Jason Rand stops by the studio to talk about how he worked his way up from Dishwasher to The Manager for the Antinori Portfolio. He tells us all about his hospitality journey all over NYC.
Jason cut his teeth at Ninja, the Ninja-themed Sushi Restaurant in Tribeca. He had to dress up as a Ninja when he was a busboy and a server. While he was there in the early 2000’s he was serving Danny Masterson and Wilmer Valderrama whenever they were in NYC
He left there for Koi in the early stages of the restaurant. Koi was an LA Hot-Spot that opened up a second location in NYC. Koi was incredibly busy and was a place that people went to be seen. Working at Koi showed Jason the serious side of service, and set him up for future success
Jason went over to Sons of Essex for a stint in management and then went over to Masa to be the Chef Sommelier(Head Sommelier.) He worked there for a few years before deciding to go into Wine Sales.
We talk about luxury foods, high-end sushi, and what he misses the most and least from the hospitality industry
Wine Tasting with Jason
Jason came bearing gifts. He brought us a bottle of Antinori Castello della Sala Conte Della Vipera 2017, its an 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon from Umbria, Italy. He also teaches us the word cépage
