Author Archives: Linda AFWS

Blog: Academy and BII host wine tasting at Chinese Embassy

By Linda AFWS | Published: November 30, 2011

On Friday 11 November the BII and the Academy of Food and Wine Service were invited by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to host a wine tasting event at the Embassy in London for a delegation of top officials. The event was hosted by Neil Robertson, BII Chief Executive, and Nick Scade, Chairman of the Academy of Food and Wine Service, and was designed to offer an … Read more…

Linda AFWS | November 30, 2011

News: Gerard Basset appointed OBE

By Linda AFWS | Published: October 25, 2011

Sommelier and hotelier Gerard Basset MS, MW, the Academy’s technical director and owner of the highly successful Hotel TerraVina in Hampshire, attended an investiture at Windsor Castle last Thursday [20 October] to be appointed OBE by Princess Anne, The Princess Royal. Gerard, who last year added to his long list of award and competition successes by becoming the World’s Best Sommelier, was appointed OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List … Read more…

Linda AFWS | October 25, 2011

News: Academy announces winners of Annual Awards 2011

By Linda AFWS | Published: October 19, 2011

Ashley Shaw, 32, house manager at London’s Westbury Hotel, Mayfair, has been announced as the winner of the Academy of Food and Wine Service (AFWS) Dalmore Award for Excellence 2011. The award, sponsored by Whyte & Mackay, was presented yesterday [18 October] at the Academy Annual Awards 2011 held at London’s Butcher’s Hall. The Dalmore Award is given to an outstanding personality in the UK hotel and catering industry. Presenting … Read more…

Linda AFWS | October 19, 2011

Blog: De Vere apprentice gains manager position

By Linda AFWS | Published: October 12, 2011

De Vere is one of the first hotel companies to join the Academy of Food and Wine Service’s Academy Centre of Excellence scheme. The group’s De Vere Academy of Hospitality has gained recognition as an ACE training centre, meaning that it has achieved a high standard of excellence for its front-of-house training. The training is already showing dividends, with the group’s star apprentice James Clark, 19, (pictured left) becoming a … Read more…

Linda AFWS | October 12, 2011

Blog: sommelier Anja Gottwald’s visit to Portugal with Ramos Pintos

By Linda AFWS | Published: October 5, 2011

Anja Gottwald, Ramos Pintos Award, 2010. Click on the link to read sommelier Anja Gottwald’s diary of her fabulous visit to Portugal as her prize for winning the 2010 Ramos Pintos Award, part of the Academy of Food and Wine Service’s Awards for Excellence.

Linda AFWS | October 5, 2011

Blog: Hospitality Leadership

By Linda AFWS | Published: October 5, 2011

Click here to read the latest blog from the website Hospitality Leadership, including contributions from the Academy’s Nick Scade and front-of-house guru Fred Sirieix.

Linda AFWS |

ENTRY FORM: AFWS ANNUAL AWARDS 2011

By Linda AFWS | Published: August 18, 2011

Click onto page two to download an Entry Form and nomination brochure for the AFWS Annual Awards 2011. Due to popular demand the entry date has now been extended to 23rd September 2011.

Linda AFWS | August 18, 2011

Blog: UK Amateur Sommelier of the Year visits Texture

By Linda AFWS | Published: August 11, 2011

As part of her prize for winning this year’s UK Amateur Sommelier of the Year, Catherine Ward-Brown visits the Michelin-starred Texture in London. Here’s what she thought… HAVING worked together at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, Agnar Sverrisson and Xavier Rousset established Texture in 2007. I’ve dined at Le Manoir a couple of times and I see the same attention to detail, the same dedication to superb customer service … Read more…

Linda AFWS | August 11, 2011

Blog: sommelier Louise Gordon visits Burgundy

By Linda AFWS | Published: July 22, 2011

At the 2010 Academy Awards for Excellence Louise Gordon, head sommelier at London’s Clos Maggiore, won the Louis Jadot & Savoy Educational Trust Sommelier Scholarship. Louise was singled out as being an excellent ambassador for her hotel and for the role of sommellerie and as someone who as well as holding down a demanding position has found time to gain her Diploma in Wine and teach at Academy seminars. The … Read more…

Linda AFWS | July 22, 2011

Champagne tasting at LIWF

By Linda AFWS | Published: July 20, 2011

At this year’s LIWF the Academy organised a Champagne tasting as one of a series of educational sessions. The Academie de Lanson is working with AFWS to promote Champagne and educate the trade about Champagne. Here are the highlights of a presentation of malolactic and non-malolactic Champagnes involving a blind tasting of different Champagnes across various flavour profiles and the foods that would match them.

Linda AFWS | July 20, 2011