Anna-Christina had graduated from Classic Culinary Arts in January 2011, and was so “bitten by the food bug” that she returned to her alma mater to tackle wine studies.
Classic Culinary Arts and Intensive Sommelier Training, 2012
I recently spoke to my classmate to catch up on old times. “The universe was really speaking to me…after graduation, I was working at a job at Food Network, and didn’t know if I wanted to stay or not, and then the opportunity to work at Blue Hill at Stone Barns presented itself. I jumped at it.”
Unfortunately, the commute was a bit much for her…as were the deer (she developed a fear of injuring one with her car), so when the chance to become an Assistant Somm at Morrell & Company in NYC’s Rockefeller Center arose, she moved on down the career road.
As fate would have it, a week after she started her position, the Head Somm left, and she was put in the position of “sink or swim.” She buckled down, continued to taste, read and learn all she could, so that when the position for Wine Director came up, she felt confident enough to take it over. She credits the program at ICC with providing her with the foundation to be successful, along with another female role model. “I’m very inspired by Roberta Morrell who runs this family’s business. I love seeing more and more women in positions of authority in this industry.” Anna-Christina now finds herself, traveling, finding trends in wine, volunteering and working with ICC students. “I definitely want to give back and pay it forward.” From Assistant Sommelier to Wine Director in three short years.
Anna-Christina Cabrales graduated from the International Culinary Center (ICC), founded as The French Culinary Institute (FCI). In 2020, ICE and ICC came together on one strong and dynamic national platform at ICE's campuses in New York City and Los Angeles. ICC’s culinary education legacy lives on at ICE, where you can explore your own future in food.
