The SOMM Journal

April / May 2017

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{ SOMMjournal.com }  77 Operations and how your experience as a somm opened that door. When I started working with Michael Schwartz in the fall of 2009, Michael's Genuine Food & Drink (MGFD) was the only restaurant. The Cayman outpost opened in the summer of 2010, which gave me the opportunity to grow in step with the company. We opened our first Harry's Pizzeria in 2011, as well as started projects at the Raleigh Hotel [in South Beach] and with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. This expansion also included me moving off the floor at MGFD full time to just two nights a week. Since then, we have expanded Harry's to a second location (many more to come), opened Cypress Tavern and ella. We have also deepened our relationship with Royal Caribbean with a second concept, Michael's Genuine Pub, on three ships while extend - ing the first concept, 150 Central Park, to a total of three ships. During this time, I took responsibility for all beverage as Director of Wine & Spirits. A little over a year ago we started to look towards our opening of Fi'lia with SBE Entertainment Group at the SLS Hotel in Miami (with a soon-to-come location in Los Angeles). This led to my current position as Director of Licensing Operations. I am dedicated to the Royal Caribbean and SBE partnerships, as well as the development of two new venues with Related Group. What do you find unique about the somm position? The somm position gets you closest to the chef. You learn more than just the front of the house. You learn food and develop your own sense of cooking. What does "hospitality" mean to you today? It means treating the restaurant like it's my home, and those coming in are com - ing into my home. They are my personal guest. Many have my personal phone number and call me directly to book reser- vations. I get firsthand feedback and many send me pictures of the great time they are having. It's a very rewarding experience. How do you see the somm voca - tion changing? The Certified Sommelier accreditation is more of a hospitality accreditation than about being a wine geek. There are many wine accreditations out there, but being a Certified Sommelier is more. It's not just wine; it's all beverage and service. Somms today need to run entire beverage pro - grams. I look to hire somms with bar and wine backgrounds. What is your philosophy in creat - ing a beverage program? Fit the food, fit the restaurant theme—no cookie-cutter programs. It all starts with the food and what we want to drink with it. We have multiple locations, so we need to keep a core identity but also need to adapt to the location. How do you balance esoterica and passion for wine against the average customer who just wants to drink Chardonnay and is frightened by anything outside their comfort zone? Five years ago, I needed to push myself to include more than esoterica; I could make an excuse and reason for every geeky wine on the list, but now I think I have a more mature approach, looking for balance, as we do with food. Menus like our at Michael's Genuine have pan-roasted chicken and steak au poivre next to grilled sweetbreads and beluga lentils. There are some catego - ries like Pinot Grigio and Napa Cabernet where the brand is less important than the value we can represent. Likewise, there are certain regions like Italy where a brand such as Antinori can bring comfort with an unknown wine. What are the pitfalls of esoterica? Not everyone wants to talk to a somm; by not taking on comfort wines, we are doing a disservice to those customers. There is also a trend for some to find an unknown wine to stretch their margins. I like to do the opposite and find one or two cool, unknown items that can be offered at an incredible value. It's a great way to expose the safe drinker to something new. It also won't kill your COGS to have a wine on there that "nobody" orders—plus, I get to come in and drink them on my day off! What was one of your funniest, most bizarre or embarrassing customer experiences? Miscommunication. A customer ordered a Hennessy and Coke, and when I brought it to him, he said that he wanted his Hennessy and Coke neat, not on the rocks. When I came back with it, he looked at me and said, "You call yourself a somm? I want a Hennessey and CO." Still unsure of what he was asking for, I asked if he could spell CO, to which he replied, "XO." What advice can you give to aspiring sommeliers today? Read! Read! Learn everything. You can't learn enough—and no encyclopedia stuff. Find narratives and stories about wine to put it into context. What is one of your most memo - rable food or wine experiences? The first time I had oysters. It was at water- front restaurant in San Francisco with my little brothers. I was 18 at the time, and it was my first upscale restaurant experience. The waiter helped coach us through eating an oyster by eating one of our oysters. He did more than show us how to eat it; he helped us understand the complete experience. What is your go to cocktail or spirit? Bourbon. A Perfect Bourbon Manhattan What is your go-to beer? New Glarus's Moon Man, from Wisconsin just like me. Which wine region is at the top of your list to explore? I'd like to go back to Italy and hit Piedmont. Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: Eric Larkee.

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