Copa Jerez in Germany Picks Winning Team to Head to Jerez in 2019

The chef and sommelier from Le Corange wowed the judges by expertly “explaining [sherry] directly on the plate”

The national finals for the 2018 Copa Jerez in Germany were recently held, the winners of which will head to Jerez de La Frontera, in Spain, to compete in the international finals. The competition requires that contestants prepare a starter, a main course and a dessert, pairing all of them with different sherries, in just under 4 hours. The panel of judges included Pablo Calvo, Yvonne Heistermann, César Saldaña, Philipp Vogel and Stefan Ivory.

Two teams competed in this event, from the restaurants Le Corange, in Mannheim, and Leimers, from Berlin. The winners were from the former, as Dominik Markowitz, the chef, and Sebastian Schaan, the sommelier, put together a truly spectacular series of dishes: Foie gras, celeriac, macadamia, date and fig was the starter, paired with Bodegas Williams & Humbert; the main course was Fillet of beef, bota de oloroso and carrot, paired with Almacenista J.L. González Obregón Oloroso des Puerto, from Bodegas Lustau; and for dessert, Palomino, flor and fino, with Añada 2011 Fino, from Bodegas González Byass.

According to the judges, the team from Le Corange was able to explain sherry “directly on the plates,” which was a decisive factor according to nutriculinary.com. In the end, they will go on to represent Germany at the international competition next year.