Samantha Swartz

Samantha Swartz completed her formal schooling at a rapid-fire rate, condensing the final years to complete grade 12 from home through Intec College.

With a vague plan to enter the field of Accounting and Banking, she entered the hotel industry as a young 19 year old. The Foundation Hospitality Outsource Company trained her on the hotel trade and she landed up working permanently at The Table Bay Hotel. She stayed for almost six years, learning and working as a bartender/bar waiter, a hostess doing high teas, as a restaurant waitron and even on a stock-taker for all departments. Suddenly accounting and banking became a dream of the past. Samantha work up to realise just how much she had come to love the industry, particularly enjoying how she had managed to connect with people from all over the world.

She began to study in earnest doing a supervisor course NQF Level 4 and then a Level 1 course in WSET. She was chosen to work as wine steward alongside the chefs in the Unilever Chef of the year. Together they came home with second place! The opportunities and the experiences have come along fast and furious. She was part of the crew that did ‘Taste of Cape Town’, the Movember race and worked on a fragrance event in which Tammy Fraser collaborated with The Table Hotel Executive Chef on some dining events at the hotel.

As the years have rolled on, Samantha has found herself falling in love with everything about wine and is constantly on the lookout to learn more.

In 2017 she decided to spread her wings and grow her knowledge base by taking on a position as waitron in the Azure Restaurant at The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa. “I am learning so much in my new environment,” she enthuses, “and I feel so lucky to be representing my hotel for The Distell Inter Hotel Challenge 2018. It will be a unforgettable journey for me and I look forward to connecting with other people in the industry throughout the competition”.

Samantha has been crowned the Top Wine Steward for 2018 - in the Distell Inter Hotel Challenge