PAUL TANGUAY
“Apron strings”. If you ask Paul Tanguay how his career got started, that’s how he’ll answer- a career that has spanned more than 25 years, 9 cities and three continents. A career that has seen multiple awards, critical accolades and that has garnered all manner of media attention. "Apron strings". They belonged to his grandmother, a pioneering Quebecois chef and caterer. Paul spent so much time tugging at them as a boy that she decided to channel his youthful curiosity and enthusiasm and put him to work in the kitchen. Little did she know that her loving guidance and tutelage would instill such a passion for hospitality and pave the way for a brilliant career.
By his mid-twenties, Paul was a seasoned veteran in the restaurant business and was overseeing properties in Montreal. First, for the Hard Rock Café, where he spent four years managing both the kitchen and the front of the house and then for Café Republic, serving as Director of Operations for their multi-unit concept. Eager to keep learning and challenging himself, Paul crossed the border to the Big Apple and immersed himself in New York’s rich gastronomic culture. He studied wine and spirits with the American Sommelier Association and earned their coveted Sommelier Certificate. He put his love of the grape and knowledge of fine wine to good use at L’Express, where as manager and sommelier, he crafted a list that won the highly prized Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. His achievements merited a jump to Wine Director, putting him in charge of the lists, not only for L’Express, but also all the properties of the Tour de France group.
His talents took him next to SushiSamba, the ultra-hip Brazilian-Japanese restaurants made famous by HBO’s “Sex in the City”. As Corporate Beverage Director, Paul oversaw the wine, spirits and cocktail programs in New York, Chicago, Miami, Dallas and Tel Aviv. Having had plenty of experience with wine and spirits and multiple outposts, He deftly and seamlessly created menus to match the vibrant, cross-cultural cuisine. His greatest challenge, one which has subsequently become his greatest passion, was sake. Studying, researching and learning the subtle nuances, processes and traditions of Japan’s national beverage. Paul became obsessed and was soon traveling back and forth to Japan, visiting breweries and tasting his way around the country.
Mr. Tanguay is now one of the pre-eminent sake authorities in the United States. For the past five years, he has sat on the judging panel for the U.S. National Sake Appraisal. He founded ofriceandzen.com, a now defunct sake review website, and he lectures nationally on sake, as well as wine and spirits. He was the winner of the 2006 Eastern U.S. Sake Sommelier Competition and ranked among the top ten at the 2006 World Sake Sommelier Competition. Paul was a featured sommelier on Starchefs.com and has been featured in multiple publications, including Time Magazine, The N.Y. Times, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald and Wine Spectator and has made several local and national television appearances. His next venture has him paired with master mixologist extraordinaire and alcohol aficionado, Tad Carducci, forming a new beverage consulting company called Tippling Bros. Tad and Paul first met in 2006 as participants of the first ever B.A.R. Course (Beverage Alcohol Resource), the premier spirits & mixology organization in the country, finishing in the top of their class. In March 2008, Tanguay completed the first English language sake sommelier certificate from the Sake Education Council, passing both Level I and Level II.
Paul Tanguay lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Francine and daughter, Kaley. He spends his free time in the kitchen, either cooking for his family or “cooking” up new creations. And Kaley’s always there with him, tugging at his apron strings.