Stuart Hudson, 26, first found himself at Mju restaurant, based in the Millennium hotel in London's Knightsbridge, in March 2003 working as a barman while he completed the final year of a Wine & Spirit Education Trust certificate.
Although Hudson intended to stay in the UK to concentrate on developing his wine knowledge, a relative's illness forced him to return home temporarily to Brisbane, Australia, where he resumed employment at Two, a fine-dining restaurant and wine bar, as bar manager.
Returning to London this summer, he caught up with the then sommelier at Mju only to find she was moving on. Armed with a recommendation from her, Hudson was interviewed by the general manager of the Millennium hotel days later, and in September became Mju's sommelier.
Hudson hopes to open his own bar at some point in the future, and although he's concentrating on wine at the moment he feels it's important to maintain as broad a knowledge of the drinks trade as possible.
"In Australia there's less emphasis on the sommelier as a profession, as we have perhaps more people with a good, if not specialised, knowledge of wine," he says. "Because of this it's easy to get invitations to tastings as long as the drinks suppliers know it's an area you cover. The hardest thing about the business in the UK is breaking into what is an elite circle. You need to make contacts with the right people to get the invites to tastings and progress."
Today Hudson peppers his working week with meetings, catching up with suppliers for a coffee here and a wine tasting there. Monday is typically spent ordering the wine for the restaurant (the list is being reconfigured by Hudson and will contain 250 wines ranging from £25 to £70 per bottle on completion), and he'll do an average of 50 hours in a week (thanks to the restaurant not opening Saturday lunchtime and closing on Sundays). The busiest times of the week are, predictably, Friday and Saturday nights, when the restaurant does 40 to 50 covers.
As sommelier he works closely with Mju's executive chef Tom Thomsen, matching wines to the restaurant's … la carte menu, which changes every two to three months. There's also a d‚gustation menu that he changes daily, keeping Hudson on his toes.
"No matter how much you think you know, there's always someone else out there who knows more," says Hudson. "Always keep learning."
Career highlights
March 2003
Barman/waiter at Mju
January 2004Bar manager Two restaurant, Brisbane
September 2004Sommelier at Mju