This week, we sit down with Corey Reis, the thoughtful and resilient Wine Director of Be.Steak.A in Campbell. In a deeply personal conversation, Corey shares his winding journey through the hospitality industry—a path marked by high-stakes Michelin pop-ups, the humbling reality of wine sales, and a profound, life-altering turn toward gardening as a way to navigate grief. It’s a story about coming home to your passion, even when the road is anything but straight.
Corey’s story is the epitome of what it means to be a "Reluctant Somm." He’s a professional whose expertise was forged not just in fine dining rooms, but through real-life struggle, adaptation, and a willingness to step away to find clarity. This is a must-listen for anyone who understands that a career isn’t always a ladder, but a journey of resilience, self-discovery, and finding your way back.
We dive into:
The Zig-Zag Career: Why stepping in and out of the wine world—from breweries to sales—can be a source of strength and perspective.
Growth from Grief: How starting a garden after a personal loss provided a powerful new connection to the earth and a path through hardship.
The Michelin Gauntlet: A look inside the controlled chaos of running the wine program for Ritual at Manresa, a rotating, three-Michelin-star pop-up.
The Power of Mentorship: The story of the Bacchus Group "family" and the key figures who shaped his journey in hospitality.
Timestamps:
The Winding Road
03:16 - A Serendipitous Start: How a legal battle with a vocational school led to a job at Pizza Antica and the start of a career.
07:52 - The Humbling Reality of Sales: The transition from the restaurant floor to a distribution rep and the lessons learned.
10:05 - A Detour into Beer: Stepping away from wine to find a different kind of community and passion at a local brewery.
The Turning Point
09:17 - Navigating Personal Loss: Corey speaks openly about his mother's passing and the decision to step back from the industry.
11:33 - The Hibiscus Project: How discovering a passion for gardening transformed his father's yard into a food forest and became a source of healing and joy.
37:34 - Connecting Soil to Wine: How getting his hands dirty in the garden created a deeper, more tangible understanding of viticulture.
The Return to Wine
16:27 - Ritual at Manresa: The story of landing a "vastly underqualified" job and being thrown into the fire with the world's best chefs.
19:54 - Chasing the Michelin Bug: The desire to be part of a home team and build something lasting, leading to his role at Be.Steak.A.
1:21:23 - Advice to the Industry: Corey's final thoughts and his most important piece of advice: "Don't ever take your foot off the gas."
Connect with Corey:
Instagram: @[Corey's Handle]
Be.Steak.A Restaurant: @besteaka_ca
Corey's Gardening Project: The Hibiscus Project on YouTube
Connect with The Reluctant Somm:
Instagram: @reluctantsomm
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