Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlotte Randolph.
Hi Charlotte, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Charlotte Randolph, current Wine Director of Black Radish San Diego, has previously received Best Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator spanning almost a decade for her two Michelin starred restaurant Californios in San Francisco. She has been named by Zagat as a ‘Star Redefining the Industry.’ and her restaurant was named a Best Wine Restaurant from Wine Enthusiast. In 2021 she was named sommelier of the year by The Michelin Guide for its inaugural year of the award. She is from a small town in Texas called Brownwood, has been in the restaurant industry since age 15, opened her first restaurant at the age of 25, and now has the pleasure of continuing her career as a sommelier in San Diego while selling great Californian (and more) wine to restaurants in the area
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are a lot of growing pains associated with opening up a restaurant in your early twenties. It was hard for people to take me seriously as the owner and operator of a Michelin-starred restaurant, including diners, purveyors, and even guests. I also made plenty of mistakes on the way- Growing up, being in your twenties is HARD, doing it under so much pressure and scrutiny is even harder. I am lucky though, I never felt lost, I always knew what I wanted and worked hard for that for almost a decade in San Francisco.
I lost my father when I was 15, my home life was challenging in my formative years because of this. I had to figure out a lot about life at this age. I started by dropping out of Highschool, homeschooling myself while getting my first job at a steak house.
Later in my early 20s I went to work for the number one restaurant in the world (at the time): The French Laundry. This was such an eye opener for me. I learned how to be a team member. I learned how to get out of my ego, how to see the collective WE, and how to work HARD & I mean really HARD. Getting used to this level of work prepared me to open my restaurant.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a business owner and sommelier. I am known for my pairings with food and I have been lucky to be recognized in my industry as the first Sommelier of the Year by Michelin in the United States. I just so happened to be hard working at something I seem to have a natural ability to do-pairing wine and food. What a dream! I would say I have a good olfactory memory- blind tasting wines is a strength of mine. My industry has historically been male dominated- I am different than most Sommeliers because I am a young female that also owns and has operated a 2 Michelin Starred restaurant. I think most people see me as a wine person, but I am most proud that Californios was originally owned and operated by me and my Brother-in-law and sister. Owning/Operating a restaurant like that is my proudest achievement- not the fact that I can taste some wine LOL
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is when YOU feel you have achieved what YOU want! For some it could be doing the dishes in the morning- for others it could be running a marathon. We have all been given different lives, situations, scenarios. Success is feeling good about what you have done, no matter the scale. .
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cocoswine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cocorandolph/
