What are the qualities of a top sommelier and waiter?
“A highly educated sommelier leads the guests safely through the ocean of their habits and perceptions,” says Gregor Kren, who has been devoted to hospitality since the age of 15.
This year, Hiša Fink’s sommelier Gregor Kren received the title for Best Service and Sommelier by Gault&Millau Slovenia for 2022. Gregor has everything an outstanding sommelier and waiter should have: professional service, knowledge and experience, charm, elegance, laid-back demeanour, a smile on his lips, a subtle feeling for combining flavours, both in a glass and on a plate …
A real sommelier always looks for good qualities in wine. He is the best promotor of what the wine producers squeeze from the grapes, but first and foremost he has to be a very good listener. He has to listen to the customers and their wishes and offer them what he gathers from the conversation. He has to be aware that responsibility and respect are required for such an important job as being a waiter. He is also fiercely loyal to the area he comes from.
Gregor gathered his knowledge and rich experience over the years at prestigious locations throughout Slovenia. He promotes the Dolenjska region basically every step of his way, and gives back to it with the knowledge he has gained. He likes to offer his guests what is local, indigenous, what the land has to offer, and what makes us happy. For him, a wine list that makes sense, originates in the area where we work and to which we belong. Because he adores Slovenia, his ideal wine list entails first and foremost as wide a selection of local labels as possible, after them the main players of the wine world get their turn. Considering this, he always looks for, and also finds, the most beautiful comparisons between the new world, and the old one.
The most important thing for him is the well-being of his guests. With every glass he pours, he tells his guests a wonderful story about wine which makes a dish shine even brighter, and he weaves the ingredients that the guests have on their plates into the story. And one more thing: when he was once asked how the wine tasted, Winston Churchill replied: “I am easily satisfied with the best.” Gregor Kren completely agrees with this: “What I myself would indulge in I would also offer to the guests …”.
