Salvatore Salerno, Sommelier, among the finalists at the latest edition of the Competition for the Best Sommelier in Italy, currently works in Montecarlo at the 2 Michelin Star restaurant, Joel Robuchon.
Despite his young age, Salvatore’s curriculum resume has important experiences in Italy and abroad. Since its beginnings, he has been able to work with stars of the caliber of Da Vittorio (3 Michelin Stars, Bergamo), for Italy, and then embark on an interesting professional journey abroad starting from the Auberge du Lac restaurant (1 Michelin Star) in Brocket Hall, passing through La Rotonde (2 Michelin Stars) in Lyon and from the restaurant “Il Lago” of the Hotel Four Seasons des Bergues in Geneva, to then land in Montecarlo where today he works, dividing between the Joel Robuchon restaurant and the Japanese Yoshi (1 Michelin Star) of the Metropole Hotel.
We asked Salvatore to give us a description of the customers who frequent luxury restaurants and this was his answer. “From my past and recent work experiences in the food and wine field, I have dealt with different types of customers. The clientele is varied: by age, gender, nationality. A customer looking for a unique experience does it to enrich his knowledge and to discover new trends belonging to the vast field of catering. In a world in continuous evolution and improvement, the customer is increasingly demanding and pretentious to “personalize” the product, which brings with it a novelty but which at the same time maintains typical and traditional characteristics. A customer prepared and competent in the matter, both as regards food, cooking, wine and for the place he has chosen to spend this experience. Without a doubt, he is a customer who is very attentive to service, and critical, who first of all seeks product authenticity and innovation. Today those who decide to experiment with these restaurants do so out of curiosity and passion which, like us professional sommeliers, they share. So today’s customer is not satisfied with the “classic” but expects to be surprised in all the complex of emotions and sensations that encompasses and arouses the restaurant he has chosen. They are people who expect to be protagonists, pretending that the kitchen and the dining room are impeccable, because they are used to attending certain restaurants and know how to recognize the fundamental elements that you need to have to be at the top. In a period of great competitiveness, it is necessary to be able to retain and hit the customer by putting into play everything that reflects luxury catering. The sommelier for this must be able to amaze the customer and thus stimulate his passion. It is also thanks to the customer that the sommelier can manage to get involved and improve his knowledge. Our figure is continually tested, even by these customers who expect something more than the food-wine pairing but who seek the detail that makes the difference. Nowadays the sommelier is in such a position that he no longer deals only with wine but must also have knowledge of all the drinks that take part in a meal, from the aperitif, to the wine, to the sake, to the waters, the beer, coffee etc. In my opinion, a good sommelier must be able to understand the customer’s expectations and needs but at the same time be able to transmit his passion and knowledge.