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gourmet safari event at the Shore Club Shore Club fireworks for the Gourmet Safari Last summer I was thrilled when Karen Whitt asked me to style for seasonal events at the Regent Palms.  The first event was the Kysela Wine Dinner at The Regent Palms Oct 2014.

Kicking off the first wine dinner of season will be the double delights of Chef Lauren at the beautiful Regent Palms and Fran Kysela, Master Sommelier from Kysela Pere et Fils.  This will be an around the world experience as Fran introduces us to a different country with each course of wines that he helped create over his last 30 years in the wine business in the USA.

Fran Kysela’s career spans three decades as a Master Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, Master of Sake and sole owner of Kysela Pere et Fils, based in Virginia.  Having met Fran at the start of my career in the wine industry, I have worked directly with Fran since the year 2000 and he is one of the great wine professionals and business men in the alcohol industry.  It is my great pleasure and honor to have Fran on the island and treat him a little bit of REAL Southern hospitality like we do it in Provo.

We still have tickets available and the Palms is set for a beautiful evening.  Take a look at the delectable seven course, wine paired meal for $125 (all in) that Chef Lauren has put together for us and realize that this is the dinner of the season. After thoroughly enjoying Mr. Kysela’s bio information I wished every guest would take the time to learn a little about Mr. Kysela and his outlook on wine, life, and business success.  I then had the idea to make sure every guest did.   I made shadowboxes for every table which highlighted a different quote of Mr. Kysela’s: “I was 25 years old and I just realized, wow, this is what I want to do. I had been experimenting with wine tasting, and I found some of the tastes so intriguing. And as soon as I came to understand wine, I began to grasp that there was a human and cultural component to it.”
-Fran Kysela on his start in the industry
“I am passionate about planning, building, and maintaining my business but I love wine in particular because of the history and culture surrounding it. This business has allowed me to travel all over the world and to expose myself to so many different peoples and places. When I’ve visited these countries, I’ve seen their cultural heritage, their various foods and wines that match, and the lay of the land. These are the most unique experiences of my life.”
-Fran Kysela on his passion
I reached a pinnacle in terms of my energy, experience and skills. When you’re 37 you’re ready to go out and do something. If you’re going to be self-made, you need to be ready to nail that down sometime between 32 and 42. You need the seasoning not to make the wrong moves, but you don’t want to start to late either. Some people tell me they want to go into the wine business and the first two things I ask are their age and their experience. In wine there is a sweet spot between vitality and experience.”
-Fran Kysela on starting Kysela Pere et Fils
“When you start out with your business for the first time you’re headstrong and you don’t take to other people’s opinions much. But as you get older you learn that you need to build consensus. That’s something you learn through trial and error. You’ve got to be able to change gears quickly.”
-Fran Kysela on self-discipline in the business world
“Our products are typically more artisanal-more hands-on, and more niche. We are generally the sole source for any wine that we purchase. We purchase wines that are unique and our selection is diverse. No one else has one thousand SKU’s of diversity.”
-Fran Kysela on Kysela Pere et Fils wines
“His advice was that there is always room in business for a good small company. I feel I have realised that advice.”
-Fran Kysela on Kysela Pere et Fils company size
“Find something you’re going to like right away and stick with it. If you start moving around a bunch, you’ll run out of time to get in on the ground floor of what you really want to do. You’ve only got so much time on this earth. Find your passion and stick with it.”
-Fran Kysela on finding your passion

“Always put everything I writing.”
-Fran Kysela advice on the objective reality of business This event was great fun to style for. Coming from the northwest I always miss the change of season in the fall.  I wanted to create a harvest tablescape which featured the fruit and spice notes within the featured wines. Plums, cinammon, oak, and more met the guests senses upon their arrival foreshadowing some of the flavors to come.  Following the event I received a kind note from sponsor and wine distributor, Tina Williford of the IGA:

Finally a breathing moment! I wanted to let you know how spectacular the table display was for Saturday night’s dinner at The Palms. I was touched and so was Mr. Kysela by the personal, creative and beautiful message delivered through the consideration and creativity given to your table setting…maybe just, blown away would be a better way to put it.”

Big thanks to Tina for the kind words and to Karen and all the staff at the Palms who worked so hard to make this event a success. Image via brilliant
We missed attending this years 13th annual Valentine’s Day Cup in Middle Caicos but luckily Brilliant didn’t!  Anita and Chanelle captured all the fun and festivity with flying colors, please see their blog posts Part I and Part  II for a picture perfect recap.  To see more of North and Middle Caicos and the Cup festivities, check out last years post here.  To view the race results click here. Fine Millwork, Construction, & Design Stacie Steensland Home Website