A
letter from a Sommelier to future Chefs of America:
By Madeline Triffon, Wine Director, Unique Restaurant Corp.
The delicious
burden on young chefs today is to learn all they can about wine. As
we move into the new century, the restaurant challenges are apparent:
Americans are dining out a great deal and are drinking more wine.
However, not very many restaurants can afford full-time wine professionals
to take on all the weight of their beverage programs. This means that
it may very well be the executive chef or sous chef who is the management
presence at staff lineups making specific wine recommendations for
the daily specials.
As time-consuming
as culinary responsibilities are, there can’t be an excuse for
not learning the basics of food and wine harmony, as well as making
sure you are crossed-trained in all aspects of product knowledge.
Go to wine tastings, insist that your back-of-the house staff is included
in all beverage trainings, have daily dialogues with your the front-of
the house colleagues about new beverage options and how to tie them
in with the food. Recommend wine and food together on the menu! With
or without descriptions, this is the single most powerful tool a restaurant
can employ to give the customers what they want: direction. Make it
easy for your guests to enjoy the best you’ve got to offer.
A wonderful,
unseen but palpable spin-off from this type of effort on your part
will be the dissolving of the front-of-the-house/ back-of-the-house
wall that exists in the minds of many restaurant professionals. It’s
perpetuated largely by myth and inertia and small-minded thinking.
Celebrate food and wine together!
reprinted
with permission from Exploring Wine: The Culinary Institute of
America's Complete Guide to Wines of the World, by Kolpan, Smith,
and Weiss, 2nd edition (John Wiley and Sons, forthcoming)
More
of Madeline’s Tips:
