FLAMBÉ - a French term used to describe a cooking technique in which food is covered with liquor and ignited.

 The choice to name this blog The Flambé was quite apparent in the regard that The Flambé signifies the blending of food and alcohol, the perfect pair if you will. 

The Flambé exists to immerse the culinary and wine & spirits enthusiast into an exciting, fun and cultural learning adventure with me Lia Jones.

I started this blog site in March of 2014 when I was just starting to explore the wine arena. Professionally, I am a chef and I love food. Food (and its allure) will always have a special place in my heart, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I found my calling for wine and spirit appreciation.  

I’ve worked in the food industry for years. After a little self evaluation I realized that, although I had worked in various restaurants and fine dining establishments, I hadn’t held any positions that were beverage related. Through years in a kitchen and preparing thousands of dishes, I’ve learned a few things. One thing I’ve learned: in order for a good meal to be complete, it needs both spectacular food and matching beverages. Now, of course being in the business I had picked up some wine knowledge, but I wanted to learn more. I wanted to be an expert. 

I began to research all over the internet about wine programs, blogs and anything pertaining to wine. After hours of reading and scouring the internet, I noticed most of the programs covered not only wine but spirits as well. Perfect! I get to quench my thirst for wine knowledge while being introduced to the world of spirits. 

Not too far into my adventure, I fell madly and deeply in love and now my personal goal is to go from a total beginner to a Master Sommelier and Master of Wine.  It’s going to be a tough, but a fun journey that I’m looking forward to. 

After hours of searching for advice, I realized that I couldn’t exactly find what I was looking for. How do you become an expert? Where should you start? If you look long enough, you’ll find the answers. They won’t be in one place, and it will take countless hours, but you can find the answers. Getting into the wine industry is hard enough when you know where to begin, much less when you have no idea. That’s why I’ve decided to start The Flambé. This blog will document each and every step that I take in my journey.

The goal of this blog is to help fellow enthusiasts by sharing my journey and experiences into the world of food and beverage. My hope is that The Flambé becomes a centralized wine & spirits learning hub. This is the “go to” site to learn the steps one could take in order to learn about the beverage industry. 

I know there are many sites out there that talk about wine, many with an information overload of articles on the topic. This is not that place. This site is for those in search of information delivered in a fun and interactive way on all things food and wine related. I want to share the steps that I take, so that maybe it will help you find the steps that you need to take.

Since wine & spirits enhance the flavor and experience of food, and vice versa, this blog will talk about both. The personal stories, links, resources, interviews and reviews will immerse the novice into the culinary and beverage world.  

Food and Beverage: The perfect pair, making The Flambé a marriage of food and wine.