The beginning

This blog will be predominantly about food, drink, and being a professional server.

Being a professional server takes a lot of knowledge in order to satisfy and be able to answer any questions the guest asks.  Anything from wine, food, cocktails, recipes, food and wine pairing, and even server presentation skills will be discussed throughout the duration of this blog.     

Being a professional and knowledgeable restaurant server is a hard job. The server must put on a good presentation every time they are faced with new guests. Being highly knowledgeable, having a good attitude, speaking clearly, and using good restaurant mannerisms are all part of a servers job every working day.

Now considering America is crazy about hospitality, being a professional server can come in handy in times when preferable jobs are not available. For me, a college student from Sonoma State University graduating into a country that has very limited jobs, serving at a high end restaurant pays the bills just fine. I have heard of restaurants in Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco, and many other cities where servers can pull in 500-1000 dollars or more in tips per shift. The biggest tip I have ever received was $400, which basically paid my rent for the month.    

Food and wine is easy to learn but hard to master. Once you understand the basic principles of food and wine, for example, red meats pair great with heavy red wines that contain high levels of tannins, you have made a huge step in understanding the basic idea. Similarities are everything, sweets go with sweets, light proteins and pastas pair well with white wines, etc. Thankfully the food and drink industry isn’t a bureaucracy; there is a lot of leeway to make your own decisions about what goes good with what. As long as you have “good taste” and a brain to decipher the way things taste, you should have no problem understanding food and drink.