Attn F&B managers in China: ‘Sommelier’ to be an officially recognized profession

By Jim Boyce

China is on the verge of designating “sommelier” –  “新职业” in Chinese — an official profession, says Tommy Lam, a driving forces behind the initiative. Lam says it has been a three-year project with the Department of Labor to get to this point and he is seeking help from those in the  food, beverage and hotel industry to finish it off. In short, he needs managers of F&B outlets to take about three minutes to fill in this short survey:

You can download the survey in Word format here. Fill in the sections with red letters. Send it to tommylam (at) awi-edu.com. Then feel good about yourself for helping to make “sommelier” an official profession.

Here is Lam’s letter to the industry:

“Dear Friends in Food and Beverages and Hotel Industry,

“Re: China Sommelier Survey

“China National Sommelier Association is into the final and most important stage of founding.

“”SommelierV侍酒师” will now be included into the new edition of the “Profession Directory of China”. This will definitely give sommeliers in China proper recognition.

“We have developed a three-level accreditation system for the Labor Department, which means there will be a systematic training for floor staff, starting with simple basic beverages services, up to a certified professional sommelier.

“The final piece of work is 200 surveys.

“This survey is to find out the average number of people employed in each food and beverage establishment and hotel, and we will work out a ratio of how many beverages services staff might require one sommelier from the industry.

“A sommelier could become the KEY to your beverage and non-food revenue and the up-keeper of your beverages services standards.

“We need to have your support by filling in the survey form:

“Fill in ONLY page 3. Page 1 and 2 are a brief outlines of a sommelier’s responsibilitues. Email me back within the next week to: tommylam (at) awi-edu.com.

“This survey is in Word document format, so you can easily type in your answer.

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