Jean-Baptiste Klein entouré de Carol Duval-Leroy et Michel Hermet.
Clenched fists, upraised arms, Jean-Baptiste Klein also gave a hint of a smilewhen Michel Hermet, President of the Union De la Sommellerie Française (UDSF), delivered the name - his - of the winner of the 2011 Contest of the Best Young Sommelier of France - Duval-Leroy Trophy. An apparently well-deserved success for this discreet professional, native of Flaxanden, rural district of the Haut-Rhin, in Alsace.
A few hours earlier, he was one of ten semi-finalists out of a hundred candidates who had been subjected to a regional selection in spring. And quite as Jean-Marie Contestin, Mikaël Grou and Pierre Vila-Palleja, he found again Vertues and the premises of the House Duval-Leroy, transformed into a site of competition, of torture sometimes … These four there, indeed, were already present in 2009 and this time, all hoped to register their name on the prize list.
“I focused on the objective of reaching the finals, recognized the prize-winner, what I had not achieved two years ago, or during the Master of Port in 2010.” The theoretical phase and the many workshops proposed by the technical committee gathered around Christian Pechoutre, have put to the test the ten candidates’ knowledge and ability to reflect. Enough so that the four best competitors constitute indisputable pretenders to the title.
At the conclusion of this first marathon, and after a night of recovery, Jean-Baptiste Klein was accompanied in the finals by Mikaël Grou and Florent Martin, two sommeliers of the George V in Paris, and by Yann Hangouët, another Alsatian, who succeeded the winner of the competition 2009 within the brigade of the Constance Belle Mare beach, on Mauritius.
Their performance overall was of a remarkable level facing exercises combining general knowledge (world tour of labels to be identified by country) and practice (opening and commented service of a champagne Duval-Leroy). “My favourite test was the following one, when we had to work on a menu and propose wines in accordance with the dishes but also an accurate budget. It is a concrete situation that I can live regularly. It is the job!”
A trade that, however, the winner did not intend to practice: “I was at first in the cooking within the framework of a vocational diploma, then of a vocational high school diploma, prepared in the training centre for apprentices of Guebwiller. Then I wanted to obtain there a complementary mention of sommellerie out of curiosity and also because I wished to know the wine in order to better integrate it into my future career as a Chef”. Finally, he turned his back to the stove but the knowledge he acquired is an advantage for him today.
Tasting and identification commentary of a red wine and those of four spirits and liqueurs have allowed the finalists of the 2011 edition to confirm, despite their youth, the already very solid bases of experience they put every day in the service of their customers. This observation is in line with the will displayed by Carol Duval-Leroy, owner of a family and independent house since its creation in 1859: “we wish that this event acts as a professional springboard for the candidates who participate in it. The Champagne, internationally recognized appellation as a symbol of excellence, appears to us as an ideal partner and we are proud that Duval-Leroy is its representative with the professional influencers that you are …”
At the Moulin de Mougins that he joined in February, 2011 after having worked alongside Marc Meneau then Régis Marcon, Jean-Baptiste Klein had the opportunity to put this Champagne in evidence during a dinner specially organized in honour of his title, a few days only after his success. He serves as a Head sommelier and takes advantage of expert advice from Franck Thomas, MOF and Best Sommelier of Europe, friend of the Chef Sébastien Chambru. A Mecca of gastronomy that trusted him and does not regret it.
Les demi-finalistes.
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