Welcome to my Table.

Hello, fellow food, wine, and travel lovers. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I founded The Wine Chef in 2016 to express my love, passion, and knowledge of great food, wine, and spirits. I hope it inspires you to create mind-blowing meals, whether in your kitchen or dining out at a restaurant.

Way back when, as a Bates College graduate, I was living the life in New York City—having a blast and thriving in the bustling business world, with most of my work centered around publishing. I finally landed what I thought was the perfect job in ad sales at the New York Times. But every Wednesday, instead of scouring the paper for ideas to increase advertising space, I would find myself reading and clipping the recipes from the food section. I would call my best friend (no texting back then!) and say things like, "Did you see that recipe for salmon with a horseradish crust? Doesn't that look so good?!" I felt more excited about those recipes than the ad space I was selling.

The funny thing is, I didn't know how to cook! Despite my culinary inexperience, I decided my calling was probably food-related, so I quit my job and enrolled in the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center). After graduating, I worked at some of New York City's top restaurants with famous chefs like Tom Colicchio and Terrence Brennan. I also had catering, food styling, and magazine recipe development gigs.

My love of well-crafted food naturally spilled over into a passion for wine and spirits, and in 2012, I joined Manhattan’s famous Park Avenue wine shop, Sherry-Lehmann, as a sales associate. While there, I tasted some of the finest wines and spirits of the world and met the people who make and market them. When my focus shifted to writing about wine, I joined Grape Collective as a staff writer, assisting with sales at the Upper West Side shop.

Please join me on a food and wine adventure and email me with comments and questions: lisa@thewinechef.com.