This UAAP medal-winning judoka is now wine director of a Michelin 2-star restaurant in New York

MANILA, Philippines — You can take the judoka out of his sport but you cannot take its learning out of the man.

Jhonel Faelnar won gold medals representing Ateneo High School and college in the UAAP judo competition. In fact, while it college, he was a part of the Blue Judokas’ three-peat winning team from 2008-10. 

Fast forward to about a decade later and he’s now working as the wine director for a Michelin 2-Star restaurant called Atomix in New York City. 

“I moved to New York after a stint in Japan working in the retail and fashion scene,” bared Faelnar. “I had my eye on continuing in that same trajectory with a job already waiting for me in New York. But I decided to take a different turn and luckily found wine in the process.”

Faelnar refocused his efforts on learning an entirely different industry and drew upon his training in judo to cope. “I did the same thing with judo where I worked my butt off to study, pass exams, and educate myself about the world of wine. And New York is such a great place to do it.”

Faelnar helped open Atomix, an upscale Korean restaurant, with its owner Chef Junghyun Park and his wife Ellia in 2018 to rave reviews. The restaurant’s first Michel star was awarded in December 2018, a crowning achievement for a young restaurant. The second star was awarded in 2019. 

“We’re lucky to have been well received although there is a lot of talent on the team along with Chef Park and his wife,” described Faelnar of the experience. “It is not as glamorous as it might sound as we all work long hours since it is a 15-seat tasting menu dining room. We all wear multiple hats to get the job done with a handful of people. It’s a beautiful operation and I get the chance to be in the middle of all of it deciding on the wine pairings that match our food.”

Faelnar’s work as a sommelier, or wine steward, has also seen him travel the world. “My work gives me the opportunity to travel although my responsibilities with Atomix take importance,” added Faelnar. “Work has taken me to France, Portugal and the United Kingdom last year.”

Jhonel has also had a chance to film a show with the Metro Channel called "The Crawl France". “I traveled host Stephanie Kienle-Gonzalez and a crew through Paris, Burgundy, the Rhine, and Champagne. It was a great trip where I got to talk about food and wine. I always wanted to share this passion of mine back in Manila and it’s only a matter of time when I do so. I am enjoying seeing the growth of the food scene there.”

During this pandemic, Faelnar set up what he calls the FORK Initiative with some friends from the ARK Foundation. “We provide covid relief with food for hospital staff in NYC. It’s hard work but I like to think we helped raise some spirits.”