The foodies

Alpana Singh

Wine maven

At 26, she became the youngest woman in the U.S. to earn master-sommelier status; she hosts WTTW’s foodie-favorite show Check, Please!; and she’s the director of wine and spirits for Lettuce Entertain You—but Singh has called this city home for only eight years. The Monterey, California, native arrived with a dismal view of Chicago. “I was picturing a city that was very gritty and grimy and dangerous,” she says. Luckily, Singh changed her tune. “I remember going down Lake Shore Drive for the first time and thinking, Wow, this is absolutely beautiful.” Perhaps feeling a kinship with another transplant, Singh picks a fellow non-native Chicagoan as her favorite local: “I think Barack Obama perfectly represents what it means to be a Chicagoan. To succeed, go for the best…but you never forget where you came from.”—Laura Baginski

The eighth season of Check, Please! starts October 17 at 8pm on WTTW.

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