This month our employee highlight is focused on one of my favorite people within the entire company - Joanna Scarpelli!
Joanna is our beverage director and is quintessential when it comes to all things drink related around Sesame Collective. Joanna curates all of the wine lists across the company. This is a huge task and somehow she manages to make it look easy. She works alongside our beverage teams to develop new drinks for our menus. She makes this process incredibly collaborative, creating an environment that is ripe for growth and creativity.
Aside from all the work she does for the company - she is also just an awesome person. She is super funny. She is an amazing conversationalist. She's deeply insightful. You can always count on her to provide apt feedback in a constructive manner. She is thoughtful and passionate. I could go on and on, but it is probably best to let her tell a bit of her own story through the brief interview below.
Austin Phelps: So Joanna, where are you from?
Joanna Scarpelli: Big Rapids, Michigan
AP: How and when did you start working in restaurants?
JS: I've worked in restaurants since I was 16. I started in the kitchen as a line cook at a diner in my hometown.
AP: When did you starting working with Sesame Collective?
JS: April 2022
AP: What's your favorite food?
JS: Always sushi!
AP: What's your favorite restaurant?
JS: Clown Bar - it's a wine bar in Paris with amazing natural wine and incredible food!
AP: If we went to Happy Hour what would you order?
JS: One of everything.
AP: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
JS: A zoologist
AP: Do you have a favorite hobby?
JS: Lame as it is... wine tasting.
AP: What's your favorite place to travel to?
JS: Lyon, France.
AP: What kind of pets do you have? What are their names?
JS: I have 1 cat, his name is Reginald Arnold. He's a perfect fluffy orange cat.
AP: What's something you're surprisingly good at?
JS: Knowing all the words to cheesy 90's music.
AP: Who is someone you admire and why?
JS: My partner Tony. He is incredibly charismatic, strong, and makes everyone around him feel food. Such a positive influence on everyone he meets.
AP: What does your perfect day off look like?
JS: Going for a long walk and then jumping in the river on a hot day!
