![]() With a palate this perfected and a spirit this driven, Elizabeth-Rose Mandalou is the best guide a Sacramento diner could hope for.Īllora is located at 5215 Folsom Blvd. Sommeliers are humble servants, guiding guests to new experiences.” I’m so excited to invest in this knowledge for my restaurant and to share that knowledge with guests and staff. “My goal is to sit for my master (sommelier) exam in 2020. “If I could spend the rest of my life studying Greek and Italian wines, I’d be so happy,” Mandalou says. And she recovered from a herniated disc.Īt the same time, she was drawing plans for Allora, the wine-driven, modern-Italian seafood restaurant inspired by Williams’ upbringing on San Juan Island in Washington and Mandalou’s expertise in new world wines. ![]() She studied while preparing to open Woodlake Tavern in January 2017 and Uptown Pizza in March 2017 in the former home of Cask & Barrel (owned by her business partner David Hardie). ![]() And pair your meal with a refreshing cocktail or select a wine from the vast array of labels and vintages. She was named one of Wine & Spirits magazine’s “Best New Sommeliers of 2018” last October.īeing a driven person, Elizabeth-Rose Mandalou couldn’t simply study for the exam. Book now at Allora Fifth Ave in New York, NY. In July 2017, she passed the advanced exam, becoming the region’s only female advanced sommelier. In 2012, she passed her first exam at the Court of Master Sommeliers. She took classes from mentors at The Firehouse and Ella, and studied flash cards every spare moment. Never one to lag behind, Mandalou was determined to become a sommelier. Ella’s sommelier and general manager Joseph Vaccaro informed Mandalou the pin indicated the wearer was a sommelier-a trained wine steward who specializes in all aspects of wine service, as well as wine and food pairing. I want to be really good at whatever I’m doing.”Īfter taking a job at the fine-dining establishment Ella, Mandalou noticed that almost every one of her fellow servers wore a pin on their lapel. “My personality is not satisfied with doing the bare minimum,” she says. Alan Wong welcomed her back at Cafeteria 15L, but Elizabeth-Rose Mandalou still believed she needed to challenge herself. She briefly left hospitality to work in radio sales, but missed family time with her husband and two stepdaughters. She passed the written and physical exams, and was scheduled for an interview when she realized she couldn’t imagine doing the job long-term. I wasn’t going to college and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be.”Įlizabeth-Rose Mandalou briefly toyed with the idea of going into criminal justice and working for the California Highway Patrol. “I thought I wasn’t doing anything with my life. “I started getting emotions,” Mandalou says. But while Mandalou was working in the industry that had captivated her since childhood, she felt like something was missing. She went to work for Cafeteria 15L, a project of prolific restaurateur brothers Alan, Mason and Curtis Wong, that was just opening. After finding herself in a romantic relationship with Williams (then The Firehouse’s executive chef), Elizabeth-Rose Mandalou decided to forge her own path.
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