FINALISTS OF COPA JEREZ UK 2026 ANNOUNCED
Copa Jerez, the prestigious international gastronomic competition, announces the three chef and sommelier teams to compete in the UK finals later this month.
The 2026 Copa Jerez UK drew an impressive number of entries from teams across the UK, including Scotland, Yorkshire and Northumberland. Head judge Douglas Blyde commented “Reducing eleven entries to three was agonising. I returned to several repeatedly because some of those left out contained ideas I would have happily eaten and drunk’.
The three chef and sommelier teams who came on top and will compete at the 2026 UK finals of Copa Jerez are:
Chef Aaron Blais and Sommelier Léonard Lievin from The Ritz
Chef Higinio Machado and Sommelier Ben Cardwell from Labombe by Trivet
Chef Karl O'Dell and Sommelier Jiachen Lu from Cord by Le Cordon Bleu
The three teams will present their expertly crafted menus paired with Sherry wines to judges at the live finals on Monday 28 September, at Orrery by Pierre Minotti in Marylebone.
The judges are Chef Pierre Minotti who recently became Executive Chef at Orrery by Pierre Minotti having achieved 2 Michelin stars at Alex Dilling at the Hotel Café Royal, Spanish sommelier Julio Sierra, Group Senior Sommelier at The Evolv Collection, 2024 Copa Jerez UK winning sommelier Zoé Donadio and panel chair, drinks expert and restaurant writer, Douglas Blyde.
Teams will prepare and cook their dishes from scratch and present them to the judges alongside their proposed Sherry wine pairings.
The teams and their menus are:
The Ritz
“Flavours of Pintxos”
Orkney Scallop
Manzanilla Gabriela, Bodegas Sánchez Ayala
“The Ritz Cádiz”
Pigeon “À la Presse” with Petit Pois “A la España”
Oloroso Don Nuño, Lustau
“Peachy Cheesecake”
Peach, Almond, Lemon Verbena Baron Bigod Cheesecake
Moscatel Dorado, César Florido
Labombe by Trivet
Pici with clams
Cream VOS 20 Years, Bodegas Tradición
Sea bream with courgette & brown butter hollandaise
S. Roberto Amontillado Bota Única 2/2, Bodegas Barbadillo
Almond sablé with goat's dairy & smoked hojicha
30 Year VORS Palo Cortado, Lustau
Cord by Le Cordon Bleu
“Langoustine”
Claw Cannelloni, Chorizo Crisps, Sundried Tomato & Bok Choy, Amontillado Bouillabaisse
La Honda Amontillado En Rama, Osborne
“Pigeon”
Black Pudding, Pigeon Leg & Sherry Pie, Girolles, Green Peppercorn Sauce
Cuco Oloroso VORS, Bodegas Barbadillo
“Cherry”
Foie Gras Ice Cream, Cherry & PX Jam, Pain d’Epices, Piment d'Espelette
Cream VOS 20 years, Bodegas Tradición
Copa Jerez UK 2026 head judge Douglas Blyde commented “These finalists made the most complete case for Sherry… From The Ritz, chef Aaron Blais and sommelier Léonard Lievin have treated the dining room as an extension of the kitchen: scallop dressed at the table, pigeon carved and pressed, peach finished before the judges. Their wines travel from Sanlúcar through Jerez to Chipiona with intelligence, without straining to show it. Three tableside finishes leave little tolerance for delay, but if the timing holds, this could be magnificent.
Labombe’s chef Higinio Machado and sommelier Ben Cardwell submitted the menu I am most curious to taste. Cream Sherry with clam pici opens the meal; dry Palo Cortado with goat’s dairy and smoked hojicha closes it. The Cream’s sweetness is checked by the clams’ salinity and the pasta’s weight, while the dessert refuses the automatic comfort of sugar with sugar. Its success will depend on measure: enough sweetness and smoke to intrigue, never so much that we can see the cleverness working.
Cord’s chef Karl O’Dell partners with sommelier, Jiachen Lu, already a UK champion in 2022 and now limbering up for another go. Amontillado meets langoustine and chorizo; Oloroso takes on pigeon and black pudding; Cream faces cherry and foie gras. It is lavish, confident cooking, and the Sherries will cope - the question is whether our palates will. If Karl and Jiachen find sufficient freshness, spice and proportion, this could be formidable.”
