Tasting Notes Toronto by Insider Wine

What happens when a field biologist watches Somm on Netflix and decides to become a sommelier?
Nabilah Rawji was supposed to be a field biologist — the kind who spends 12-hour days hiking through the Amazon. Then a family stroke changed her plans, a nonprofit job disappeared, and a Netflix documentary pointed her toward a career she’d never considered. What followed is one of Toronto wine’s great scrappy origin stories: 60 cold messages to strangers, two replies, multiple restaurant jobs, and a rapid climb from zero to Advanced Sommelier.
We get into what Somm doesn’t show you about working in restaurants, how Nabilah built her career, and what it takes to be a sommelier and a parent in an industry built around evenings. We talk about Restaurant Lucie, her wine consulting and education work, and the challenge of putting a price on your own expertise.
We also get into her magical wine travels, the current struggle facing Vinequity — the organization she co-founded to provide scholarships and mentorship — and why Nebbiolo has “resting bitch face.”
This Wine Has Resting Bitch Face — Nabilah Rawji
00:00  “Nebbiolo has resting bitch face” 
00:36  The 80% overlap between field biology and somm work
04:07  The stroke that ended the PhD dream
05:53  Unemployed on the couch, watching Somm on Netflix
08:31  60 cold messages, two replies, three jobs at once
10:48  Why a Toronto restaurant floor isn’t her hardest job
12:15  Zero to certified in 18 months — inside the Sunday study group
15:23  The new Restaurant Lucie
20:28  The blind pour that broke a guest’s brain (Ontario vs. New Zealand)
23:11  Two nights a week: making motherhood fit fine dining
30:26  “Please tell me to hit send on this invoice”
34:39  Vinequity’s do-or-die year — where your $20 actually goes
41:24  Why Nebbiolo’s attitude is worth it: an Alto Piemonte pilgrimage
46:24  Standing in the Cretan sea, feeling terroir
51:17  Why somms across the world call each other
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Links:
Restaurant Lucie — restaurantlucie.com · @restaurantlucie 
Vinequity — vinequity.ca · @vin.equity · info@vinequity.ca (verified)
Vinopath, Nabilah’s wine consulting & cellar management company — vinopath.ca 
Nabilah on Instagram — @nabilahrawji
Tasting Notes Toronto — @tastingnotestoronto https://www.youtube.com/@TheTastingNotesPodcast
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Hosted and produced by Alex Abbott Boyd · Recorded in Toronto · © 2026 Tasting Notes Toronto.

What if the most authentic thing a chef can do is adapt?
At Antylia (Dufferin & Bloor), chefs Aldo Camarena and Ashley McKay are building one of Toronto's most exciting restaurants on exactly that idea — Mexican and Ecuadorian traditions, cooked through Ontario corn, Indigenous ingredients, and the city's endless collision of cultures.
We get into why they show up to every wine tasting (rare for chefs), the thousands-year-old Indigenous science behind a perfect tortilla, a 17-step cauliflower, and the family ceviche recipe that shocks guests when they learn what's in it. Aldo also shares the story of arriving in Canada as a refugee, getting fired by a chef who told him "you're useless — but don't give up," and cooking his way to an answer.
If you enjoyed my conversation with Eva Chin on neo-Chinese cuisine, this one picks up the same thread: what happens to a food culture when it moves.

