(L to R) Rob Baxter, Jonathan Brooks from Wine Treasury (behind), Ronnie Emmanuel, Francis Young,
Tom Shelton, Michael Emmanuel (seated), Chef Giles Company and Peter Hancock from Pride of Britian

In Association with Joseph Phelps, Pride

of Britain Hotels Announce 'Chef of the

Year 2006'

By Rob Baxter, European Sales Manager

We are presently in our third year as a commercial partner of the Pride of Britain Hotel Association. 'The Pride' is a collection of around 40 of the finest small luxury hotels in the United Kingdom. They are privately owned and run and their restaurants include several Michelin Stars. You will find these unique hotels dotted strategically around the British Isles and many are located within the gracious surrounds of some of Britains most stunning country homes and town houses.

The French Horn viewed from the River Thames

Thanks to the efforts of The Wine Treasury, our UK trade importer, you can now find Joseph Phelps wines on the extensive wine lists of most of the member hotels. To celebrate our increased profile in the UK and our continued support for the Pride, a new award was created in 2006 called "The Pride of Britain & Joseph Phelps Chef of the Year Award." Its purpose was to simultaneously spotlight the Pride's fine chefs and our own Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Entry forms were sent out to all the hotels and the participating chefs received a bottle of Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon to pair with a dish of their invention. Submissions were whittled down to the top three by a panel of judges consisting of wine experts Francis Young of the Pear Tree in Purton (http://www.peartreepurton.co.uk), Jeremy Rata of the Devonshire Arms (http://www.thedevonshirearms.co.uk) and Jonathan Brooks of the Wine Treasury.

The three finalists were Daniel Richardson, Head Chef at Hartwell House (http://www.hartwell-house.com); Chef Kenny Atkinson of St. Martin's on the Isle (http://www.stmartinshotel.co.uk) which is located in the Sicily Isles off the western most point of mainland England; and French-man Gilles Company, head chef at the French Horn in Sonning-on-Thames (http://www.thefrenchhorn.co.uk).

The winning dish: Supreme of pheasant with foie gras en croute, garnished with cabbage chartreuse.

Picking the best dish amongst such elevated talent was an extremely difficult task but the eventual winner was Gilles, who used his Burgundian wine palate to help craft a sumptuous supreme of pheasant with foie gras en croute, garnished with cabbage chartreause, caramelized Granny Smith apples and a minted gamy sauce.

Chef Gilles was presented his award in front of a hundred hoteliers and managers at the annual Pride of Britain conference dinner hosted by the Duke of Westminster's Chester Grosvenor Hotel (http://www.chestergrosvenor.com) in Chester. The runners up were each awarded a mixed case of Joseph Phelps wines.

As part of his prize Gilles and his wife Dorothy will be traveling to Napa Valley as guests of Joseph Phelps Vineyards where they will have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the winery and taste the best of California cuisine at the French Laundry.

In March this year Tom Shelton was able to congratulate Chef Gilles and French Horn owner Michael Emmanuel in person during his visit to Britain. Should you be planning a trip to the U.K. either for business or to soak up the legendary hospitality of the British Isles do check out the Pride of Britain Hotels on their website, http://www.prideofbritainhotels.com, or call them at their U.S. reservations number, 1-800-98-PRIDE.