Mikael Grou

Four Seasons Tenure

• Originally 2008; now Since 2025
• First Four Seasons Position: Commis Sommelier, Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris

Employment History

• Hôtel Beau-Rivage Genève; Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London; The Grill at The Dorchester, London; Sails Restaurant Noosa, Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia; Vue de Monde, Melbourne, Australia; Restaurant A Mere, Paris; Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris; Celliers D’Asie, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Education

• Baccalauréat Technologique Hôtelier and Mention Complementaire Sommellerie, Restaurant/Food Services Management, Lycée Hôtelier de Dinard, France

Birthplace

• Brittany, France

Languages Spoken

• French, English

“I’m still discovering things. I think I always will,” says Mikael Grou of the many objects of his attention as Beverage Director of Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, Geneva. Such “things” include the preferences of guests, the reach of suppliers, developments across the global wine and spirits industry, and inspirations on the menus of the Hotel’s dining experiences, including Michelin-starred Il Lago. “Travelers to Geneva tend to know a lot about wine, but sometimes they just want to enjoy themselves. My job is to discover where I can take them in the moment.”

An ambitious aficionado who has travelled far since starting as an intern with Four Seasons in 2008, Grou brings a Balthazar of wine knowledge and experience to engage guests at the table. Storytelling is a better approach to selling wine than reciting details, he says. “When you can talk to guests about meeting the winemaker and walking the vineyard, it paints an inviting picture.”

The wines Grou talks about come from all over, with the cellar he manages holding some 1,000 labels, including a good selection from around Geneva and comprehensive offerings from France and Italy. “Burgundy is big trend for us.” There are also classics from renowned regions of Spain, and New World entries from across the map including his favourites: Australia and New Zealand.

Understanding the identities and energies of the Hotel’s dining experiences is important for Grou. So, too, is managing the Sommeliers stationed at each. While he is keen to train and offer pointers from his own experience, he also believes in letting team members find their own way. “It’s usually enough for me to be with them on the floor and give advice,” he says, noting the best advice he ever received came from a Four Seasons Sommelier in Paris: “Relax and present yourself at the table as you would in private.”

Raised in Brittany in the northwest corner of France, Grou was inspired to hospitality by his mother who enjoys fine dining and took him to nice restaurants from a young age. He still recalls the first time a waiter brought an amuse bouche to their table. “I was so surprised! It was amazing to me how a simple gesture could turn a meal into a spectacle.”

Pursuing a career-oriented educational track, Grou wanted to work as a chef at age 11. He went on to study hospitality in college where an “amazing teacher” opened his palate to the wonders of wine and polished his preference for service. “He really gave me the virus, showing me how a dining room is like a stage in a theatre: Every visit to a table is a performance.”

Fresh from school, a family friend placed Grou with a wholesale wine merchant in Cambodia, where he discovered the beauties of New World wines. Upon returning the Continent, he began studying to become a sommelier with hopes of training at a wine bar. But his amazing teacher had other plans and got him a coveted spot as a trainee at Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris. “I wasn’t sure it was the best move, but he left me no choice,” Grou recalls with a laugh. His six-week internship at the Hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurants led to a junior appointment on the Sommelier team. When he finally moved on seven years later, he was Second Sommelier.

Grou’s career path then took him to independent restaurants and luxury hotels in Paris, Melbourne and London, before he landed as chef sommelier at a lakefront property in Geneva. When the property closed for refurbishment five years later, Four Seasons dangled the prospect of Beverage Director at its own historic lakefront address. Excited to continue his evolution and feeling right at home in the city, Grou happily returned to the company and hasn’t looked back.

While work keeps him engaged through the week, Grou enjoys lavishing attention on his partner, who is also in the wine industry, and their young son on weekends, including occasional dinners out. How does that go? “A preschooler in a nice restaurant can be a challenge, but we’re careful not to disturb other guests,” he says with happy reflection. “We always order him a normal plate, never from the kids menu.”