Episode 49 – Gavin Hills, wine director at The Hand & Flowers
On this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Gavin Hills, wine director and assistant restaurant manager of the only pub in the UK to hold two-Michelin stars, The Hand & Flowers, in Marlow.Born in Cambridge, Gavin grew up with a passion for cooking and a strong love of baking, which led him to study Food Technology at Cambridge Regional College. His professional life began in kitchens but it wasn’t long before his ambition to work front of house took over. After supervising a number of restaurants at hotels including The Arundel, in Cambridge and The Banyers hotel in Royston, Hertfordshire, Gavin joined The Hand & Flowers in 2010 and two years later was promoted to head waiter, the same year the pub won its second Michelin star. Now the pub’s wine director, Gavin has developed The Hand & Flowers’ award-winning wine list to 190 bottles across old and new world styles and champions English wines, particularly the growth of vintage English wines. We talk about what it's like to work for Tom Kerridge, Gavin's ideal dinner guest and his hand in helping to create The Hand & Flowers very own, limited edition, English sparkling wine.For more information about The Hand & Flowers, follow @handfmarlow on Instagram or visit thehandandflowers.co.uk. This episode of The English Wine Diaries is sponsored by Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free deliver on orders over £40.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.