Competition has proven to be a competitive advantage on many levels. In gastronomy, competitions around food and drink have increased and help to increase the status of many restaurant workers. One of these is the sommelier, who has been a bit overshadowed by chefs' attention. But sommeliers are not only good for restaurants’ finances and guests' experiences, they also act as cultural mediators of good taste. Previous research shows that competition is a recurring phenomenon for how sommeliers succeed in their careers. The sommelier’s work at restaurants is now a significant issue for the success for restaurants, because they can increase restaurant profit and guest’s service satisfaction and also acts an intermediary of taste. Still, it is unclear what this success is dependent on, also yet limited research on sommeliers daily and conspicuous practices.
In this paper we focus on how sommelier's practices within competition are transferable to the restaurant floor. The paper draws on findings from a study of qualitative interviews with sommeliers in Sweden, in order to understand the sommelier's practice as performance from the analytical lens practice theory, focusing on materiality, competence and meaning.
The analysis of the findings shows that competition practitioners are identified by the sommelier's ability to understand how different elements should be answered. Moreover, is clear how the cultural understanding of what is considered to be a good combination, or the right way to move during a craft situation, plays a crucial role in how well sommeliers succeeds on the field. The paper argues that the sommelier's competition experiences is a success factor as it provides a competitive advantage, where you are not afraid of failure, as acting on the restaurant floor. We suggest that restaurateurs should promote and set aside time for their employees to compete as a form of personal development.