Back To The Shop Floor

AWSET Level 3 graduate and Certified Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers, Harish Acharekar recently joined The Table restaurant in Mumbai as Head of Beverages. He was previously Marketing Manager – Western Region for Brindco Sales. Prior to that he worked with the Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai as Assistant Hotel Sommelier/Beverage Manager. The Table is the only stand-alone restaurant to have an in-house Certified Sommelier. Quoting Master Sommelier June Rodil of Austin, Texas, Acharekar says, “To run a successful beverage programme you have to be part of a successful restaurant.” Reva K Singh asks him how he views his new job

- Reva K Singh

What are your responsibilities in your new job and how does it differ from the previous one?

With eight years at Four Seasons, Mumbai, I grew from being a Server to Assistant Hotel Sommelier which strengthened my understanding of overall operations in the Food and Beverage industry. At the Four Seasons, I was responsible for the selection and stocking of the beverages and was the Learning Coach for the F & B division.

My aspiration to work further with wines then took me to Brindco Sales Pvt Ltd, where I was the Marketing Manager – West, in charge of exploring different markets for possible listings, training the F&B teams on wines, menu designing, and negotiating beverage contracts with the hotels.

Now I’m back to the front of the house in my new role at The Table and Magazine Street Kitchen as the Head of Beverages. I am primarily responsible for curating the Beverage programme for the group, introducing innovative beverage concepts, as well as training and encouraging the team to be future sommeliers. From my previous role, the biggest difference is a change of side at the table. My role now is interacting more with the customer. From what we call the “dark side”, I’ve moved to the floor. Drop by The Table for a meal and I’ll be there to answer any wine related queries you may have!

What is the underlying philosophy of the wine programme at The Table?