At the start of October this year, the worlds of food and sherry collided once again for the tenth edition of Copa Jerez. The bi-annual competition, which of course takes place in sherry’s home of Jerez de la Frontera sees chefs, sommeliers, experts and foodies from across the globe gathering together to share their knowledge around the Spanish fortified wine and demonstrate its versatility when it comes to food pairing.

Consisting of both a food and sherry pairing competition and a wider forum, where members of the public were able to listen to a range of sherry-focused talks from experts and sample sherries from local bodegas, the two-day event saw hundreds flock to Jerez to learn, indulge and see the winners announced. The grand final of the international pairing competition was the culmination of a number of pre-selection rounds, which involved each of the seven countries competing choosing the chef-sommelier team that would represent them. On October 3rd, the finalists from the UK, Denmark, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States then each served up a three-course menu with pairings to a judging panel including Josep Roca and Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, cooking their dishes live on stage in front of an audience.

As ever, the 2023 final was a hotly contested affair but in the end the Denmark team, comprising of chef Allan Schultz and sommelier Alexander Berntsen from Parsley Salon in Hellerup, won overall, with Schultz also taking home the prize for best chef. On the winning menu, Jancis Robinson said that ‘the proposal stood out for the precision of the cooking, the apparent simplicity of dishes in which no ingredient was surplus to requirements, but in which the whole of each one made sense and which, of course, were delicious.’ The winning duo, meanwhile, emphasised the fact that their menu represented the way in which they champion sherry at their restaurant too, stating: ‘If there was one thing we knew for sure, it was that we had to express our way of working at home, to trust in our creations and decisions, to show that sherry plays a very important role in our restaurant.’

Schultz and Berntsen’s menu began with a starter of poached prawns seasoned with beurre blanc vinegar and marinated rye bread, green celery, sea lettuce and sisho, paired with Manzanilla Soluqua from Bodegas Barón. Their main course of poached and flambéed quail, dry-aged for two weeks, stuffed with veal sweetbreads, with a quail liver, bone, spices and caramelised garlic sauce, and pickled chestnuts, candied kumquats and orange came served with an Oloroso from Bodega Rey Fernando Castilla. The winning team’s dessert of ice cream served over caramelised ripe figs and brown butter, with peanut praline and sea salt, meanwhile, was paired with a twenty-year old Pedro Ximénez from Bodegas Tradición.

There were plenty of other prizes up for grabs as well, and this year saw a win for the British team of chef Gail Ge’er Li and sommelier Jiachen Lu from Dinings SW3. They took home the prize for best starter, thanks to their pairing of cured red snapper, shiso emulsion, yuzu koji vinaigrette, olive, shallot and pink peppercorns with Manzanilla Pasada almacenista Cuevas Jurado from Bodegas Lustau. Explaining the reasoning behind their winning pairing, Lu said: ‘We chose this [sherry] as we all know that Manzanilla goes really nicely with raw fish, with its distinctive salinity and iodine aftertaste. However, because of the curing process in this dish, the flavours are quite intense, so we wanted a sherry with more complexity, more body and more to offer your palate. That’s why we went for something that had been aged for over seven years, which could go side-by-side with these strong flavours.’

Other winners on the day included the team from The Netherlands, who won best main course pairing with their sweetbread, eel and wasabi dish served with an Oloroso, and the Spanish duo from Ambivium restaurant whose ermented cacao, hazelnuts and tonka bean dessert paired with Cream 79 “Bota NO” from Equipo Navazos took home first prize. Finally, the prize for the most creative pairing went to German brothers Daniele and Gabrielle Tortomsi whose menu used grapes as the main ingredient across every course.

Once again, Copa Jerez 2023 not only showcased the quality of both chefs and sommeliers working together across the world but also reminded us how brilliantly sherry and food can work together when real thought is given to pairings. Beyond the competition though, the forum provides a unique opportunity for people to learn more about the nuances of sherry and that’s why Copa Jerez should be on the bucket list for any alcohol aficionado.