NAIT international student serves as guide to wine at Ernest’s restaurant

Diners to benefit from Serene Gong’s enthusiasm and industry experience

When Ernest’s dining room manager Mitch McCaskill (Hospitality Management ’09) heard about the possibility of a wine expert joining the staff at NAIT’s on-campus restaurant, the opportunity struck him as a must-have (pun intended).

In the fall, Baking and Pastry Arts chair Alan Dumonceux (Baking ’05) told McCaskill about a new student, Serene Gong, who was open to working on campus and had a unique background. In China, where the international student is from, Gong's previous education had nothing to do with breads, cakes and the like. Instead, her focus was on wine.

McCaskill was in. A trained wine expert could help educate the restaurant’s mostly student staff. Given Gong’s depth of knowledge, she could, if necessary, explain technical aspects of production, such as “must” being wine’s precursor, a rich mash of juice, skins and seeds. Or, more importantly, Gong could provide insight into the intricacies of pairing, a task she would also see to during evening shifts at Ernest’s.

For McCaskill, it was a chance to boost the “wow factor” for diners. Matching the right wine to a high quality meal, he says, is simply “a lot of fun. The flavours can really pop.”

And for Gong, it was a chance to keep up skills that she hopes will contribute to another kind of pairing after graduation.

Make a reservation at Ernest’s, NAIT’s on-campus restaurant

A life in wine, a “beverage with life”

A wine tasting setup with glasses, bottles, grapes, and a notebook.Gong’s reverence for wine extends from her foundational understanding of it.

“Wine is the only beverage with life,” she says. “It can change a lot in the bottle.”

That assertion has its origins in Gong’s studies at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, where she got a masters degree with a major in fermentation engineering.

She later spent more than a decade in the industry, as an educator at China’s first independent wine school then as a purchasing manager and importer with a private company.

During those years, Gong achieved a Level 3 Wine and Spirit Education Trust certificate, enabling her to assess wines and explain different styles and quality. She also completed an International Sommelier Guild diploma, a program designed for advanced industry professionals.

Along the way, however, the Chinese wine market began a contraction that was hastened by the pandemic. After peaking in 2017, consumption in the country was more than halved by 2023. Gong responded by considering a career change.

“I'm fond of baking,” she says. “I'm fond of teaching myself to make something simple, [like] bread and cake.”

But bread and cake are not staples of Chinese cuisine – at least not those of Western styles, which interested Gong.

“It is difficult to [find] authentic courses in China,” she says. “So I made up my mind to study abroad.”

She ended up in Edmonton, where she knew no one, after choosing to pursue her education at NAIT.

Wine, baking and beyond

A close-up of several used wine corks.Gong will spend about two nights each week at Ernest’s, which offers a wine list featuring dozens of varieties.

She’ll support other staff who may be less familiar with pairing, and also make her way around the room checking in at tables – which she does effortlessly, McCaskill notes.

Gong’s passion for wine lends her “charisma,” he says. “She’s engaging; she’s not shy.”

For Gong, education is still at the heart of the job of being a diner’s guide through the wide world of wine.

“I do not like to push people,” she says. “I can make some suggestions and tell them what's the difference between [them], and then let them make the decision.”

The job is also a way for Gong to keep up skills that she hopes will support her future goals as an entrepreneur.

Once she graduates, she envisions combining her two culinary interests, either in China or potentially here in Canada. “I'm wondering if I can set up a wine and a bakery studio,” Gong muses.

Until then, she’ll continue to focus on developing her skills, whether in the baking lab, in the dining room at Ernest’s, or through self-directed learning in off-hours.

“It takes practise,” says Gong. “Eating and drinking is the best way to study.”

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