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We are delighted to announce the 2024 Wine Hospitality Emerging Talent shortlist. The trophy recognizes an individual in the hospitality industry who has demonstrated dedication and passion, delivered a unique experience for consumers or redefined the way customers interact with wine.
This year we received over 20 entries from talented sommeliers around the world. “This is the most difficult year for shortlist selection since the award was established in 2022.”shared our review.
Our strong judging panel is made up of renowned sommeliers and hospitality experts – Nina Basset, Deputy Director of the British Institute of Food and Wine Service, Matteo Montone, IWSC Judge and Master Sommelier (Mateo Montone), our 2021 Hospitality Emerging Talent Award winner and IWSC Judge Luke Harber (2023 Hospitality Emerging Talent). Wine Hospitality Award winner Agnieszka Swiecka, and Digital Editor of Club Oenologique Will Morris.
When discussing the judging criteria, our experts emphasized: “These are people who have achieved great success – we looked at whether they are also team players, whether they give back to the community, how they will coach and help their team grow professionally.”
The 2024 IWSC Wine and Hospitality Emerging Talent shortlist is as follows:
Ciaran Bagkus
As the head sommelier of Pied à Terre, Ciaran’s path to wine has not been a straight one. After studying in seminary and considering a career as a priest in the Catholic Church, he was drawn to food and wine, inspired by the way those two things brought people together. As Ciaran explains, “Irish people are naturally warm and welcoming. We are all about welcoming people and sharing memories with them”.
He started out as head chef at Pied à Terre, later promoted to head waiter and, after completing his WSET studies, was promoted to head sommelier a year ago – just 15 months into the business. In less than a year in this role, Ciaran introduced additional wine varieties to the menu, resulting in the restaurant’s wine list winning several prestigious awards. Our judges appreciated Ciaran’s loyalty to the business and commended the restaurateur for his contribution to his career development: “When you take this job, you have a responsibility for the business and you grow together; it’s important to celebrate successes together. I like that Ciaran is focused on his own career development while also focusing on improving the restaurant’s wine offering,” said one judge.
beatrice bassey
Our judges said Beatrice, head sommelier and wine buyer at Chiltern Firehouse in London, was an admirable candidate, adding: “She is very dedicated, works very hard and runs a successful five-star hotel”. Beatrice started learning about drinks in 1999 as a bartender and fell in love with hospitality – “A stunning fusion of art, culture and power that transforms ordinary moments into unforgettable memories”Just as she described. Beatrice has built an impressive career from a junior sommelier position in Italy to London, taking charge of the wine supply at Chiltern Firehouse in 2019. During her tenure, the restaurant’s wine list won several awards and was recognized as one of the best in the UK.
Beatrice passed the first part of the exam last year and is currently working towards her Master Sommelier certification. Judges appreciated the breadth of Beatrice’s career goals: Her plans include supporting sustainable programs and initiatives, promoting diversity and inclusion in the industry, continually educating her team and contributing to the professional development of junior staff. “Beatrice has been somewhat overlooked by the wider professional community but she has been doing a tremendous amount of work and really deserves recognition,” said our judge.
Sinead McCarthy
“Sinead is the epitome of hospitality. Her application was very sincere and enthusiastic,” Our judges said they were impressed with Sinead’s approach to alcohol awareness. “She hopes to raise awareness among the team and support career development while also maintaining a healthy relationship with alcohol,” the judges pointed out.
Sinead is currently the Wine Manager at Hawksmoor, Dublin, having started her hospitality career in 2018. Over the past five years she has gained a WSET Diploma Level 4 qualification, completed her studies at the Court of Master Sommeliers, worked for a wine importer and then moved back to her hometown of Hospitality to attend the Hawksmoor Restaurant Opening event. “Going from a 40-seat restaurant in the suburbs with a 50-SKU wine list to a 200-seat restaurant downtown with a 200-SKU wine list was a huge challenge, but I loved the whole experience.” Sinead shared. “I sensed a broader perspective from her,” one judge said. “She thinks about the industry; her approach to wine education is really cool—she wants to get more involved with grassroots organizations like Wine Spirit Women.” The judges also appreciated Sinead’s plans to use her travel bursary to travel to eastern Georgia and promote Georgian wines in Ireland.
dion water
Dion began his career in New Zealand as a bartender.he then He gradually became a restaurant manager before deciding to study wine and become a sommelier. In 2016, Dion won the New Zealand Sommelier of the Year award and a few years later he took the bold step of moving to the UK to start a career overseas. Since 2019, Dion has worked at some of the most respected institutions in the UK food and wine scene, including Dining by Heston Blumenthal, 67 Pall Mall and Hide Below. Last year he worked as Wine and Bar Manager at Mauro Colagreco at The OWO Raffles Hotel London. Dion’s latest achievements include opening 2 brand new restaurants and finishing third in the 2023 UK Sommelier of the Year Awards.
“Dion is very humble, but he is very knowledgeable. He is also one of the few candidates who is willing to share his knowledge with the team and grow with the team.” said our judge. One of Dion’s goals for next year is to further build, mentor and develop a team of young sommeliers, all of whom are pursuing CMS and WSET qualifications. The panel appreciated Dionne’s passion for driving discussions about creating healthy working environments in the hospitality industry and striving for a better work-life balance. “He did amazing things and his passion for wine and his work really came through in his application.” the judges said.
Congratulations to the shortlisted applicants. The winners of the 2024 IWSC Wine Hospitality Emerging Talent Awards will be announced on February 20.
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