Tableside Talks: Philadelphia-based Sommelier Nicole Ramirez
Photo credit: Alpana Singh
Nicole Ramirez’s journey into wine was not an obvious one. Nicole grew up in Chicago in a Puerto Rican family surrounded by the comfort of food and family, but she always knew a more unconventional path awaited her. She was a film major at the University of Illinois at Chicago. While attending college, she made her first foray into hospitality at the Stadium Club at Comiskey Park. Shortly after college, she moved to Seattle, where she discovered wine while working at a local wine bar. She knew she had found her calling–wine combined all of her various interests: food, travel, history, and storytelling.
Growing up, Nicole did not see a lot of people who looked like her in the food and wine business, which inspired her to make her own mark in the world of wine and to be an example for others. She began working towards her wine certification, and starting in 2019, passed the WSET Levels 1, 2 and 3. In 2021, she began working at Porto, a one star Michelin restaurant specializing in Galician cuisine and Spanish wines. In 2022, she was invited by Sommelier Alpana Singh to join the opening team at her eponymous restaurant, Alpana. Nicole is currently working on her CMS Level 2.
When she is not studying wine, she enjoys spending time with her partner Perry, and her beloved pets, Rigel the Blue Heeler and Gucci the house cat. Her ultimate goal is to one day create a company centered on sustainability in hospitality.
Welcome in, Nicole!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Deirdre Auld (Tableside): Nicole, what's one thing that you wish you knew when you stepped into leadership that no one told you?
Nicole Ramirez: When I think about being a leader, the buck stops with you. If you're somebody that's not in a leadership role, if something goes wrong, it's not always your fault. There’s a team environment that's involved with running a restaurant, and sometimes things are missed because of someone else's mistake or because they’re not doing their job. But, if you’re in a leadership role, if something goes awry, it's really on you. If it's your fault. If it's not your fault. If it's good or bad, too. If you make a decision and everyone says, “this is amazing, you did so great,” because you're a leader, then you say, okay, good, I did it. But if you make the wrong decision or you do something that you think is the right decision and it isn't, again, it's on you.
Good or bad, there aren't really too many people that you can turn to say, “hey, this thing kind of fell through and it's because of X, Y, or Z”. At the end of the day, you're the one that's at the top. You're the one that's in this leadership role. Anything good or bad falls on your shoulders, so it can make you question some of the decisions that you're making day-to-day.
Deirdre: I’m hearing you describe the pressure one faces when they're in a leadership role. That leaders are the ones who have to take responsibility for decisions and that can be particularly hard. I hear you highlighting the challenge of when you are in the industry in a more collaborative and team-oriented space to then make that transition into leadership. How has learning and development impacted your leadership in hospitality?
Nicole: It has helped with imposter syndrome. When you’re in a leadership role, sometimes you have a hundred things coming at you at once. Especially being new in a leadership role, sometimes you think, “I can't do this. This is a lot. There's a lot of things that are being thrown at me. Maybe I can't handle this.” But all of the years of experience and the professional and personal learning I do as far as my wine training goes, grounds me and affirms me when I’m at work and things are crazy.
When somebody does come to me and say, “Hey, Nicole, I have a question about this wine pairing,” or, “I need your help with this service," it makes me feel like, “I can do this.” I'm in this leadership role because of all of the studying and all of the money that I spent becoming a sommelier. Even though it might be a frantic Saturday service, it's nice to know I am able to still spit out all this information. I do know what I'm talking about. I'm in this role for a reason, so all the blood, sweat, and tears is worth it at the end of the day.
Deirdre: I love that you’re highlighting that doing the work and training has helped to ground you and reduce imposter syndrome. What's one thing that you would want people outside of the industry to know about hospitality leadership?
Nicole: I think that there's still a small population of people who assume people work in restaurants as stepping-stones or as part-time jobs. I want people to know that we're in the hospitality industry because we want to be here. A good majority of us are here because we want to be here. We love meeting new people and talking to people. We love making people feel like they're in our home and giving them food and drinks and good service. And this isn't just a stepping stone for all of us. And if it is, it's because we want to keep evolving into more developed hospitality roles. We're here because we want to be, because we love it.
Deirdre: That's great–a nice reminder how much hospitality professionals are intentionally committed to hospitality. Okay, maybe the most important question that you'll answer today. You have one condiment in your refrigerator. What is it?
Nicole: I thought about this so much. I'm gonna say chimichurri because it's all of the spices and flavors together in one beautiful package. And you can put it on anything. One of my favorite meals in the world is just a steak with chimichurri on top. I'm gonna make some and have it in my fridge!
Deirdre: We haven't heard that yet. Thanks, Nicole, for sharing your lessons in hospitality leadership.