee Conorton) and a draftsman, Pierre-René Bbadet, Gerard later stated that his father had not offered him any affection or any recognition of his childish achievements. Television was banned and Gerard had trouble making friends because he felt unable to talk with his friends at Albert Camus High School in Firminy, in the south of the city.
He left school at age 16 to fill a series of junior, short-term jobs. His only pbadions were cycling and the city's football team. It was a European quarterfinal match between Saint-Etienne and Liverpool at Anfield in 1977 that changed Gerard's life. Aged 20, he crossed the English Channel for the first time and almost instantly decided to move to the UK.
Without any qualifications and with poor command of English, Gerard was grateful to find a job in the dishes on the Isle of Man. He applied for a trainee internship at the Crown Hotel in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, but had difficulty completing parts of the form that he was asked to complete. Assuming "What are your criminal convictions?" Referring to his view of the justice system, he replied, as he later wrote in his brief, "It would be too long to explain." that, the post was entrusted to him. in 1988, he became junior then head sommelier at the Chewton Glen country hotel located in a nearby country house.
Two of his colleagues were to play a crucial role for Gerard – Nina Howe, then a restaurant hostess, with whom he would marry and work closely for nearly 30 years, and Robin Hutson, the manager of the hotel, with whom, in 1994 , the hotel chain of wine.
Gérard's youth experiences helped define the two aspects of his character that struck everyone who met him. There was first what Hutson called an almost "obsessive" effort to prove himself. After winning the UK (1989 and 1992) and European Sommelier Championships (1996), it took six attempts to clinch the international title in 2010. In a competition held every three years, has represented nearly two decades of intense training, including sessions with a sports psychologist. In addition to these gladiator competitions, he also studied for an MBA in wine (2007) and an MSc in wine management (2017).
Despite his French roots and the strong Gallic accent that he has maintained throughout his life, Gerard has developed close ties with his country of adoption. Indeed, he shocked the French organizers of the World Sommelier Competition by insisting that God Save the Queen should play rather than the Marseillaise. "I have a British pbadport," he explained. He has always defended wines of new and less known regions, as well as examples offering a good quality-price ratio. Thus, when, after the sale of the Hotel du Vin chain in Malmaison in 2004, he and Nina opened their own hotel, Terravina, in the New Forest, the bottles he most wanted to sell to his customers were sold to an affordable price. this market) £ 35-40.
In an epilogue of his next memoir, Tasting Victory, Gerard wrote: "My efforts to improve my wine knowledge and skills in order to serve others, to choose wines that take their meals to another level, to put them on the table. And make them more enjoyable. a night – or vacation – that they would remember all their life, paid me over and over again ".
He was the author of The Wine Experience (2007) and 30-Second Wine (2015) and has contributed to many other books on wine. In addition to his sommelier titles, he has received countless awards, including the Saint-Étienne Medal (1997), an award of excellence from the Academy of Food and Wine Services. (2005) and Decanter magazine of the year (2013). He was made OBE in 2011 and received the Order of Agricultural Merit from the French government in 2017.
Gerard is survived by Nina and their son Romané.
• Gérard Bbadet, hotelkeeper and wine professional, born March 7, 1957; died on January 16, 2019
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