Isn't this the wet (har har) dream of the CEO of Nestle?
Ah... It is!
I bet he's got a mad boner now.
Ah... It is!
I bet he's got a mad boner now.
Hey, I'm opening a single item restaurant in my back yard. $5 dollars for one minute with the hose.
I love sparkling waters. But a water sommelier is nuts!
A water sommelier? The man that talked his way into that job is a sales and marketing genius whose talents are being wasted as a sommelier.
Not just a sommelier, but an artisan! Look at that masterfully crafted limited edition water he made! He even used diamond-like glass bottles!
He moved to Los Angeles (for the weather, he says)
[B]after earning his certification as a water sommelier
from the German Mineral Water Association.[/B]
* What goes into becoming a water sommelier?
A lot of drinking! I come from the Danish border in Germany, right in front of me was the North Sea, so I was always surrounded by water. As a child, when my family went on vacation the first thing we would do in a new city was try the tap water, because I always felt that every tap water has a different taste. In 2005, I started to work at the one Michelin star restaurant first floor at the Hotel Palace Berlin. A customer came up to me one evening and asked me for a different water because they did not liked our house water brand.
That encounter reminded me of my childhood and that water has different taste everywhere you go. I realized that in a restaurant, to really satisfy every customer, you should have a selection of different waters. That's why I created a water menu for Ray's & Stark. We ended up with a list of 40 different brands. I loved having the opportunity to taste so many different waters from all over the world and then pair and recommend them to go with wine and food. In 2008 I wrote the book Die Welt des Wassers (The World of Water) which is a 200-page book about the amazing topic of water. In 2010 I became a certified mineral water sommelier from the German Mineral Water Trade Association.
In 2011 I decided to come back to Los Angeles to work for the Patina Restaurant Group. My Visa is a O-1, a VISA that is given for Extraordinary Ability. My Visa is for my expertise on the topic of water.
* What would you say to the person who doesn't think water is anything special, and usually drinks tap water?
Every water has an unique taste, even tap water. The problem here in Los Angeles is that the tap water has been treated with chlorine. Therefore the chlorine is overpowering the taste of the water. Every person who is skeptical and does not believe that water has taste should come over to Rays & Stark Bar and I am more than happy to surprise them.
In 2011 I decided to come back to Los Angeles to work for the Patina Restaurant Group. My Visa is a O-1, a VISA that is given for Extraordinary Ability. My Visa is for my expertise on the topic of water.
Everyone who has ever been denied a VISA to the US is surely pleased by this news.
I'm not usually that guy but all I can think of is how many people would literally kill for ANY clean drinking water, and some "water sommelier" created "lifestyle" water for rich fucks in California? Jesus...
In 2011 I decided to come back to Los Angeles to work for the Patina Restaurant Group. My Visa is a O-1, a VISA that is given for Extraordinary Ability. My Visa is for my expertise on the topic of water.
i support this. this is interesting. even though i don't drink anything but the cheapest i can get.
if there're whole industries surrounding wine, beer, and coffee, why not water?
Since when has water become a "lifestyle choice"?
Since when has water become a "lifestyle choice"?
I have no doubt that different waters can pair with different foods (and much like how different wines pair with different foods, it might not quite be so obvious how it works until you teach your palate a little bit). I also agree that many things that seem like "food snob" nonsense actually really do give a great experience if you are open to them.
However, if the aim is to introduce a new cultural norm then I would expect the case to be made for it to be better than "oh yeah, totally buy this" and I would expect more rational decisions--for example, if the $16/litre water is so expensive because of the hand-numbered bottles, why not voluntarily produce it in cheaper bottles or at a higher capacity? If it is true that patrons of the restaurant will grow to understand that the particular water they choose is an essential component of their meal, wouldn't they be better off hooking them at a lower price? Wouldn't you rather everyone at your restaurant buying $3/water and having a better experience than limiting the experience to the most ostentatious diners and having most people have a worse experience? After all, every restaurant has a house red and a house white in recognition that for most people, although it is important to have wine with their meal, they don't typically have the best possible somelier-recommended wine with every meal?
As is it just seems like a not particularly crafty emperor's new clothes situation designed to rob rich socialites of money and taunt the poor.
Fine print: Fort Worth municipal water supply
Because commoditizing water is immoral.
I would go just for that.That feel when you go and tell the waiter tap will be fine.