Teddy Panos

The Climb

Culinary School gave Teddy Panos an entry point into the trade, and the apprenticeship at Everest Room in Chicago set the pace. From there, the work moved toward wine, where the language became more specific and the responsibility more defined. As sommelier and wine director at Cucina Urbana and La Valencia Hotel until 2018, he worked at the point where selection, recommendation, and guest experience overlap. He also served as wine director and assistant general manager at Stake Chophouse + Bar until 2018, a role that widened the view from beverage alone to the larger mechanics of dining room leadership. Since 2018, that line of work has continued as beverage director at Stake Chophouse + Bar.

Today

At Stake Chophouse + Bar, the beverage director role is less about the bottle than about how the program behaves inside service. Since 2018, Teddy Panos has overseen that part of the operation with attention to the relationship between drink, room, and timing. His own language places the work in the context of family table culture: “Being Greek, food and wine is a very important part of our heritage and the dinner table has always been my favorite place to enjoy this with my family.” The service itself is what he connects to that inheritance: “Creating an experience in our dining room for our guests every evening was reminiscent of my family dinners as a child.”

In Their Words “Creating an experience in our dining room for our guests every evening was reminiscent of my family dinners as a child.” “Being Greek, food and wine is a very important part of our heritage and the dinner table has always been my favorite place to enjoy this with my family.”

Recognition

The career arc runs from the kitchen into wine and then into beverage leadership, with each role adding another layer to the same service discipline.