Group Sommelier
Winning a competition – of any kind – is always an intense, emotionally-charged stage of life. Is it for glory, fame, notoriety, recognition or simply for oneself? Who knows… Fabien Mene did it! With his ideal son-in-law looks, this young thirty-something cultivates discretion well before communication. Fresh from his title as Swiss sommelier champion, here’s a portrait of a reserved man who nonetheless hides a fiery temperament.
Tristan Bronnimann
Carte blanche
It’s at Le Vallon restaurant that we find the winner, still smiling after his recent victory. Recently renovated, this elegant country bistro is a veritable institution in the heart of Geneva. Now run by the M3 group, the establishment has retained its soul, and traditional gourmet dishes still feature on the menu, including succulent frog legs and the irreplaceable pike quenelle. While his viticultural responsibilities extend to the entire group headed by Abdallah Chatila, Fabien Mene has carte blanche to build a fully-fledged vineyard universe. A major responsibility that doesn’t seem to faze the native of the Loire region.
The son of divorced parents, he realized as a teenager the importance of working to provide for his family. “I quickly developed a feeling of revenge on life”, he declares. Gifted with an exceptional memory, he completed all his hotel studies on a sandwich course. Student by day, worker by night! “It’s a real advantage to combine theoretical knowledge with practical experience in the field. I’d recommend it to any young person just starting out in the business. With a series of diplomas, he climbed the ladder and became enthusiastic about wine during his apprenticeship. The young aspiring sommelier soon landed a job as an assistant in Avignon. The wine story begins.
Tristan Bronnimann
In 2004, he took part in a tasting with Enrico Bernardo, World’s Best Sommelier that same year. It was a revelation ! Without hesitation, he summoned up the courage to forward his CV. A few months later, he moved to Paris and helped open the Il Vino restaurant. A concept that revolutionized the world of sommellerie and gastronomy, since the choice of wine preceded the choice of dish, rather than the other way round, as was traditionally the case. ” This period has been both humanly and professionally enriching. Enrico knows how to bring people together, how to pass on information and has the makings of a leader. Being at the side of such a character has undeniably accelerated my career.
Paris – New York
As part of a front-of-house team made up entirely of sommeliers, the young commis discovers the real notion of competition. At the age of 24, he decided to devote himself entirely to his work and made a pact with his boss to stay in Paris for a few more years before moving to New York. “It was my American dream,” he confesses. Working for Franco-American star Daniel Boulud, Fabien Mene became part of an extraordinary milieu of sommeliers. “Even if the approach to wine is different over there, the American level is very high and sometimes higher than that of certain European spheres”.
When his visa expires, the sommelier heads for the City of Calvin. His arrival in Switzerland was a difficult one, with a period of soul-searching and self-doubt. Far from feeling sorry for himself, Fabien pulled his head out of the wort and found a position at the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva, where he was in charge, among other things, of revising the menu of the Indian gourmet restaurant. “Until then, I’d been formatted for classic pairings. White with fish, red with meat. In such an aromatic and spicy culinary world, everything is called into question”.
After a detour via theÉcole Hôtelière de Glion, the M3 group hands him the keys to the cellar in 2021. The challenge is as immense as the owner’s ambitions. Whether tea room, bistro, temaki bar, trattoria or Michelin-starred restaurant, Fabien Mene has to adapt to a wide range of concepts. Without rushing a customer,” he says, “you have to try to surprise them. Isn’t it time we let ourselves be surprised too?
