In the fast-paced, high-pressure cauldron of Los Angeles’ premier restaurant scene, sommelier Michael Scribner has tasted the intoxicating highs and lows of chasing perfection in hospitality. From the adrenaline rush of selling $3,000 bottles at the Waldorf Astoria to the mental exhaustion burnout at fine dining temples, Scribner’s passionate pursuit of his craft has taken a toll. In this article we talk about LA Leading Sommelier Focuses on Mental Health.
According to EATER Los Angeles, beverage director at the trendy Downtown LA Proper hotel is currently taking a pivotal step back – a nine-week mental health leave to reset, recharge, and rediscover the joys of a job that has become critically intertwined with his identity.
The Toll of Hospitality Highs and Lows
“I’ve been having panic attacks,” Scribner candidly shares. “I’m escaping from it to recover, to recuperate, to remind myself why I love restaurants but also to develop emotional regulation. Most people do not have the emotional tension in their daily lives and jobs as you do consistently in restaurants.”
It’s an unexpectedly vulnerable revelation from someone who has achieved the prestigious ranks of Master Sommelier. But Scribner’s truthful introspection also spotlights an industrywide reckoning as the hospitality world grapples with improved mental health awareness and support for its overworked employees.
From Ballet to the Sommelier Stage
For Scribner, hospitality was never originally the plan. The Paso Robles native spent his early 20s as a professional ballet dancer, waiting tables at an Italian joint in Salt Lake City to pay the bills. But the thrill of working a busy restaurant floor soon became his new muse, eventually transitioning him from dancer to bartender to certified sommelier.
“The restaurant floor is the best stage there is because you have a completely captive audience,” Scribner describes. “You have an incredibly diverse medium of communication, performance, engagement, and experience.”
The Burnout of Chasing Perfection
That hunger for being in the hospitality spotlight kicked into an even higher gear upon Scribner’s 2015 move to LA. He quickly climbed the ranks from sports bar server to working the wine program at Pop Champagne Bar, where an epiphany over a $12 bottle of Louis Jadot Macon-Villages set him on his path.
Securing positions at the Waldorf Astoria’s prestigious Jean-Georges restaurants and Jordan Kahn’s two-Michelin-starred Vespertine allowed Scribner to immerse himself in the world’s rarest, most coveted vintages and most discerning clientele.
But like many Type-A personalities in high-end dining, that relentless commitment to service excellence eventually led to mental burnout and crippling anxiety – no matter how glamorous selling a $3,000 bottle felt in the moment.
Finding Self-Care Through Therapy
“It’s hard to stabilize between the highs [that] are so high in restaurants, and the lows can be really low, when you are just tired, drained, people are not happy, you’re not happy, nothing’s good enough, and it’s just work — the basest, cruelest sense of the word,” Scribner laments.
Which brings him to his present crossroads of seeking balance and prioritizing self-care through therapy, where he’s learning critical coping mechanisms like emotional regulation and letting go of self-imposed burdens.
“It’s okay to resent your job and still want to do well at it,” he says of hospitality’s seemingly contradictory mindset.
A Message for the Hospitality Industry
While Scribner is still very much in the self-work process, his goal of reigniting his passion for service is clear. He hopes to bring an even more grounded, mentally-healthy perspective upon rejoining the LA Proper team.
“We’re in the business of pleasure, so the idea of suffering for your art is hogwash,” Scribner states. “The goal is to find pleasure through the self-discipline it takes to operate at the highest level of hospitality.”
By being so open about his own struggles, Scribner is not only helping himself but emitting a vital message to the entire industry: Even at the highest echelons, it’s okay for hospitality professionals to be vulnerable, seek help, and put their mental health first without sacrificing their drive for excellence.
After years functioning as a gastronomic performer working for others, Scribner has finally realized the importance of tending to himself with the same level of meticulous, detail-oriented care as those $3,000 bottle services. It’s sure to be a master-class example for the future of mindful self-nurturing in hospitality. I sincerely hope you find this “LA Leading Sommelier Focuses on Mental Health-Why It Matters?” article helpful.