Sommeliers My food story— —August —’24 56 RONAN SAYBURN MS “If a red wine is served too warm, at above 18°, the first thing you will taste is alcohol” Ronan Sayburn is nothing short of a legend amongst sommeliers everywhere. His passion for wine and dedication to work have introduced him to some of the world’s best wines and wineries, restauranteurs, and more Ronan Sayburn was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and has been deeply involved in the wine and hospitality business for over 30 years. His previous experience includes Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons, Pied à Terre, and wine merchant OW Loeb. He worked for the Gordon Ramsay Group as Executive Head Sommelier for eight years, predominantly in the Royal Hospital Road, which has won 3 Michelin stars. He also created the wine lists and trained wine service teams for Claridge’s, The Connaught, The Savoy, Boxwood Café, Maze, and several overseas operations. He also worked at the Greenhouse restaurant, which housed the UK’s most substantial wines list – an astounding 3,400 bins and served as the Director of Wines and Spirits for the Hotel du Vin group. If that were not enough, Ronan also served as the Head of Wines for the prestigious Dorchester Collection UK, which consists of Dorchester, Coworth Park, and 45 Park Lane, and with three times Michelin awardee restaurant Alain Ducasse and Wolfgang Puck’s Cut. As previous Head of Wines for 67 Pall Mall: a private members club for wine lovers with sites in London, Singapore, and Switzerland, Ronan supervised over 19 full-time Sommeliers on the team with a wine list of more than 9,000 bottles and 1,000 by the glass. He is a Master Sommelier, a previous winner of the UK Sommelier of the Year competition, and competed twice representing the UK in the European Sommelier Competition. He also acts as the CEO for the Court of Master Sommeliers Europe which currently runs courses and examinations in Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Austria, Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Greece, Poland, South Africa, Ireland, and England. He is a co-chair for the Decanter World Wine Awards, and judges at various wine competitions across the globe. Another feather in his cap is appearing as a regular judge in the UK Sommelier of the Year Competition and senior judge of both the national China and Korean Sommelier of the Year Competitions. He has been awarded three Cateys, the Oscars of the hospitality industry, for Wine and Spirit Ambassador and the Gerard Basset Lifetime Achievement Award plus as part of the 67 Pall Mall team for online innovation during lockdown. Currently, he runs his consultancy, The RS Wine Academy, specializing in managing private portfolios, wine training the trade, and public and wine events. When not drinking wine, Ronan can be found deep-diving shipwrecks from the south coast of England. R A Master Sommelier, Ronan has led prestigious venues globally, including Gordon Ramsay Group and 67 Pall Mall, and now runs The RS Wine Academy, shaping the industry as a consultant
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