Meet the 2015 Inter Hotel Cape Legends Finalists: Bennet Msweli

Wednesday, 22 July, 2015
Inter Hotel Cape Legends
2015 sees the announcement of the annual Cape Legends Inter Hotel Challenge now in its third year with 25 hotels from the Cape, Port Elizabeth and KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng on board. Meet this year's extraordinary Wine Steward Finalists:

Bennet came to Grootbos as a young man with the willingness to work and to make his way up the ranks. His first position was that of Gate Porter. Two years later a position as Trainee Barman became available and Bennet immediately applied for the position. The diligence and dedication that he had demonstrated as Gate Porter made him the best candidate for the new position. He didn’t have any food or beverage management experience though and had to start at the bottom, yet showed remarkable commitment to achieving his goals from the start.

With hard work and plenty of initiative Bennet worked his way to become Head Barman. It was in this new position where he was offered the opportunity to attend the Let’s Sell Lobster courses, specifically those relating to wine and the principles of food and wine pairing. He sees this as a critical point in his career when “wine become more than another beverage in the bar selection”. It is here where his interest in wine germinated and grew to where he would visit wineries on his off days and attend special wine functions, such as the Riedel Tasting Experience. Although Bennet’s current duties do not exclusively on wine and wine service, he sees this area of his job as the most enjoyable. His ultimate goal is to become a renowned sommelier in his own right. He wants to expand his knowledge of foreign wines and hopefully travel to different wine regions.

Bennet views the Cape Legends Interhotel Challenge as the next trial of his career. He is excited about opportunities that are made available to participants and has found renewed energy to improve his wine knowledge and service skills.

We wish Bennet all the best in the Cape Legends Interhotel Challenge and know that his commitment to his work will serve him well throughout.