Kathrine Larsen joined Orrery as head sommelier this month, having worked with master sommelier Nicolas Clerc at Le Pont de la Tour for the past two years. The Artful Diner finds out more…

Recently, I came across a book called Where to dine in London, written in 1937 by the Bon Viveur. The author’s acerbic and witty take on 1930s London restaurants is worth reading… more on it in a later piece. But, at the section on wines I flicked the pages faster in annoyance. Why? Because, all the Bon Viveur’s talk of this particular fish with that precise vintage began to make me feel a little, well, bored.

Luckily, the future looks brighter…

Kathrine Larsen is about as far from the clichéd wine bore of old that it is possible to be. Determined and knowledgeable, Danish-born Kathrine is also young (29), passionate and ready to take on what she describes as a “male-dominated industry”.

Let’s be clear, she’s not advocating some sort of revolution, but Kathrine is one of a new generation of young, successful, female sommeliers in London. Moreover, she is keen to celebrate the different approaches to wine that men and women bring.

“When it comes to tasting and choosing a wine list I’ve met great male and female sommeliers,” she says. “But, I think that most women have this innate way of understanding different characters that helps discover what customers would like to drink without making them feel uncomfortable. We should celebrate the certain grace and elegance that women can bring to the role. ”

Ambition and awards…

Ultimately, however, any sommelier needs the knowledge to back up their advice. Last year Kathrine won the London regional final of the UK Sommelier Award 2011 and in 2009 she became an advanced member of the Court of Master Sommeliers. In her spare time she balances looking after her two and a half year old son with studying to take her final exams and become a master sommelier – only 192 people have ever achieved it around the world.

Favourite wines…

In the monthly wine tastings at Orrery, Kathrine gets a chance to share some of this knowledge with the likes of you and me. I can’t help asking for her favourite wines and straightaway she names Alsatian producer Zind-Humbrecht, which she loves for its Riesling wines. She also has a love of Barolo and is interested in well-made biodynamic wines.

Favourite food…

When it comes to food, we quickly establish that even though Kathrine’s favourite comfort food is bread and cheese, she definitely isn’t a cheap date. Marylebone cheese Mecca La Fromagerie is a favourite. “I like good quality cheese – Comté (although not from Waitrose: “they sell it too young”), Gruyère and mozzarella,” she says. When she eats out she enjoys scallops, foie gras and “big steaks” – evidently, there is a sweet serendipity in her being at Orrery where head chef Igor’s speciality is Tournedos Rossini with sauce Périgourdine [fillet steak served with foie gras and truffle sauce].

And, her favourite ever dessert?

“The best dessert I ever had was at Noma in Copenhagen. It was this granita of grass and wood sorrel with an incredibly fresh sorbet of fromage frais. I had it three times,” she says, laughing. “Freshness and acidity is something I like in both my food and wine.”

It’s a freshness of approach to wine I think we can expect to see more of…

Further information:

Find out more about Kathrine and Orrery.