Jeff Harding
The Waverly Inn | New York
October 2019
Jeff Harding grew up in the Midwest and studied psychology, music, and French at the University of Miami. Harding began his 20-plus year career in the hospitality industry as a server at Norman van Aken’s a Mano in Miami Beach. It was there he discovered that food and wine culture is a reflection of history, geography, and regional culture. A move to New York, and too many years bartending at BBar and Grill in Manhattan’s East Village, encouraged Harding to pursue sommelier training with the American Sommelier Association and through beverage management positions.
A summer spent in France was influential to Harding’s hospitality career. While working in the Loire Valley as a manager at Château d’Alogny in 2010, he developed a passion for wine and its sense of place. Upon returning to New York, wine became his career. In 2011, Harding took a position as a sommelier at the Waverly Inn, rising to beverage director. Harding’s writing on wine has appeared in such publications as VinePair and StarChefs Rising Stars magazine and he has served as a wine judge in the New York International Wine Competition since 2018. This is his second time presenting at the International Chefs Congress.
