TASTING VICTORY
Above all, this book is about succeeding against all odds. The story is told by Gerard Basset OBE who having failed at school, penniless and speaking no English arrives in Liverpool to watch Etienne his football team. Gerard is so fascinated by the English, who he finds friendly and welcoming, that he decides to move to the U.K. much to the derision of his friends. From his humble beginnings in France Gerard takes us on a fascinating journey from school drop-out, failed factory worker, delivery man and disastrous clothes shop assistant to becoming the most acclaimed wine personality of his generation. Gerard went on to become the only person alive to hold both the notoriously difficult Master of Wine and Master Sommelier simultaneously. He was to co- found the hotel chain Hotel du Vin. This book shows us, given hard work and commitment, anything is possible.
BY ANDREW LICUDI DIPWSET
H
umble Beginnings
“Despite their mutual loathing my parents produced three children. There were times they argued so badly they would both end up with bloody faces. My parents were not monsters; they did all their damage to each, not to us.” Gerard was destined to fail at school and he did. Leaving school, he embarked on a series of jobs. He rarely lasted, seemingly illsuited or worse incompetent. He did however grow up with an interest in food sparked by clafoutis (classic French cherry cake) and chicken’s blood! “One day, Rimi grabbed one of his chickens, knocked it dead 70
and then pierced the head with a sharp knife. Remi filled a glass with the blood, which he left to thicken in the fridge for a few hours. Later, he pan-fried the solid chicken blood in small cubes with parsley and garlic. The result, which he called sanguette, was delicious.” Life was about to change…… “I loved the St Etienne football team but my father considered footballers idiots running after a ball.” Gerard’s decision to travel to Liverpool to watch Etienne get beaten by Liverpool 3-1 was to change his life. “During the following few days I
could not stop reminiscing about the wonderful experience I had enjoyed in Liverpool and quickly I made my mind up. I would go to live in England. I had fallen in love with the country.” Gerard found out that finding work in Liverpool was not that simple. He had no previous experience and his English was almost non-existent. Eventually he managed to get an interview for work as a commis waiter at a family- run hotel in Lyndhurst. “The officer warned me, however, not to tell the interviewer that I had never done the job before. Instead he advised me to make up a story about doing a summer job as a waiter whilst in France.” GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE APRIL2020
