Frédéric BOUCHÉ

Sommelier : 1 restaurant Frédéric Bouché, renowned sommelier, excels in the art of marrying wine and gastronomy. Discover his career

Presentation

Frédéric Bouché has been with the Lallement family at L'Assiette Champenoise for 40 years .

"My career can be summed up simply: Frédéric Bouché. I went to hotel school in Reims, in catering, without specializing, and my first job was in the dining room with Jean-Pierre and Colette Lallement, who had been running the first Assiette Champenoise since 1975, which was then in Châlons-sur-Vesle, northwest of Reims. I joined on September 3, 1983, so 41 years ago this year.Arnaud was 9 years old. "

A move towards sommellerie

In 1987, the family moved to the beautiful manor house they had found in Tinqueux, which also made it possible to set up a hotel. The inn grew in size and scope. Arnaud joined his parents in 1996, and from then on, together with his wife Magali, he never stopped enlarging and embellishing the house. Frédéric Bouché is fully involved in this adventure, which will lead the house and its chef to the fifth toque and the title of Cook of the Year in 2014 .

The transition from the dining room to the sommelier's office was a natural one. "A sommelier had left, so I replaced him. I've always been interested in wine, especially champagne.My grandparents had a bit of vineyard, so working with vines and wine was no stranger to me. "

A passion for champagne

"The mostimportant quality for a sommelier is to have passion and conviction. At Assiette Champenoise, we are six sommeliers with different tastes.Personally, I love champagne, and I try to steer customers towards the pairings that suit them best with what I know best, while another might recommend a Burgundy or a Côtes-du-Rhône. "