MAÎTRE D’ OF THE YEAR
SOMMELIER OF THE YEAR
SARAH FEEHAN, D’ARENBERG CUBE, MCLAREN VALE, SA
Mad geometric building design. Outrageous harlequin colour
scheme. Oddball artefacts. Weaving all of the d’Arenberg Cube’s
disparate characteristics into a cohesive dining experience with
the right mix of wow-factor and whimsy might daunt some, but
not Sarah Feehan. Smart and assured, the 33-year-old draws on
considerable experience at the top end of the trade, from running
the floor at Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island to stints
at Orana, Attica, and Noma in Copenhagen, Sydney and Tulum.
This has given her the skills and confidence to appear unflappable
during epic four-hour Cube lunches, abetting diners through
a procession of luxurious dishes while capturing a joyous spirit
that this idiosyncratic destination demands.
In short:Calm inside a kaleidoscope.THE TEAM AT DINNER BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL,
MELBOURNE, VIC
Singling out one person from the service team at Heston Blumenthal’s
Melbourne restaurant misses the point. The level of poise, personality
and polish is a meticulously groomed groupefort – from the people
greeting you at the door, to those who mix and serve some of the
city’s most sublime cocktails to the ones who graciously attend the
well-spaced tables. It’struly wonderful to witness, like a seamless
choreography, made even better by the entire staf appearing
genuinely committed to and invested in giving you the best time
possible. Assured, confident and well-versed in what’s happening
on the menu and wine list, this is one team worth following.
In short: Dream team.MICHAEL NICOLIAN, CONTINENTAL, SYDNEY, NSW
You loved Michael Nicolian’s work at the bar upstairs at the old
Porteño, but it has been at Continental, the Newtown deli-diner-
drinks haunt he opened with his former employers, Joe Valore and
Elvis Abrahanowicz, that he has really won your heart. Here Nicolian
has a more intimate stage for his bartending prowess, but also
the scope to display his gifts as a host, an admirer of cheese and
canned fish and a bringer of the good times. With a gentle lisp and
an even gentler manner, he puts the hospitable into hospitality,
and we can’t wait to see what he does with Continental’s Sydney
CBD branch, opening soon.
In short: A jack-of-all-trades who masters his craft.EMMA FARRELLY, STATE BUILDINGS,
PERTH, WA
Managing a single venue’s wine program is
hard enough. Keeping tabs on four diferent
lists? That takes know-how and a crystal-
clear idea of both restaurant and diner.
Emma Farrelly, director of wine for the State
Buildings, has no shortage of either skill.
Whether she’s hunting big-ticket bottles for
rooftop fine-diner Wildflower or choosing
Italian bottlings for in-house trattoria, Post,
Farrelly nails the brief every time. Smart
buying choices aside, she has also brought
a relaxed approach to the service side of
things: catch her with pals celebrating the
best of small-scale Australian winemaking
at Petition, the building’s relaxed enoteca.
In short:Variety is the spice of wine.NED BROOKS, PAPER BIRD,
SYDNEY, NSW
Never mind that he’s a co-owner and
manager, and knows the pan-Asian menu
inside out: Ned Brooks is never happier
than talking drinks. He’s also trodden the
boards enough in his time at Moon Park
and MoVida to know when his customers
just want to get wet – and get wet fast – in
which case, the chilled Korean tinnies or
dry DOC Lambrusco will fall on the table like
rain. Butif you want to get into the subtleties
of whether Canberra-region fiano, Tasmanian
skin-contact pinot gris or Languedoc mauzac
jaune is the most apt match for a kimchi and
Emmenthal toastie or green tomatoes with
dashi cream, Brooks brings all the smarts
and none of the pufery.
In short:The drinking person’s sage somm.JANE LOPES, ATTICA, MELBOURNE, VIC
Jane Lopes plans to create one of the
greatest Victorian wine lists in the world
at Attica. Not that she’s eschewing the
Old World entirely but the California-born
sommelier, recruited to Attica from New
York’s Eleven Madison Park, is bringing an
expert’s focus and an outsider’s excitement
to the locally produced stuf that’s both
interesting and refreshing. The fresh-eyes
approach is one thing but it’s also Lopes’
communication skills and her enthusiasm
for her list that works for us. Add the
innovative approach she takes to serving
wine – she ofers some sparkling wines
with or without lees and others that she
has decanted hours before service- and it seems Ben Shewry has found
a great match for his food.
In short: Mixing it up with the locals.➤
GOURMET TRAVELLER 43