Gentle, graceful and as pretty as a picture, Shani is a keen analyst. At the age of twenty-nine, she is Sommelier and Wine Event Coordinator at Constance Hotels & Resorts. Remember… in August 2022, she won the Mauritius Best Sommelier competition!
While a non-traditionalist family base and an “open-minded, mixed upbringing” enable her to assume her status as a woman in Mauritian society, Shani sometimes has to defend it in the sommelier profession. “It’s still the man who chooses, opens and tastes the wine. I’m often seen as assistant to ! Today, I know my legitimacy, but I still have to justify myself to others! Also because women ask themselves too many questions! Our credibility must not be influenced by pressure, stereotypes and traditions!”
Mentors
On her return from France, with a master’s degree in hotel management in her pocket, her obsession was to discover sommellerie, of which she knew nothing! She kept at it… until she met Jérôme Faure from the Constance group. A first internship, then a second, a one-year specialization in France… and patience, determination. “Jérôme has always worked to convince people that a sommelier team in a hotel is essential!” At her first competition in 2019, Shani’s friends and family proudly discover that the world of sommellerie is not just about tasting wine, but also about cigars, coffee, spirits, appropriate pairings, service and glassware… Shani works alongside people she admires. Jérôme, of course, and Jorald, his assistant who started out as a beach vendor, only to become Mauritius’s best sommelier in 2012. “I’m amazed by his kindness, his humility and his values. He gives me the keys, trains me, supports me. He’s my guide and my friend!”
Wisdom
The young woman confides in me that she loves the calm of Marie Reine de la Paix, on the montagne des Signaux in Port Louis. The evening view of the illuminated city is a great source of inspiration. Shani loves to travel, but also to go home. “Of course, there are economic difficulties here, a lack of openness… but if everyone leaves Mauritius, no one contributes to the changes!” As the interview progresses, I discover a sensitive, romantic person who laughingly admits to being a stereotypical woman. “I’m not afraid to cry every day! Why should we associate tears with weakness?” A flaw? She ponders… and admits to me that the answer will be that of Jorald, who knows her so well: “He tells me I’m naive.” A quality? “Kindness. I don’t know how to be angry with people. There’s no point in blaming them for their choices.”
Shani has no enemies, no anger inside her. She’s the embodiment of wisdom for me!
