Small Time Sommelier Makes It Big

Filed in archive Canadian Wines on February 21, 2007

Here is a rags to riches or at least dish soap to wine celebrity story that anyone can appreciate. Little did Zoltan Szabo when he landed in Canada for the first time that he would one day have so much claim to fame. Here's the whole story from Canada.com "From dishwasher to celebrity sommelier:"

Ten years ago, Zoltan Szabo disembarked in Toronto, gawking at the CN Tower in outdated Eastern European threads. Today, Szabo is one of the country's leading sommeliers, and certainly its hunkiest. After winning the National Post's sexiest Toronto man contest last week, the Transylvanian's inbox was flooded with almost 700 e-mails --many from would-be female clients. His job, he says, "is to bring joy to them by recommending food and wine, to tantalize their palates and seduce their hearts." Szabo spoke to Zosia Bielski about his journey from wine-making in the Carpathian Mountains to the bachelor life in Forest Hill.

Canadian dream March 6, 1996. That's when I first stepped foot in Toronto. I arrived with no English, no nothing -- a scared little boy. Point in fact is that I came here with two suitcases filled with old-fashioned Eastern European clothing. I've got to admit, I was a dishwasher to begin with. It was a place called Louis Jannetta's Place on Charles Street East. That was not the most glamorous job, but it earned me an honest buck. And I can assure you, the kitchen was spotless while I was a dishwasher. Then eventually in about four years or so, I became the maitre d' of that very same restaurant where I started life, my Canadian life, as a dishwasher. Some of these old school Italians, I remember when I was a busboy, they used to give me a $1 tip after a 17-hour work day. And they used to say, "Well, where you came from, Transylvania, it's not even on the map. With your currency, that's a lot of money." And I just smiled. Just imagine that four years later, I was in charge of all of them. And I told this guy, I looked him in the eye, and I said, "I'll still keep you as my right-hand server." That was utmost satisfactory.

Okay, well, that's part of the story. To read the whole story, go to Canada.com.