It came as rather a shock to us when Xavier Rousset – one of London’s best and most dynamic sommeliers, and co-founder of Texture as well as 28°-50° – decided to quit London in pursuit of other interests last year. But he’s coming back this May, opening a casual, Mediterranean-style restaurant near New Bond Street – and we’ll be welcoming him with open arms.
At first sight they make for an unlikely partnership: Xavier Rousset, a sommelier who came to wine via a Damascene moment in a vineyard, and Agnar “Aggi” Sverrisson, who became a chef because he was “a young man who didn’t know what he wanted”. They look and sound as different as you’d expect a Frenchman and an Icelander to do. Nevertheless, when this enviably talented pair met at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons—Raymond Blanc’s legendary flagship—joining forces seemed not just likely, but inevitable. After all, if there are two things that will always work together, it’s good wine and good food.
Master sommelier Xavier Rousset of London wine workshop 28:50 reveals his top tips on tasting red wine.
Join industry legend Xavier Rousset MS on Tuesday 30th June for his unmissable seminar - ‘The right champagne for your list’. Wine became Xavier’s passion at age 16, after a visit to Banyuls vineyard with his friends and family. Xavier Rousset studied to be a sommelier in Saumur. At the age of 20 he moved to London and started as an assistant sommelier at Gérard Basset's Hotel du Vin in Bristol.
Master Sommelier (MS) Xavier Rousset has this week revealed that he is to open a new venture in London’s West End in May. Rousset, who won the Wine & Spirit Ambassador Award at the Cateys last year, said he would be opening a 40-seat casual Mediterranean restaurant located near New Bond Street with a “highly professional and passionate team”.
Rousset has left the Texture and 28°-50° Restaurant Group with immediate effect to pursue other projects but will retain a shareholding in the business. A new director of operations has already been appointed by the group following Rousset’s departure. “With 28°-50° and Texture growing so successfully over the last nine years, now is the right time for me to step down and pursue a new challenge.” Rousset said in a statement.
Texture and 28°-50° Restaurant Group has announced that Xavier Rousset, Director/Co-Founder, has decided to leave the company with immediate effect. As a result the Board of Directors has appointed a new Director of Operations and a further announcement will be made in due course.
Xavier Rousset has left Texture and 28°-50° Restaurant Group, the company he co-founded with chef Agnar Sverrisson.
Texture and 28°-50° restaurant group co-founder Xavier Rousset has left the business he established with Agnar Sverrisson in 2007. The restaurateur and award winning wine expert, who has worked with Sverrisson since they met at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, said he was leaving to pursue other projects.
I first met, Xavier Rousset in 1997 when he came to work for me as a very young trainee and it did not take me long to realize his enormous potential. I am delighted, albeit not surprised, to see that Xavier has fulfilled all of his past promises. He is now a highly respected restaurateur/businessman, admired for his innovative spirit and his great contribution to the London restaurant scene. Xavier has quite naturally become a huge inspiration for a whole generation of budding restaurateurs/entrepreneurs. I am very proud to have known him for so many years, to watch his career grow and for him to have become such an accomplished professional.