A landmark afternoon of culinary excellence returns to Whatley Manor on 14 April with a historic first – a sommelier taking centre stage alongside seven Michelin-starred chefs.
The Magic Future Foundation has announced that Vanessa Stoltz from Restaurant Pine in Northumberland will join The Magnificent Seven for its 2026 edition, marking the first time in the event’s history that a sommelier has been formally recognised as a central participant in the fundraising lunch.
Vanessa, restaurant manager and head sommelier at Pine, is ranked ninth in the Harper’s Sommelier List 2025. She will guide guests through an afternoon of wine pairings across seven courses, each created by a different Michelin-starred chef.
A member of the Court of Master Sommeliers and a featured name in the Sommelier Edit UK Top 100 Sommeliers, Vanessa brings a rare combination of technical mastery and storytelling to the table. She will be working alongside Stacey Sherwood-French, the co-owner of Restaurant Joro, who will be her front-of-house teammate.
The seven chefs joining her are Ricki Weston (Whatley Manor), April-Lily Partridge (Roux Scholar, formerly The Ledbury), Luke French (Joro, Sheffield), Charlie Tayler (Aulis, London), Harry Kirkpatrick (Trinity, London), Mark Tuttiett (Da Terra, London), and Ollie Bridgewater (Source at The Gilpin, Lake District).
The afternoon’s menu ranges from caviar trifle and tuna croustade to roast monkfish with sake bone sauce, a lamb loin XO pithivier, and a closing almond whip with cherry and Earl Grey ice cream.
All proceeds from the lunch support The Magic Future Foundation’s mission to build 100 schools in the world’s poorest countries, in partnership with world-leading NGO buildOn. The foundation, now in its sixth year, has already built 33 schools, each one a tribute to Oli Wissenbach, who passed away suddenly at 25 in 2019.
Following the Whatley Manor event, the seven chefs will travel with The Magic Future Foundation to Malawi in June, supporting the building of a new school. Their journey will be professionally filmed, with the resulting documentary premiering at a second Magnificent Seven event in October. This second event will feature the same seven chefs, who will deliver new courses inspired by their experience in Malawi.
Vanessa said: ‘’Being invited to join The Magnificent Seven is a real honour, and not just because I’ll be working alongside some of the most exciting chefs in the country. What this event stands for, and the story behind it, makes it genuinely unlike anything else in the hospitality calendar. Wine is at its best when it brings people together, around something meaningful, and I can’t think of a more meaningful table to be part of. I’m also hoping to travel to Malawi with the team in June, and if I can play even a small part in helping to build another school for those less fortunate, that would mean everything to me.’’
Tickets for The Magnificent Seven 2026 are available at oliverwissenbach.com/magnificent-seven-tickets-2026
