An affecting memoir from the country's youngest sommelier, tracing her path
through the glamorous but famously toxic restaurant world
At just twenty-one, the age when most people are starting to drink (well,
legally at least), Victoria James became the country's youngest sommelier at a
Michelin-starred restaurant. Even as Victoria was selling bottles worth hundreds
and thousands of dollars during the day, passing sommelier certification exams
with flying colors, and receiving distinction from all kinds of press, there
were still groping patrons, bosses who abused their role and status, and a trip
to the hospital emergency room.
It would take hitting bottom at a new restaurant and