LOVE. SERVICE. RESTAURANT. HOME.

Being a leader and mentor in the wine industry is not what I set out to do.

Like many of us, I did not have a clearcut plan of what I wanted to do when I ‘grew up.’ I was not the person who said, “I’m going to be a teacher, lawyer, firefighter, doctor, etc.”

Dreams so big: I was going to be a famous actress or a singer/songwriter, I thought I would sell my paintings. I learned to sew and make my own clothes. When I was still a teenager, my older brother passed a job on to me at Snack Shack, which was the local truck stop for all the big blue and white Chrysler trucks. I learned to fry eggs, poach eggs, make a perfect omelet with the toast coming up at the perfect time, and pour lots and lots of coffee. (I then passed that job on to my younger brother.) More restaurant jobs followed, to pay for school, a car, flying lessons, travel, spending money. Eventually, I moved to Manhattan, then to Boston.

One super cold winter night, my boyfriend and I flipped a coin: Los Angeles or Florida; I then lived in LA for almost 20 years. For extra support for my singing gigs, painting, sewing projects, and travel, you guessed it: I worked in restaurants.

What happened next is called destiny, serendipity, fate, blessed. I met a manager at a very fine-dining French restaurant and he asked me to smell some wines. We both discovered that I have a very good sense of smell. He encouraged me to learn about wine. Curious, I got a book. The history of wine intrigued me so much that I wanted to learn more. I loved the stories about the wineries, the agriculture, the families, the meals with wine, the travel and everything that I was learning.

As I embarked on the exam journey to become a master sommelier it became clear to me that not only would I have to know the facts, I would also have to be passionate to get through its rigor. Not a problem for me, since the more I learned, the more there was to learn.

The exam curriculum took away five years of any normal social life. I spent nights working in a fine-dining restaurant and days poring over wine regions, memorizing soils and grapes, and tasting, tasting, tasting hundreds of wines from all over the world. When I passed my exams, I was so grateful for my mentors and friends who encouraged me that I vowed to pay it forward.

When I meet someone who is curious, asks questions and wants to learn, I am

100% with them. I have never forgotten that at one time I did not know anything about wine, didn’t know what Crown Royal was, or how to open a bottle. I pass no judgment when I see someone starting out knowing nothing but who has that spark. I am so proud of the persons that I have mentored to take an intro exam, or apply for a better job, or start their own business. These experiences also help me to keep growing and to stay active in my profession.

Like many jobs, we spend more time at them than we do at home. Restaurants are a perfect example of this. Working in a restaurant is the complete opposite of an office or desk job. I have easily walked 20,000 steps in a shift. It is not always easy and we take special care of our feet and knees.

Yet I love the hospitality business; it is a home for me. My profession and vocation involve everything that I love: people, music, art, ambience, travel, food, learning and teaching. It’s a miracle and I feel lucky and blessed to be able to work in such an environment. And, as the years pass and I am able to mentor and empower others, it is a powerful feeling of accomplishment.