It was a post-karate-class drink with a pal in Brooklyn the place Kiki Austin had her first style of sake. That curiosity bloomed right into a full-time profession, and immediately, Austin—the sake sommelier at Mujō, a Michelin-star Japanese restaurant in Atlanta—is happy to contribute to the vastly under-reported Black sake scene in the US. “Black persons are already within the [sake] business, we simply want to spotlight them and their nice work,” Austin says. “That may encourage different Black individuals to be extra interested in sake and get into the business.”
Austin launched into her instructional journey into the world of spirits via the Culinary Institute of America. A transfer to Atlanta and back-of-house restaurant work pulled Austin’s curiosity within the course of sommelier coaching. When the pandemic compelled a pivot, Austin took a job in wine retail that serendipitously served to additional her sake schooling. Within the years that adopted, Austin turned a Licensed Japanese Sake Advisor whereas additionally working as a sommelier in fine-dining institutions like Empire State South after which Piedmont Driving Membership.
Whereas Austin is presently one in all a handful of Gen Z sommeliers, she actively encourages others to enter the business, willingly sharing sources and answering questions. “Discover what you’re interested in,” she says. “Go to your native store, ask about tastings or schooling alternatives. …Hit up your native library or bookstore and seize a guide about sake or wine.”
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