To be a sommelier or not to be – that’s the question

When it comes to choosing a profession we are usually at an age, where we don’t really want or can decide logically what will be good or bad for us jobwise. It is more about trusting your gut feels, the momentum of what feels right or wrong without too many influences from the outside. Or at least we would think that – society had, has and will always have some delicately entangled belief systems in place that subconsciously affect our decision making. “A doctor is saving peoples’ lives so it’s a very valuable and respected profession.” – “Studying law will open you many doors, into justice, politics and many more highly regarded positions.”

We can go on with many more of those statements – which in fact, are all very true! Nothing wrong about that. But has anyone ever heard someone speaking out loud how important a dishwasher is at a hotel and that not a single service would be able to be offered after a while if he or she would stop working? Has any parent ever been excited or enthusiastic about a child’s future the same way for deciding to become a chef rather than a lawyer?

Let me tell you a small story – out of pure experience as I have been in exactly that situation.

When I was young, I was always very sure about what I want to become in terms of my profession. I always wanted to be surgeon. Bone saw, dodgy surgeries, lots of blood, lots of stitches and fixing, it was crystal clear to me. I did start internships at hospitals already as soon as my age allowed for it and wandered my way through different stations, observing millions of details that only fostered my decision – Yes, that’s what I want to do to earn my living. My parents, obviously, were more than happy to raise a future doctor.

One day during an internship I realized, that besides all that carnage at the surgery room and all the good health outcome you could reach, there is something that touched me deeply and in a way that made me feel very uncomfortable. It was all the destinies behind. Behind an unsuccessful surgery, behind an inevitable death, all the sorrow that was just there on the flipside of the medal. And I questioned myself and my decision.

Only some weeks later I popped up in front of my parents, telling them, that I will not start my studies in human medicine, but want to look at all the hospitality schools in Switzerland. I saw their faces and I can tell you, they thought that I was kidding them. But no, there we went and only in very short notice, I started at the Swiss Hotel Management School in Montreux, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and an Academic Award as well as First Class Honors in 2012.

Bild: cucaracha_agency

We could think, oh yeah, great job girl! Management’s calling. But no… After a while working in an Events Office in Frankfurt, I started being a little restless again. As Frankfurt was just next to one of the major wine areas in Germany, the Rheingau, and I’ve always liked to drink wine, I started to look into wine – more as a distraction from the monotony of my office work. A year later, I received my sommelier diploma, which I did on the side to my daily job.

And then – why not trusting a gut feel again… A close friend of mine at that time has been the restaurant manager of a small French restaurant in Frankfurt, Erno’s Bistro, where they had any possible French wine with a big name on the label back to around 1900. One day, he asked me whilst we were sipping a glass of wine, if I couldn’t imagine starting as the somm there.

The next thing I remembered was me telling my parents that I put my notice in the event agency to start at that restaurant – basically now. Well – their face was priceless. From a doctor to a gastronomy person to a professional alcoholic. Now we are talking about that great job girl!

But after a while they realized, that it was what changed my personality in a way that none of them would have imagined. I didn’t have bad days anymore. I wasn’t annoyed about work situations. I was in a constant good mood. I was smiling. I kept on studying to advance and become a better version of myself. I never stopped developing. And most and foremost I was happy and did an incredible job. They realized that’s it – the job that I need to be happy and one of the best ones on my field.

A right decision might only be perceivable as “right “ in a little while. But I can truly say, that this decision was the best one of my life. And I am happy to share some of my stories with you.