Andres Blanco
Caracol | Houston
December 2019
As a kid, Andres Blanco would stay up late waiting for his dad to come home from work to hear stories of Mexico City’s fine dining scene. At 16-years-old, Blanco’s family decided to move to Houston, where Blanco got his first busboy job. Eager to obtain a serving job, he earned his Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission certification as soon as he turned 18. He later worked as a banquet server at catering company, Crew Staffing, and in just two years was promoted to banquet event manager. In 2008, Blanco took an opportunity to learn hands-on about wine and service at fine-dining institution, Arcodoro. During that time, he became a star server and student and quickly passed the Certified Sommelier Examination. After four years of dedicated service and study, Blanco then began consulting for Convivio and La Fisheria in 2012, where he created his first all-Mexican wine list and founded MexSom, an organization that promotes wine education in the Latin American community through posting wine class videos in Spanish.
As a long time fan of Chef Hugo Ortega, Blanco jumped at the opportunity to become a server on the opening team of Mexican seafood restaurant Caracol in 2013. He also worked part-time as a sommelier for Chef Giancarlo Ferrera’s Arcodoro Ristorante until 2016, when he was promoted to assistant manager of Caracol. In 2017, Blanco won the Best Sommelier Competition at TexSom and the Houston Iron Sommelier competition. As a result, he was promoted to floor sommelier at Caracol, where he’s helping build a wine program highlighting Mexican wines.
