It was a post-karate-class drink with a pal in Brooklyn the place Kiki Austin had her first style of sake. That curiosity bloomed right into a full-time profession, and at this time, Austin—the sake sommelier at Mujō, a Michelin-star Japanese restaurant in Atlanta—is worked up to contribute to the tremendously under-reported Black sake scene in the US. “Black individuals are already within the [sake] trade, we simply want to focus on them and their nice work,” Austin says. “That may encourage different Black individuals to be extra inquisitive about sake and get into the trade.”
Austin launched into her instructional journey into the world of spirits by way of the Culinary Institute of America. A transfer to Atlanta and back-of-house restaurant work pulled Austin’s curiosity within the path of sommelier coaching. When the pandemic pressured a pivot, Austin took a job in wine retail that serendipitously served to additional her sake training. Within the years that adopted, Austin turned a Licensed Japanese Sake Advisor whereas additionally working as a sommelier in fine-dining institutions like Empire State South after which Piedmont Driving Membership.
Whereas Austin is presently certainly one of a handful of Gen Z sommeliers, she actively encourages others to enter the trade, willingly sharing sources and answering questions. “Discover what you’re inquisitive about,” she says. “Go to your native store, ask about tastings or training alternatives. …Hit up your native library or bookstore and seize a e book about sake or wine.”
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