Tortillas Are Sacred. Authenticity Isn't. — Aldo Camarena & Ashley McKay of Antylia
Timestamps
00:00 Why wine matters as much as the food
05:34 From art school and a refugee arrival to professional kitchens
11:44 The vision behind Antylia — and a lifelong obsession with corn
14:55 Why making tortillas is a sacred craft
18:27 Building a restaurant around community, not transactions
23:30 What great hospitality looks like today
25:46 The 17-step cauliflower and the pursuit of craftsmanship
29:04 Storytelling, authenticity, and the future of Latin American cuisine
37:18 Canadian ingredients, Indigenous traditions, and redefining authenticity
42:43 Grandma's ceviche — and yes, there's ketchup in it
51:57 Why regulars keep coming back to Antylia
57:23 Visit Antylia
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In this episode, I sit down with Matt Landry, Advanced Sommelier and Head Sommelier at Prime Seafood Palace, to talk about what it actually takes to build a career in wine today.
We get into why Matt thinks Bordeaux currently offers better value and consistency than Burgundy, why serious wine drinkers should be paying more attention to New World regions like Argentina and Australia, and how competitions can accelerate a sommelier’s career. Matt also shares how he is reshaping the wine program at Prime Seafood Palace through thoughtful pricing, generous corkage, and a belief that hospitality should be built into the wine list itself.
We also discuss the changing role of the sommelier, why wine professionals need to understand finance and restaurant operations, and the bottles and experiences that have shaped Matt’s career.
Stop Sleeping on New World Wine & Sign Up for a Competition — Matt Landry
00:00 – Why Matt Thinks Bordeaux Is Better Value Than Burgundy
06:16 – Three Bordeaux Wines Matt Recommends
07:48 – How Climate Change Could Reshape Burgundy
09:36 – Why Sommeliers Should Pay More Attention to the New World
13:23 – Why Australia Deserves More Attention
14:05 – How Matt Got Into Wine
18:06 – The Court of Master Sommeliers & the Advanced Exam
22:48 – Why Sommeliers Should Enter Competitions
26:34 – Taking Over the Wine Program at Prime Seafood Palace
31:05 – Pearl Morissette vs. Prime Seafood Palace
34:05 – Working with Matty Matheson and the Kitchen
34:47 – Why Wine Sales Are Growing at Prime
39:16 – Why Matt Pours Krug as a Welcome
41:02 – Why Hospitality Can Be a Meaningful Career
43:45 – The Sommelier Role Is Becoming More Than Wine
46:05 – The Best Wines Matt Has Ever Had
50:09 – The World's Most Underrated Wine Region
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In this episode, I sit down with award-winning writer Nancy Matsumoto, co-author of Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake and author of Reaping What She Sows, to explore two conversations reshaping hospitality.

We begin with a deep dive into Japanese craft sake—why it's fundamentally different from wine, whether terroir applies, and the innovations changing modern sake production.

Then we turn to the hidden costs of cheap food, the challenges facing sustainable agriculture, and what restaurants can realistically do to support local producers while surviving on razor-thin margins.

Whether you're a sommelier looking to better understand sake or a chef thinking about the future of food, this episode is packed with practical insights and thoughtful conversation.
Sake Isn't Wine. Cheap Food Isn't Cheap — Nancy Matsumoto

Timestamps
00:00 – Why Sake Isn't Rice Wine
00:40 – Falling Down the Sake Rabbit Hole
02:29 – Does Sake Have Terroir?
04:59 – How Regional Sake Styles Are Changing
07:46 – Three Bottles to Start Your Sake Journey
09:20 – The Low-Polish Revolution & Sustainability
11:42 – Technology vs. Tradition in Sake Brewing
14:01 – Reviving Heirloom Rice
17:34 – Why Our Food System Is Broken
20:27 – Organic Labels, Greenwashing & What Matters
25:46 – The Hidden Cost of Cheap Food
32:49 – Why Women Are Leading Change
39:42 – How Restaurants Can Support Local Farmers
43:04 – Sustainable Wine, Biodynamics & Farming
47:07 – Nancy's Favourite Sake Bars
48:08 – One Thing Everyone Can Do This Week
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What happens when a chef cooks her way back to a heritage she almost lost?
Eva Chin is the chef behind Yan Dining Room — a 26-seat room built inside Hong Shing Restaurant, born out of a fire, where she cooks what she calls "neo-Chinese cuisine": traditions followed, rules broken. 
In this conversation we get into how growing up between the US and Hong Kong, training in kitchens around the world, and rebuilding her own identity through food all end up on the plate. We talk about how every dish becomes a vessel for memory and how a private dining room became an intimate storytelling stage. We get into the stereotypes that have boxed in Chinese food in North America since the railroads, her case for "anti-gatekeeping" cuisine, and why she believes food can heal intergenerational wounds that conversation can't.

It's a conversation about identity, authorship, and what it means to cook a cuisine that's still being written.
Chinese Food Isn't What You Think It Is — Eva Chin of Yan Dining Room
00:00 – Yan Dining Room origins
 02:21 – Dining room as storytelling
 06:41 – Neo-Chinese cuisine & nostalgia
 10:36 – “Fusion is confusion”
 13:42 – Rewriting Chinese food stereotypes
 20:07 – Critics & early reception
 27:07 – Wine pairing Chinese food
 30:12 – Becoming a chef (no school)
 33:10 – Brae & Australia foraging
 34:50 – China train journey & Hong Kong wake-up
 38:53 – Food, family & healing
 41:06 – Moving to Toronto / Momofuku
 44:25 – Anti-gatekeeping Chinese food
 48:47 – Farmers, terroir & sustainability
 54:48 – Future of Yan
🙌 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favorite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.