Marcy Jimenez
Marcy Jimenez
Marcy has expertise in beverage sales and service in all levels of the industry. In her experiences she has been a bartender, sommelier and general manager. Her career was built on passion and the talent for pairing spirits and wine with food. She arrived in Houston in 2005 during the Katrina evacuation and immediately found work as a sommelier at the Mockingbird Bistro. In 2007 she took over management of Houston Wine Merchant, a fine wine store in River Oaks. She is currently studying for Advanced Sommelier certification with the Court of Masters Sommeliers.
Chris Leung – restaurant connate, Bootsie’s Heritage Cafe
Chris Leung
Chris Leung of Bootsie’s Heritage cafe is among Houston’s most talented pastry artists. As a young chef devoted to elevating his craft, Chris combines exotic flavors with both traditional and modern techniques to achieve consistently stunning results.
After studying with Chef Eddy Van Damme, Chris joined Houston Country Club to work under Chef Jeffrey Guy where he served as Assistant Pastry Chef until taking a position at Yelapa Playa Mexicana. While at Yelapa, Chris created creative twists on Latin American classics as well as imaginative new creations.
He credits Alex Stupak, Oriol Balaguer, Christophe Michalak, Pierre Herme, and Albert Adria as his inspiration.
Chris has most recently brought his pastry talents to Bootsie’s Heritage Cafe where he has received rave reviews for everything from traditional cream pies and home made breads to immaculate French-Asian fusion dessert creations.
Cathy Nguyen
Cathy Nguyen
Cathy Nguyen began working in the hospitality industry at 17 waiting tables and bartending. She developed her passion for food and wine not much later while working at Perry’s Steakhouse in Sugar Land. There, she trained closely with the sommelier and corporate wine director, Mario Plaza, and mentor, Master Sommelier Guy Stout, to study wines from around the world. With a natural knack and enthusiasm for the wine industry, Cathy was promoted to sommelier and wine buyer for Perry’s Steakhouse in Clear Lake where she began her first wine program at the age of 21. Wanting to finish her degree at the Art Institute of Houston, Cathy left the Perry’s Restaurant Group to work for a smaller independent restaurant. As the wine director of El Meson, Cathy studied fine Spanish wines and worked hand in hand with Chef Pedro Garcia in wine dinners featuring wines, vintners and importers from all over the world. Armed and certified by the Court of Masters, Society of Wine Educators, as a Spanish Wine Educator and as a Specialist in Sherry, Cathy left El Meson after four and a half years and is now at Mark’s American Cuisine.
Cathy is driven by her fascination with good food, fine wines and how the perfect marriage of the two will turn into a special occasion.
Jonathan Honefenger
Jonathan Honefenger
Jonathan traces his wine interest to a study abroad program in college. Traveling in Eastern Europe, he researched a study on the wines before, during and after communist rule.
Armed with a working knowledge of Tokaji, he returned to the US to complete a history degree and to start a career in politics. But Honefenger soon realized that he wasn’t cut out for that world and returned to his hometown of Houston.
He got a job as a server at El Meson, and started to take courses through the International Sommelier Guild. He also completed both the Certified levels through the Court of Master Sommeliers. Honefenger then moved on to Brennan’s of Houston as a sommelier, where he worked until Hurricane Ike destroyed the restaurant in 2008.
In the aftermath, he helped open a wine bar called Vinoteka Poscol, and served as sommelier at Tony’s. He was named one of 2009′s best young sommeliers in Wine & Spirits magazine and won third place at the Texas Sommelier Conference’s best sommelier competition in 2009.
Justin Vann
Justin Vann
Justin Vann does not have a romantic story about how he worked in his grandfather’s wine shop, or visited Montrachet when he was twelve and suddenly realized his destiny. He did not grow up around fine
beverages. He still does not own a passport, nor has he ever visited a winery. The only grapes he has actually seen growing out of the ground were at MS Guy Stout’s Vineyard in Texas.
That being said, Justin holds numerous certifications for Wine, Liquor, and recently Beer (Advanced Sommelier and Master Sommelier candidate, CWE, CSS and more). He has been immersed in the wine industry since being hired as a Sommelier at Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse at the age of 22. After being promoted to Wine Director in 2009, he managed the wine list for a year. He currently oversees the Wine & Beer Department at Central Market.
Justin is guided by a joyful, and near pathological, obsession with studying all alcohol and its interaction with food.
Chefs: Seth Siegel-Gardner & Manabu Horiuchi “Hori”
We are super excited to add 2 more amazing chefs to our lineup. Seth Siegel-Gardner and Manabu Horiuchi also known as “Hori” will be joining us at the wine conference on November 21st.
Seth Siegel-Gardner has worked with some of the greatest chefs of our time. After graduating from the University of Denver, Seth made his way to New York City, where he worked in the kitchen at Aquavit, under the brilliant tutelage of Marcus Samuelsson. Two years later he went on to work for Scott Conant at Alto and then with Gordon Ramsay at his restaurant inside The London hotel in New York City.His close working relationship with Samuelsson has provided the essential foundation for the techniques and simplicity that are at the heart of Seth’s cooking today.
