Copa Jerez, the international Spanish cooking competition with Sherry wines as the main player in the menus.
The Belgian team taking part in the final of the Copa Jerez international competition has been announced. Sommelier Gianluca Di Taranto and chef Arnout Desmedt working together under the concept A Cook & GDT were chosen to represent Belgium at the 10th Copa Jerez competition.
Today, 6 February 2023, the excitement was high at the Antwerp experience centre Rosval to find out who will represent our country at the major international Copa Jerez competition. The bar is also high because in the last international edition, two years ago, the Belgian delegation became overall winners of this competition.
The mission for the selection
For this pre-selection of the Copa Jerez competition, the assignment is clear. Each team, a sommelier and a chef, proposes a menu with a starter, a main course and, of course, a dessert, in which Sherry wine plays the main role in harmony with the culinary creations put together by the team. Our three Belgian teams presented a varied range of dishes today.
The winning menu is:
- Starter:
- Two of Gianluca's favourite products ,being Sherry & artichoke, are inventively brought here by Arnout with top local products.
- Sherry Valdespino,NV Fino Inocente Single Vineyard
- Main dish:
- As a main course, Arnout serves a savoury,umami-rich arroz vegetal where the ecological sustainability story takes precedence.
- Sherry Equipo Navazos, NV LaBota103 de Manzanilla Pasada–Magnum
- Dessert:
- An absolute symbiosis of Spain & Belgium,anancient Flemish classic, the crêpe Suzette where the 'naranja' takes centre stage, both in the glass and on the plate.
- Sherry Bodegas Tradición, NV VOS Cream
The same menu will be prepared again by the Belgian team at the international final, together with the best candidates from six other countries (Spain, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Denmark).
Copa Jerez Forum and Competition, the biggest Spanish cooking show
The jury and WineWise are confident that Belgium will shine again at the biggest world congress around Sherry, the 'Copa Jerez Forum and Competition'.
This biennial international gastronomic event will take place the first week of October 2023 in Jerez de la Frontera and brings together the best experts, chefs, sommeliers and renowned winemakers. For two days, performances and wine tastings of the highest level will be organized around the biggest cooking event in Spain. Jerez wines always take centre stage and more than two hundred high-level experts from gastronomy and the wine industry gather here for tasting and debate.
The Belgian jury included the following people:
- Sommelier Andy de Brouwer – Velours Wine Bar
- Chef Lieven Lootens – Restaurant ’t Aards Paradijs
- Blogger Kristel Balcaen DipWSET – Wine and Words
- Wijnjournalist Stephane Godfroid
- And the winners of the 9e Copa Jerez – Restaurant Paul de Pierre o SommelierPaul-HenriCuvelier&ChefFabianBail
The other two teams finished ex aequo: - Restaurant Humphreys - https://www.humphreyrestaurant.com/ o Chef: Glen Ramaekers
o Sommelier:StephanePenxten - Restaurant Les Coudes sur la Table - http://www.lescoudessurlatable.com/
- Chef: Benjamin Denis
o Sommelier:BaudouinGaller
- Chef: Benjamin Denis
For more info and additional photo material, please contact:
- Sybille Troubleyn van WineWise o t:+32479468191
o e:sybille@winewise.be–w:www.winewise.be - Maria Palanca – ICEX
o t:+32472110145
o e:maria.palanca@comercio.mineco.es - Álvaro Salazar Gámez – ICEX o t:+3225511052
o e:alvaro.salazar@comercio.mineco.es Details of the winning team A Cook & GDT: - Chef Arnout Desmedt
o t:+32479468191
o e: info@acook.be – w: www.acook.be - Sommelier Gianluca Di Taranto o t:+32475583440
o e:gianluca@gianlucaditaranto.com–w:www.gianlucaditaranto.com
