After opening to non-members for the first time with a residency from Anglo at the back end of last year, Trade is doing away with it for good and flipping into wine bar The Black Book, which will be open to everyone. Co-founders Gearoid Devaney and Xavier Rousset are both master sommeliers so you can bet that the wine will be on point....
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In the South of Lyon runs the Rhone River, coming from the Alp mountains and flooding into the Mediterranean sea, this river gives a large variety of soil, climates and style. In the North, Two Grapes represent the diversity of Terroir : Viognier and Syrah! In the South, the region is submerged by a warmer climate and a very sunny...
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It used to be known as TRADE, the members’ bar for people in the hospitality business, but now it’s being replaced by The Black Book, a new wine bar that’s open to all of Soho. Read the article
Hospitality industry members’ club Trade in London’s Soho is relaunching on 10 September as the Black Book, a restaurant and bar specialising in rare wines and classic brasserie dishes, open to all. Read the article
A members-only club for those in the hospitality industry is being relaunched as a late-night restaurant and wine bar – and it will be open to all… Read the article
I featured on BBC Breakfast in September 2020 to discuss the catastrophic impact the 10pm curfew has had on our industry. Particularly seeing as I had (only 10 days earlier) launched a late-night venue which operates 75% of revenue post 10pm. Click to watch the clip.
Obsessive about their subject, the talent of the new breed of master sommeliers lies in shaping the mood and lining up seamless food and wine matches Read more
The 40-seat, dark-blue and parqueted Blandford Comptoir was set up by Xavier Rousset ….. To read the full article, click on the picture.
Xavier Rousset is a name to be conjured with in vinous circles. In 2002, while working for Hotel du Vin, he won Ruinart UK Sommelier of the Year and became the youngest Master Sommelier in the World…. To read the full article, click
Xavier Rousset was head sommelier at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire before moving to London to open his Michelin-starred restaurant, Texture back in 2007, and 28-50° wine bars. May sees the much-awaited opening of his new venture, Blandford Comptoir in Marylebone. Expect small plates of Mediterranean-inspired food and, of course, a stonking wine list. Read the whole article
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.