In February this year, Hannah Cripps was named Rising Star in the Sommelier category, sponsored by Square, at the inaugural National Restaurant Awards Rising Star event. As the sommelier responsible for the wine function at Roe restaurant, a 350-cover restaurant in London’s Canary Wharf with an excess of 250 bins of wine, her knowledge of wine, enthusiasm for her role and ability to learn quickly has impressed, tipping her for big things in the future.
Tell us about your career so far...
I rather fell into Hospitality. I was studying at the University of York and started working part-time alongside my studies as a commis waiter at Gusto, part of the Living Ventures group. I loved it. So much so that I trained to become a waiter full-time and ended up doing assignments on breaks and after shifts. I stayed with Living Ventures for five years, opening a few restaurants with the group as training manager and eventually moved to Leeds to work at Blackhouse, where I first started to learn about pairing wine and foods. While working at Chef Jono at V&V in Leeds I became integrated into high-end hospitality and created my first ever wine list and wine pairings. I am still incredibly proud of that achievement and still have the list hidden away at my parent’s house as a treasured memory of my journey into wine. I knew, though, that to achieve my dreams in wine, London was calling. I moved down two years ago and worked at Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay group for a while, before finally settling at Roe in Canary Wharf.
Why did you want to work in the restaurant industry and has it so far met your expectations?
The truth is, I didn’t. In my degree I specialised in neurodivergence, and I wanted to work with those suffering from traumatic brain injuries. There was a particular moment, however, when I was working at Gusto, which changed my trajectory. A solo diner came in, enjoyed a glass of wine and a three course meal. She was keen to chat and it was a quiet Monday so I spent a lot of my evening with her. It wasn’t until I gave her the check that she mentioned she worked 364 days of the year as a full-time carer for her dad, and that this is her one day off. Her appreciation for the experience made me realise how important hospitality is. Whether it be someone’s special birthday, celebration, or even just a simple day off – in this industry we have the opportunity to make someone’s day brighter, every day. Working in restaurants has surpassed every expectation I could ever imagine, and because of that, I have the best job in the world.
What sparked your interest in wine?
A rather bizarre combination of two moments. While working at Blackhouse I had the luxury of looking after a Premier League football manager who ordered a bottle of Chateau du Chambert Grand Vin. I broke the cork, and it fell in the bottle. Of course I couldn’t serve it to our esteemed guest, but that didn’t mean it had to go to waste. Myself and my co-workers enjoyed it after work and from then on I was hooked. I had to know more and quickly completed my WSET Level 2. From there, it’s been a snowball effect of trying sensational wines and becoming eager to learn more about them. Secondly, my mum, for her sins, has always loved bottom shelf £4-a-bottle Liebfraumilch. Drinking that made me think there must be more to wine.
What are your responsibilities in your role?
I oversee the wine programme at Roe. This includes everything from serving guests to designing the list and sourcing new wines, ensuring our list meets our guest requirements and everything in-between. I think it’s crucial to be a hands-on manager and get involved in the nitty-gritty parts of working in restaurants too. I’m often moving hundreds of bottles around the site to make wine service easier for our team. I deal with private dining wine enquiries, design pairings (sometimes on the fly, mid-service), and train anyone who wants to learn more about wine, be they guests or employees.
Square - sponsors of the National Restaurant Awards Rising Stars Sommelier category
Square is the all-in-one restaurant tech platform designed to streamline operations and give hospitality business owners the time back to focus on growth. Square is Big In Restaurants - which is the name of its latest UK marketing campaign - offering everything you need for day-to-day service, including Square’s payments, point of sale and reporting capabilities. Whether you’re a single-location FSR, a multilocation QSR, a bar or a multi-concept restaurant, improve the flow of orders and find more ways to keep profit in your pocket.
Founded in 2009, Square began by creating the first mobile card reader of its kind, designed to help small businesses accept card payments from anywhere. Today, Square is the largest business technology platform with more than four million sellers from all kinds of businesses.
Square’s purpose is economic empowerment, through being the best digital partner it can be for businesses, through intuitive and incredibly designed tech so that their sellers can create the best possible customer experience. For more information visit square.com or follow us on social media.
What are the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Moving to London was tough for me. I didn’t know anyone when I moved down here so spent a lot of my time trying to make friends in whisky bars. I knew the move was imperative in pursuing my career and achieving my goals, but it was difficult to leave Yorkshire after I called it home for so many years. The fantastic humans up there, including my god children Esme and Silas, inspired me to take the plunge and I am so glad they pushed me to do so. Opening Roe was a great challenge too. I have opened many a restaurant in my time, but nothing on this scale. But it was all incredibly worth it in the end.
What do you most like about your current role?
The people and the freedom to be creative. We have a fantastic team at Roe and I am incredibly proud of how the restaurant is operating at the moment. From our first soft-service a year ago the guys have come on immensely and it is always inspiring to be surrounded by such hard-working people. I also love the freedom with the list. Our director, James Robson, encourages the team and me daily to make the list the best it can be. Whether that be a new by the glass option, a re-structure, or 30 new fun wines – there is always something to do and ways we can improve and push the business forward. This drive makes every day at Roe a fun one.
What’s it like being a young sommelier in the industry?
It was daunting at first, especially as a young, female, British Sommelier. There is not many of us around so I often stick out like a sore thumb. It’s happened many a time where a server has asked me to go to a table, and they have noted they’re ‘waiting for the sommelier’. It’s rather awkward to explain that I am indeed that, but I guess I don’t fit the mould of what people expect. I also remember a Laurent Perrier tasting I was at where I was the youngest and only female. You can look at this as a negative, but I find it immensely rewarding being in rooms people like me may not have been in 20 years ago. The industry is definitely changing to allow more young sommeliers in and I can’t wait to see the shift over the coming years.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?
Say yes to every opportunity you can. Go to every tasting, event, masterclass, talk, random restaurant invitation. You never know who you may meet or what you may learn, and every ounce of knowledge and connection within this industry is invaluable. Hospitality is a crazy, fast-paced and incredibly fun and rewarding industry, so most importantly – enjoy it.
What are your career ambitions?
I’d love to receive an accolade for best wine list. Writing lists is my second favourite part of my role, behind recommending new wines to guests, so that would be a great honour. I’m also working towards opening my own wine bar too, in either London or Madrid. But first I am enjoying learning as much as I can from the incredible team at Roe.