I learned about my wines through Neiman Marcus, my beers through Yard House, and my mixology from numerous mentors, colleagues and associates from Dale DeGroff to Robert Porter.  The bar flair came from my friends and I researching, competing and networking through competitions across the US.  My first competition was a Midori mix off sponsored by Suntory which I came in second.  Since then, there have been numerous contests in mixology and flair that I have won, placed in, and many more that I lost.  But the important aspect was to see, interact and network with like minded individuals to see what they were doing and why they chose to do certain things and how I could incorporate these skills and ideas to my own brand.  I am not great at any single skill or knowledge pertaining to the food and beverage industry, but what I am is a rare unique “Jack of all trades” in the F&B world.  With almost 30 years of experience, there is no other person that possess so many different areas of expertise in the multifaceted F&B world.  I’m a self proclaimed Master Mixologist that knows a lot about food, wine, liquor and beer that also does bar flair, magic and tells jokes. Most recently, I was the F&B director for a small boutique hotel for a major chain.