Seth, a native Houstonian, finally found his way back home. He produced the amazing Just 8 Project, hat took place in August, which was a hit with the Houston scene. Today Seth brings passion and experience as Chef de Cuisine at Kata Robata, one of Houston’s best Japanese restaurants.
Manabu Horiuchi or “Hori” as he likes to be called – was born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1974. At the age of 10 he was inspired by his mother to become a chef. After graduation he moved to Osaka to attend the country’s most prestigious culinary school, Tsuji Culinary Institute of Japan.
Hori excelled, graduating in 1993 with top honors and a special certification to handle and prepare blowfish.
He moved to Tokyo in 1993 to work at Sushi-Ko Honten, one of the most high profile sushi restaurants in Japan. Hori was the Executive Assistant Chef under celebrity chef Mamoru Sugiyama. In 1999, Hori was bestowed the great honor of moving to Houston to serve as the Consulate General of Japan’s Official Executive Chef, preparing family meals in addition to cooking for large social events attended by dignitaries such as James A. Baker, Sen. John Glenn, and former NBA player Clyde Drexler.
Hori was on the lookout for a new challenge, and Azuma Group’s Yun Cheng, who is a long-time fan suggested that his new Japanese tapas concept might be a perfect fit. No longer behind the scenes, Hori is ready to pursue his goal to make Kata Robata the best Japanese restaurant in America, he says with a laugh and a look that is anything but a joke.
THE WINE CONFERENCE SPECIAL:
You have until November 5th to get full registration to the Wine Conference for only $75. Join us at the Four Seasons Hotel Downtown, Houston with 4 sessions that include 4 tastings & 4 gourmet food pairings in each session. Drink and dine on cuisine from your local rock star chefs and wine experts for only $75.
The ticket price will continue to go up the closer we get to November 21st - so get the deals while you can!
Cheers,
The Wine Conference Team
Manabu Horiuchi – Kata Robata
Manabu Horiuchi of Kata Robata. Photo by Greg Broderick
Manabu Horiuchi – or “Hori” as he likes to be called - was born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1974. Even by the age of 10 – inspired by his talented mother – he knew he wanted to be a chef. “My mother is a very good cook,” he notes. “She never used any frozen food in her cooking when I was growing up. Everything was fresh and homemade. She makes a great bento box (the Japanese version of a lunchbox).” He took his first job at the age of 16 as a prep cook at the retirement home where his mother was the chef..
After graduating from high school at the age of 18, Hori moved to Osaka to atted the Tsuji Cluinary Institute of Japan – the country’s most prestigious culinary school. Hori excelled, graduating in 1993 with top honors and a special certification to handle and prepare blowfish.
He moved to Tokyo in 1993 to work at Sushi-Ko Honten – one of the most high profile sushi restaurants in Japan – as Executive Assistant Chef under celebrity chef Mamoru Sugiyama. Looking for a new challenge, he left in 1997 to become sous chef at Ichimura Kansai Kappou – a restaurant specializing in Osaka-style cuisine.
In 1999, Hori was bestowed the great honor of moving to Houston to serves as the Consulate General of Japan’s Official Executive Chef, preparing family meals in addition to cooking for large social events attended by dignitaries such as James A. Baker, Sen. John Glenn, and former NBA player Clyde Drexler. It wasn’t long before he was tapped as Executive Chef at Kubo’s Sushi Bar and Grill.
After piling up a long list of accomplishments with Kubo’s, Hori was again in search of a new challenge, and Azuma Group’s Yun Cheng – a long-time fan – suggested that his new Japanese tapas concept might be a perfect fit. No longer behind the scene, Hori is ready to pursue his goal “to make Kata Robata the best Japanese restaurant in America,” he says with a laugh and a look that is anything but a joke.
Seth Siegel-Gardner – Kata Robata
Seth Siegel-Gardner of Kata Robata. Photo by Chuck Cook
Chef Seth Siegel-Gardner has had, what some might consider, a charmed journey from helping his mother as a child with the daily cooking to working side by side with some of the greatest chefs of our time. It was not without an earnest love for the heat and thrill of the professional kitchen, however, that he made his way from curious dishwasher to passionate Chef.
After graduating from the University of Denver with a degree in Philosophy in 2002, Seth made his way to New York City, where he worked in the kitchen at Aquavit. Under the brilliant tutelage of Marcus Samuelsson, he took his developing love for cooking and added a strong set of well- honed skills. After two years, he went on to work for Scott Conant at Alto and then with Gordon Ramsay at his restaurant of the same name at The London hotel in New York City.
A true apprentice, Seth prides himself on learning what he can from everyone around him including: dishwashers, purveyors, pit-masters and of course, the chefs who have inspired and mentored him along the way. His close working relationship with Samuelsson has provided the essential foundation for the techniques and simplicity that are at the heart of Seth’s cooking today. However, it is the satisfaction he gets from preparing an enjoyable meal, coupled with the intensity of managing a busy kitchen, that fuel his ongoing culinary passion.
Seth, a native Houstonian, finally found his way home, and after and amazing re-introduction with the city of Houston and his amazing “Just 8 Project,” he had through the month of August, he brings this passion and experience as Chef de Cuisine to Kata Robata, one of Houston’s best Japanese restaurants.
* Photo credit – Chuck Cook
