Santé Magazine, March/April 2002

2001 Santé Hospitality Awards Winners

Restaurant Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year
Roger Dagorn, Chanterelle, New York City, NY

Super Sommelier

Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn, this year’s Restaurant Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year, has been at the forefront of wine and spirits education for close to two decades. Whether he is educating restaurant guests, students in his seminars, or aspiring sommeliers preparing for national or international competitions, Dagorn imparts his knowledge in the genuine spirit of fellowship and goodwill.

Since 1993 Dagorn has been the maître d’ and wine director at David and Karen Waltuck’s top-rated Chanterelle in New York City. During Dagorn’s tenure the famous TriBeCa restaurant has won every major culinary award, and his expertise in pairing wines and sake with David Waltuck’s prix fixe offerings has been an integral part of the restaurant’s success.

While his work at Chanterelle has been justly rewarded—among other honors, thc James Beard Foundation recognized Dagorn’s brilliance with its Outstanding Wine Service Award in l996—his contributions to wine education and sommelier excellence outside of the restaurant have been extraordinay.

From his early days as sommelier at Hotel Parker Meridian, restaurant director of l’École at the French Culinary Institute, and Master Sommelier at Tse Yang, Dagorn has always been deeply involved in sommelier education, and has champi-oned competitions as a tool to raise the level of American wine service professionalism. He has represented the United States in a number of international competitions, including the Concour Mondial des Sommeliers held in Paris in 1989.

Today he is a mentor to sommeliers eager to compete. He serves on the Advisory Committee of the American Sommelier Association and as president of the Technical Committee of the Association de la Sommelerie Internationale for the upcoming Concour Mondial that will be held in Philadelphia in 2003. Among other activities, Dagorn is a commandeur of the Association International des Maîtres Conseil en Gastronomic Française, an adjunct professor for wine education at New York Technical College, CUNY, and a wine consultant for Annisa and Aquavit in New York City.

Dagorn’s position at the top of his profession is enthusiastically endorsed by his fellow sommeliers. Daniel ]ohnnes, a Myriad Restau-rant Group partner and the wine director at Montrachet, Chanterelle’s neighbor, remarks, “I am lucky to have known Roger Dagorn for close to 20 years. His knowledge, professionalism, and friendly personality make Roger the ultimate wine professional. He has been an inspiration and a great teacher to many aspiring sommeliers.”

Fellow competition judge and “Sommelier Emeritus” Yves Durand, comments, “Roger has dedicated himself to teaching others—free of charge—the ever-expanding, meandering knowledge of wine and food-and-wine harmony. He is a gentleman and a sommelier’s sommelier.”



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