About Me
My background is equal parts psychology, world travel, and hands-on experience running restaurants and wine bars.
I am obsessed with the intimacy of food & wine, and utilize storytelling as a tool to connect people to the wine they are drinking and serving.
For restaurants, that means beverage programs that actually fit your story and clientele, educated & empowered servers, and more wine sold.
For individuals, it means finally understanding your own palate so you can explore with confidence anywhere you go.
Wine
Wine is the vessel of science and creativity I had been searching for ever since my passions pulled me towards the chaos of art & community that is the restaurant world.
Where food inspired me to experience, wine called me to contribute. The science involved in learning it, the emotional intensity required to understand it, and the storytelling needed to share it tugged at all my strengths and guided me into a career path of teaching, pouring, and sharing wine.
I focus on sourcing small production wines from passionate winemakers: wines that make you feel something.
I believe in educating staff on complicated concepts through tasting, experience, and forming personal connections with the medium.
Most importantly, where there is wine, there is food nearby.
Food
My obsession with restaurants and food experiences began early on.
It all started with lists.
Growing up in downtown Chicago, it was the city’s staples, new openings, and rising chefs.
Once in LA it was food trucks and taco stands, Michelin star tasting menus and modern cocktail bars.
Then Paris, where meticulous lists turned into obsessive research & tastings of cultural delicacies across Europe - an addiction to the way these restaurants and cultural experiences made me feel alive.
I arrived back in Los Angeles determined to make the magic that is restaurants, my life. 6 years later, I find myself even more addicted to the profession of sharing food with the people who love it as much as I do.
Travel
Credibility is my ethos and authentic experiences are my most vital source of inspiration.
I traveled to 18 countries in 18 months meticulously researching and indulging in the foods that give food scenes around the world a pulse.
I aim to approach every experience back home with the perspective of knowing their origins where I can, and learning when I do not.
Sushi in Japan, pho in Vietnam, mole in Mexico, banchan in Korea, amok curry in Cambodia, goulash in Hungary - it’s all in the blueprint of my lens
