Kim Akhtar is a writer and a wine sommelier.
To date, she has written and published six books, Roca Editorial, Random House Mondadori(Barcelona)
Dividing her time equally between writing and her wine studies, she is currently studying for her WSET diploma and is a wine director with the Stephen Starr group of restaurants (Le Coucou and Veronika).
As such, Kim Akhtar has woven a rather unique, multifaceted career path that has taken her into diverse worlds, allowing her to build a wealth of experience that has at its core her determination to always follow her passions.
Shortly after graduating from college, Kim established herself in the world of rock and roll as the assistant manager to The Cure. She went on to work for Tim and Nina Zagat when they launched their now famous restaurant guides and whom she credits with introducing her to the top chefs in New York City in the 90s and to the New York City dining scene.
Following her time with the Zagats, she dove into television news, working closely with Dan Rather starting as the PR person for the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, and moving into his office as his chief of staff.
After fifteen years at CBS News, she switched gears and decided to go back to Europe, to Spain where she embarked on a full-time career as a flamenco dancer and began seriously studying wine, spending a chunk of time in Burgundy.
After graduating from the CFPPA in Beaune, she worked at La Teraza del Casino, Chef Paco Roncero’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Madrid after which she moved to Paris where she began as the cellar sommelier at Arpège, Chef Alain Passard’s three Michelin-starred restaurant.
She moved up to the floor, subsequently moving to Garance as Head Sommelier.
Back in New York, Ms. Akhtar worked with various public figures, handling media appearances, public events, whilst keeping her hand in the wine world, building and curating important wine collections for prominent individuals in New York and Paris, as well as consulting stints in restaurants such as Le Bilboquet and Rotisserie Georgette.
Ms. Akhtar is multilingual, fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, with a working knowledge of Arabic and Urdu.