Born in Perak, raised in Brunei and schooled in Sabah, he ventured to Switzerland in 2014 to pursue a hospitality degree from the Business and Hotel Management School in Lucerne. “After completing high school back in Malaysia, most of my friends had plans to further their studies in the UK, US or Australia, but I wanted to experience something completely different,” Chen says. “I’m not the brightest when it comes to studies, so I thought maybe Hospitality Management might be easier and more fun, and where better to learn hospitality than from the Swiss themselves? So I picked up some German and went there to study.”
At only 24, Marcus Chen has a natural talent for selecting some of the best and rarest wines in the market. Yet even with a rich portfolio of the world’s finest restaurants under his belt, and current role as head sommelier at Lucali BYGB, he is still not yet ready to accept the distinguished title of “sommelier”.
“I wouldn’t call myself a wine somm as it’s a big word to live up to. I’m more of a wine guy or wine enthusiast who likes to use wine to connect people. I’m still learning and growing every day. It’s impossible to know everything at my age and experience,” he humbly replies.
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