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.”
For more information on Copa Jerez 2026, to receive an invitation to the live finals, or to request images, please contact:
Céline Bouteiller or Jo Thompson, Otaria Communications
Email: celine@otaria.co.uk Tel: 07946 528 918. jo@otaria.co.uk Tel : 07909 522797.
Join the conversation on Instagram: @SherryWinesJerez #copajerez #sherrylover Full details of Copa Jerez can be found on www.sherry.wine/copa-jerez
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Copa Jerez
Copa Jerez is a bi-annual international culinary competition. Organised by Sherry Wine and ICEX, it encourages Chef and Sommelier teams to explore Sherry’s versatility and food pairing potential by creating a three-course menu perfectly matched with a range of Sherry wines.
Eight countries take part in the competition. Each run their own national finals to find the top team and best pairings. Finalists battle it out, live, on stage at the international competition finals held in Jerez.
The last, 2024, UK finals were won by Chef Will Stoyle from Silo and Sommelier Zoé Donadio from Apricity. They impressed the judges with their sustainably sourced dishes and inventive Sherry wine pairings. Will and Zoé went on to represent the UK at the 2025 international finals in Jerez, conceding to Denmark for the title but winning the Best Chef and Most Creative Pairing awards.
Over the past two decades, UK finalists have included teams from prestigious restaurants. The previous three editions were no exception, with Dinings Restaurant (2022), The River Café (2020), Texture (2018), representing the UK at the international finals in Jerez.
About the 2026 UK judges Douglas Blyde - Head Judge
Douglas Blyde is a drinks and travel columnist for The Standard, and restaurant writer for The Drinks Business. He also consults on gastronomy and drinks for a leading technology firm and a media owner, and co-hosts paulées for Coravin. He has been immortalised in the ‘Jekyll & Blyde’ cocktail at Fortnum & Mason, has marked the Glorious Twelfth in the field, dined within HMP Highdown, traced baijiu from grain to glass in rural China, and explored fermentation within the walled vineyard of Pompeii.
Pierre Minotti
Pierre Minotti is an accomplished Executive Chef and the culinary force behind Orrery by Pierre Minotti, the reimagined fine dining destination in Marylebone, London, which opened in March 2026 as part of The Evolv Collection. He is renowned for his exceptional work at the two-Michelin-starred Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, where his culinary leadership saw the restaurant earn two Michelin stars just four months after opening in 2022, one of the most impressive achievements in recent UK culinary history.
Julio Sierra
Julio Sierra currently holds the position of Head Sommelier at Orrery by Pierre Minotti where he curated and oversees a wine list of over 800 wines. Originally from Spain, he spent time living in Rioja, where working close to the land and its vineyards gave him an early and intimate understanding of what goes into making great wine. His career has taken him through some of Europe's most acclaimed dining rooms, including the three-Michelin-starred Restaurante Akelarre in San Sebastián, and Launceston Place Restaurant in London. In 2021, he was recognised on the competitive stage as 2nd Runner-Up at Copa Jerez, a testament to both his technical expertise and his breadth of knowledge across wine styles.
Zoé Donadio
Zoé began her career behind the bar, building a strong foundation in spirits and cocktails before moving into wine at Silver Lining. She later led the wine cellar La Cave at The Hoxton and went on to run the drinks programme at Apricity, where she focused on responsible sourcing and low-intervention winemaking. Now Assistant Wine Manager at newly opened Super8 restaurant Impala, she continues to help shape thoughtful, accessible wine lists. Zoé was the Copa Jerez UK 2024 winning sommelier and was recently named #12 Best Sommelier in the UK by Harpers and is a WSET Diploma graduate. Zoé focuses on wine’s role within a more sustainable food system, with an emphasis on accessibility and low- intervention practices.
