Alpana Singh Biography

Fast Facts

• Became the youngest woman ever to be named Master Sommelier after passing the rigorous final exam, which has only a 3% pass rate, in 2003
• Was named Sommelier of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine in 2013
• Became interested in wine while working as a waitress during college and got her first job in the industry as a sales clerk for Nielsen Bros․ Market
• Quote: "The most difficult thing for me is that hoity-toity thing that sometimes gets attached to wine․ I almost have to white-knuckle it at the dinner table, or say something inappropriate just to break the tension․"
• Best known as a restaurateur and sommelier who served as a judge on "Food Truck Face Off" and as the host of "Check, Please!"
• Became the sommelier for the acclaimed Everest Restaurant in Chicago in 2000
• With restaurateurs Matt Fisher and John Ward, she opened her first restaurant, The Boarding House, in 2011
• The name of her restaurant Seven Lions is a reference both to her last name, which translates to "lion," and her grandmother, whose seven children she referred to as her "seven lions․"