Christopher Bates has been in the restaurant industry since he was 14 years old. His interest was actually sparked by learning to ferment with his parents at 9 and then a trip to Europe before college that launched a scotch obsession.
But wine really captured his interest and he currently serves as Executive Chef and General Manager for Hotel Fauchere in Pennsylvania. Christopher has had no formal wine training, just many thousands of pages of reading, random courses, tasting groups and self study. He is a Court of Master Sommelier’s candidate for a wine masters certification. Christopher works closely with his sommelier at Hotel Fauchere to create food and wine pairings that incorporate the hotel’s garden and the wild foraged products that they harvest from the area woods.
Christopher recently won the World Cup of Wines from WOSA a competition that placed him – the only chef in the group – against 12 other countries. Christopher says he participates in competitions in order to learn, study and improve.