American Winners Selected for the 5th Annual Copa Jerez. Now on to Spain.

Copa Jerez 2013 5th annual logo

The 5th Copa Jerez USA Competition finals were held on July 1st at Haven’s Kitchen in New York City, and Chef de Cuisine Scott Jones and Wine Program Manager Melodie Reynolds from No. 9 Park in Boston won the opportunity to represent the United States at the International Copa Jerez Competition in Spain this October!

Their winning menu is as follows:

Starter Course: Artichokes en Barigoule with deviled quail eggs, white gazpacho, white sturgeon caviar, and manzanilla olive paired with Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla
Main Course: Rohan Duck Breast with La Belle Farms foie gras, asparagus and truffle marmalade, marcona almond, and fennel pollen brioche paired with Lustau Almacenista Pata de Gallina Oloroso
Dessert Course: Mango Mousse with cinnamon graham financier, rooibos, and honey crunch paired with César Florido Moscatel Especial (dish created by Executive Pastry Chef Jaime Davis)

Copa Jerez 2013 winning team

Copa Jerez is an international competition featuring top chefs and sommeliers from across Europe, Asia, and North America, in which each team is commissioned with choosing the ultimate matches of Vinos de Jerez with food. It was created to showcase the incredible diversity of Sherry wine and its remarkable ability to match with food.

Competition was fierce, as Scott Jones and Melodie Reynolds competed against two incredible teams — James Campbell Caruso and Miguel Villalpando, La Boca, Santa Fe, NM, and Gil Avital and Anup Joshi, Tertulia, New York, NY. In fact, each of the teams took home an award for their menus. The following awards were given:

Best Starter Course and Most Creative: Tertulia with their Spanish Mackerel with banana, coconut, and ginger paired with Valdespino Contrabandista Medium Dry Amontillado
Best Main Course: La Boca with their Urfa Pepper-rubbed Hanger Steak with idiazabal flan and garlic-orange mojo paired with González Byass Apóstoles Palo Cortado VORS
Best Dessert Course: No. 9 Park with their Mango Mousse with cinnamon graham financier, rooibos, and honey crunch paired with César Florido Moscatel Especial
Best Sommelier: Melodie Reynolds from No. 9 Park in Boston
Best Chef: Scott Jones from No. 9 Park in Boston

The finalists presented their dishes and pairings with detailed justifications for the match to our distinguished panel of judges — 2011 US Copa Jerez winner Executive Chef Bertrand Bouquin; 2009 US Copa Jerez winner Sommelier Roger Kugler; 2007 US Copa Jerez winner Executive Chef Andy Nusser; and Steve Olson, aka wine geek.

The winning team will go on to compete during the live international finals held in Jerez, Spain this October.

For more information on Sherry and the Copa Jerez Competition, please visit www.sherry.org.

Copa Jerez 2013 everyone together