Starting from scratch, Henry Chang Kwok-wai worked his way up to become an award-winning sommelier. He says the hard work, long hours and advice from his mentors have paid off
I only completed Form Five and then went to work in a Chinese restaurant as a waiter. I worked there a long time before joining the Grand Hyatt Hotel, working in its banquet service as a waiter.
Once there, I found I wanted to learn more about wine. My interest in wine grew from my own experience. I liked the taste of wine and realised that the taste was quite complex. However, in the 1990s, there were no wine schools in Hong Kong, so I found it difficult to educate myself about wine.
After working at the Grand Hyatt for a year I moved to the Petrus Restaurant at the Island Shangri-La Hotel. There I met someone who changed my life - my boss Nelson Chow. He knew a lot about wine and is now a teacher in hospitality at the Institute of Vocational Education. He taught me how to learn, to be open-minded, which I can apply to everything, but I was most interested in learning about wine. There were very few sommeliers in Hong Kong and you didn't need a certificate to work as one.
I got my first sommelier job in 1993 when I joined the Riviera Restaurant at the Regal Hotel in Causeway Bay. I was able to convince them that I knew something about wines, and they gave me a chance.
Even though I only worked there a few months before the restaurant closed, I found being a sommelier satisfying but difficult.