New Adventures on the Horizon

It’s hard to believe that my time at Lettuce Entertain You is coming to an end. I joined the company after moving to Chicago to join the team at Everest as their sommelier. I will forever be grateful to Chef J. Joho for taking a chance and giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. He taught me a tremendous amount about the art of service and the culture of food and wine. Chef Joho and the staff at Everest could not have been more supportive of my endeavors, both on the floor and off, and to that end, in 2003, I completed my goal of becoming a Master Sommelier.

After five years on the floor, I joined the corporate office in 2005 as the Director of Wine and Spirits and found new challenges extending well beyond the restaurant. I have had the great privilege to work with some of the most dynamic, thoughtful, and creative entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry. The volume of talent within this organization never ceased, or ceases, to amaze me. I have made lifelong friends, and though I will miss working with them, I look forward to our continued friendship.

Wine is not a spectator sport, and seeking new ways to develop my skills is a reoccurring theme in my professional life. Ever since my earliest days as a waitress in Monterey, California, I’ve strived to learn as much as I can every day, to grow, and, with any luck, be able to inspire the same in others. Earlier this year, that familiar desire to grow returned, in the form of an opportunity outside of the organization, and just as when I took the call from Chef Joho that winter afternoon in 2000, I knew I had to answer. It was not an easy decision to make, just as it had been in ways difficult to leave my West Coast life in my twenties, but I knew the time had come, and so today is my last day at Lettuce.

I am very excited for my new adventures and will announce the details shortly. My plans will keep me in Chicago, as I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else again.