NERDBOT
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Subscribe
    NERDBOT
    • News
      • Reviews
    • Movies & TV
    • Comics
    • Gaming
    • Collectibles
    • Science & Tech
    • Nerd Culture
    • About Us
      • Want to Write for Nerdbot?
    NERDBOT
    Home»Nerd Culture»Food»Big Name NYC Sommelier May be Part-Time Arsonist
    Image by Prettysleepy from Pixabay
    Food

    Big Name NYC Sommelier May be Part-Time Arsonist

    Heath AndrewsBy Heath AndrewsAugust 1, 2021Updated:August 1, 20215 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

    When someone talks of setting the industry on fire, they generally don’t mean that in a literal sense. Try telling that to Caleb Ganzer, who was recently arrested on arson charges. Ganzer is accused of setting fire to two restaurants and a pile of trash on dates ranging from January 8th to July 12th of this year. Making the case all the more intriguing though is how Ganzer is also in the restaurant business as the managing partner at a Manhattan wine bar. More than that, he’s also a highly regarded sommelier, to the level of being considered one of the finest of the year in 2017.

    I know what you’re thinking. What’s a sommelier? They have yearly awards for them? In full disclosure, I didn’t know any of that before researching this article about a New York City arsonist. You’d think that with my love of “Frasier,” I’d know the phrase. I checked the transcripts though and the word is only used once in the show’s 11 year history.

    Image by Matteo Orlandi from Pixabay

    A sommelier is in a sense, a wine steward that rises above the level of wine steward. Depending on the restaurant/establishment itself, they could serve different purposes. The best of the best not only serve wine to people, they also are supposed to have expert knowledge of wine that extends all the way from helping design the restaurant’s wine menu, to being able to help diners find the right wine to fit their meal and price range. Compared to other dining staff that may be behind the house so to say or just come and go like a waiter, the sommelier is supposed to be a kind of concierge that helps the guest and the restaurant share a kind of personal connection.

    It’s because of this that a high-class restaurant will want a talented and impressive sommelier. It’s also because of the amount of personality and skill that one must have that awards are actually given out to up and coming as well as successfully prominent sommelier. Vanity Fair reports that Caleb Ganzer was named the best new sommelier of 2016 by Wine & Spirit in addition to being one of the sommeliers of the year in 2017 according to Food & Wine.

    Caleb Ganzer was a sommelier at Eleven Madison Park and Daniel before taking over the wine program at La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels. (Evan Sung)

    Ganzer went from working in restaurants to becoming a managing partner of the wine bar, La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels. Yet for some reason, despite the fame and success he achieved, Ganzer, allegedly, on the night of January 8th, 2021 set fire to the Forsythia, outside eatery. Six months later, in the early morning hours of June 26th, Ganzer would allegedly set fire to some trash that was located down the street from the restaurant he co-managed. Less than a month later, he reportedly was responsible for setting fire to Prince Street Pizza on July 13th.

    The owner of the Forsythia restaurant, Jacob Siwak stated that this wasn’t the first time someone had tried to burn his restaurant down either. Prior to the January 8th incident, there were four occasions across nine days where a man was seen on camera lighting some debris on fire near the structure, clearly in hopes that it would consume the building in flame.

    If this man was indeed Caleb Ganzer, the big question is, “Why did he do it?” If it was some kind of vendetta against restaurants, then why just set a pile of trash on fire that wasn’t connected to another eatery? If he’s some kind of pyromaniac, did it suddenly just materialize or were there other incidents before this that went unreported?

    New York City Fire Department

    Luckily, no one was hurt in any of these incidents, and what could have turned far more disastrous in terms of the fires spreading to other buildings, didn’t happen. The New York Times quoted an interview with Sommelier Business in which Ganzer described the last several months of having to adjust to the changes brought about by the pandemic as, “sort of existentially crippling.” Enough so to where it pushed him into an incredibly dark place? Hard to say.

    Maybe Ganzer was just trying to exert control over something; giving life to a fire and watching it consume an object seems to be a strong motivating factor with arsonists. That is of course, assuming they’re not doing it for the insurance money. As the investigation continues, maybe police and the fire squads will uncover more answers. For now though, it remains one of the more bizarre crimes in the field of gourmet dining. Or at the very least, the best premise for a “Frasier” “Law & Order” crossover that never happened.

    Author

    Heath Andrews
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleFlorida Man Jumps Barrier, Gets Attacked by Jaguar at Zoo
    Next Article Sony Releases 2nd “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” Trailer
    Heath Andrews

    Heath Andrews has been a student of pop culture ever since he found himself to be the only student in 3rd grade who regularly watched "Get Smart" on Nick-At-Nite. Ever since then he's been engrossed in way too much media with a growing collection of music, books, comics, TV on DVD box sets, and a video game collection that could rival a brick and mortar store. Prior to writing for Nerdbot he's written for Review You, MyAnimeList, and various advertising companies. Since 2016 he's run his own YouTube channel under the moniker of The Critical Android where he livestreams video games and uploads podcasts about pop culture and Frasier.

    Related Posts

    Mark Parker Replaces Susan Arnold as Disney Board Chairman

    January 12, 2023

    Rock Royalty Remember the Late Jeff Beck, Legendary Guitarist

    January 12, 2023

    Listen to Christina Ricci as Harley Quinn in New Podcast!

    January 12, 2023

    John Lydon, PiL Competing in “Disgusting” Eurovision Song Contest

    January 11, 2023

    Universal Halloween Horror Nights Coming to Las Vegas

    January 11, 2023

    Yes, Gwen Stefani Really Said “I’m Japanese,” Multiple Times

    January 11, 2023
    • Trending
    • Latest
    • Movies
    • TV

    Christian Activist Suing The NFL For $867 Trillion Over Half-Time Show

    February 5, 2020

    Marvel Eyeing GOT Star Nathalie Emmanuel To Play The MCU’s Storm

    June 27, 2019

    Rumor: Charlie Hunnam In Talks For New Wolverine Movie

    May 20, 2019

    Scientists Are Actually Trying to Open a Portal to a Mirror Universe(Yes Really)

    December 28, 2019

    Mark Parker Replaces Susan Arnold as Disney Board Chairman

    January 12, 2023

    Rock Royalty Remember the Late Jeff Beck, Legendary Guitarist

    January 12, 2023

    Professor Pips Academy Review

    January 12, 2023

    Making Pet-Specific Plush Toys

    January 12, 2023

    Ezra Miller Pleads Guilty to Trespassing, Avoids Burglary Charges

    January 12, 2023

    Francis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver Respond to “Megalopolis” Reports

    January 12, 2023

    “M3gan” Writer Akela Cooper Hints at a ‘Way Gorier’ Version

    January 12, 2023
    Ke Huy Quan as Short Round in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"

    Ke Huy Quan Wants a Short Round “Indiana Jones” Spinoff

    January 11, 2023
    "Minx"

    HBO Max’s Cancelled Series “Minx” Saved by STARZ

    January 12, 2023

    Patrick Stewart Open to More “Star Trek” Despite “Picard” Ending

    January 12, 2023

    Snoop Dogg’s “Doggyland” is Our New Favorite Kid’s Show

    January 11, 2023

    Chris Judge on Dave Bautista as Live-Action “God of War” Kratos

    January 11, 2023
    Related Posts

    None found

    San Diego Comic-Con
      • auction
      • carnivorous plant
      • dinosaur
      • pennyworth
      • San Diego Comic-Con
    NERDBOT
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    © 2023 NERDBOT Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.