Rajat Parr

Rajat Parr is a prominent Indian-American sommelier, who oversees the wine program for Michael Mina's restaurant group.

Biography

Parr was born and raised in Calcutta, India.cite news|title=Sommelier Talk: Rajat Parr: The Grand Award-winning sommelier and wine director for San Francisco's Michael Mina draws on experiences from India to Burgundy to England|author=James Molesworth|publisher=the Wine Spectator|accessdate=2007-12-18|url=http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Features/0,1197,3680,00.html|date=March 5, 2007] He grew up close to his cousin, who ran two restaurants in New Delhi.cite news|publisher=San Jose Mercury News|title=Meet The Sommeliers Who Are Changing The Profession|author=Carolyn Jung|url=http://www.theauthenticvoice.org/SanJose_NewFaceOfWineService2.html|date=September 25, 2002] Although he had read about wine, he had never tasted it (wine production and consumption in India is relatively limited) until age 20, in 1993, with an uncle living in London.

Par graduated from the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration in Manipal, Karnataka, India.cite web|url=http://www.rajatparr.com/|publisher=Rajat Parr|title=Rajat Parr|acceessdate=2007-12-18] He graduated from the the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, intending to become a chef and externed at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. He moved to San Francisco to become a food runner at Rubicon Restaurant, on encouragement from his wine instructor, after reading a magazine article about the restaurant's celebrity-sommelier Larry Stone. [cite news|url=http://www.7x7sf.com/eat_drink/featured_drinks/3584401.html|publisher=7X7 Magazine|accessdate=2007-12-19|title=Rolling Stone| author= Jordan Mackay|date= March 16, 2006] Parr, who visited vineyards on his days off to learn more about wine, impressed Stone with his persistence and determination. Within six months he became assistant to Stone, who became his mentor. After three years, Parr became sommelier of the Fifth Floor in San Francisco in 1999. In 2003 Parr was appointed wine director all of the Michael Mina restaurants throughout the United States. [cite web|url=http://www.winescore.com/sommelier/9/Rajat+Parr|accessdate=2007-12-19|title=Somellier Profiles:Rajat Parr|publisher=Winescore.com]

In 2007 he, along with Michael Mina, were hired to develop and run a food and wine program by the developers of San Francisco's Millennium tower, who called him "one of the most celebrated sommeliers in the world." [cite news|title=As upscale home complexes add great chefs, more buyers are biting|author=Stacy Finz|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date= December 19, 2007|accessdate=2007-12-19|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/12/19/MNQCTT19C.DTL]

References

External links

* [http://www.rajatparr.com rajatparr.com] - official site