Maître d’ Diaries

Welcome to our first DESTINATION HOSPITALITY episode with our guest ANDREA ZANA, the general manager of the Hotel Il San Pietro in Positano on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Listen in to hear what it’s like to be part of the operational family that runs one of the world’s greatest resort hotels, how Tom Cruise helped inspire Andrea to get into hospitality, why Andrea loves interacting with tourists, what it was like to work in top hotels in Florence, London, Paris, Milan, and why he sees luxury hospitality as a world full of opportunities. Get ready to be surprised by what great hoteliers like Andrea and the Cinque Family do to constantly evolve: including bringing a team of sixteen people from the hotel with him to Cornell University Hotel School for a week of professional development during the closed season. Andrea shouts out the importance of mentorship with the examples set for him by Claudio Ceccarelli, Simone Giorgi, and the Cinque Family, and how restaurants and hotels can be the stage, and we FOH folks the protagonists!

This episode we welcome Ahris Kim, the Director of Operations for NA:EUN Hospitality, the multi-award-winning group behind Atoboy, Atomix, and NARO in New York. Ahris, born in Seoul, Korea, and chats about the opportunity to combine her career passions and her heritage, the impact of the awards and accolades, her start in luxury hotels, working for Daniel Boulud, the importance of self care, and how it’s good to try as many different things as possible when you’re starting out. @hiyuwinefarms  @atoboynyc  @atomixnyc  @seoulsalon.nyc  @eparkato @jparkato  @foodeducationfund

With passion, partnership, and maybe a soupçon of beginners’ ingenuousness Ronan Duchêne Le May and his wife chef Alexia Duchêne opened Le Chêne, a très chic, très Parisien restaurant on Carmine Street in the West Village in less than six months. Incroyable! Listen in to our chat with Ronan to hear about how his love of restaurants drew him from his family winemaking world in Bordeaux to Paris, hospitality work, and how the couple’s decision to move to New York in 2023 has led to an adventure bigger than even they could have imagined. 

We are kicking off Season 4 with the iconic Daryl Coke, who runs the beloved wine programs at NYC’s Ernesto’s and Bartolo’s, and a deep dive into Spanish and Basque restaurants and wines. Daryl has been in New York for the past 16 years working at some of the city’s most beloved cult restaurants including The Beatrice Inn, The Fat Radish, Mission Chinese, Contra and Wildair.She also gives us the inside scoop on where she loves to eat around town (and in Spain), what she wishes people knew about wine service, and what guest behaviors she’d like to see 86ed. Listen in! You’ll come away hungry, thirsty, and with a long list of new restaurants you want to try. I know I did! @ernestosnyc@bartolonyc@dib@wildairnyc @barcontranyc@bridges.nyc@missionchinesefoodny@lefrenchdiner@thaidiner @mommypais@cafeselectnyc@danny_bowen@fabianvhv@chefjeremiahstone@mozzy_sticks_87@pierrederrien84@opsnyc@luckycharliebk@unclelouny#SachaHormaechea #chefschef#porron #sansebastian #galicia #priorat #valentineday #womenwinemakers#coatcheck #86list #soigneryourself

Maître d' Diaries is back!Season 4 brings you more NYC front of the house folks, like Daryl Coke of Ernesto's and Bartolo, Ronan Le Chêne of Le Chêne, Ahris Kim of NA:EUN Hospitality, and Jenna Norfleet of Francie, along with the return of “That’s An Issue,” “We’re Booked,” and a new episode theme, “Destination Hospitality.” Listen in here for a taste of what’s to come. And check out our past episodes in Seasons 1 - 4!

Back in the year 2000 the Cherry Lane Theater hosted the premier of Becky Mode's side-splitting, lightening-paced one man show, "Fully Committed", and restaurant reservationists in basements and broom closets all around town felt seen. And maybe not a little bit exposed. An updated version of the show moved to Broadway in 2016 starring the great Jesse Tyler Ferguson who won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for his role as Sam, and the other 30-plus characters that populate this 90-minute whiplash inducing romp through the trials--and wins--of a New York City reservationist. Now Jake Shipley, an actor and FOH restaurant worker since his teens, is performing FULLY COMMITTED at the Phoenician Playhouse in Phoenicia, NY, to great acclaim, for two weekend only. Jake took an hour during his crazy performance schedule to chat with Maître d' Diaries about the role and the work. And the possible future of taking this behind-the-scenes in the restaurant world play back out on the road.

We are so happy to welcome New York Restaurant World Legend, Melba Wilson, to Maître d’ Diaries. Restaurants are all about creating community. The community that is fostered in dining rooms, across tables, in bars and lounges, AND the community we build INSIDE the restaurants where we work. One of the best things about the hospitality business is how it gives us the chance to work with and get to know people of diverse ages and backgrounds we might not meet otherwise. And when f&b folk are lucky enough to be out and about sometimes we get to meet friends of friends, or people we’ve admired from afar, and as a result our personal restaurant community continues to expand. This is what happened when Erica had the pleasure of meeting Melba Wilson at an event last year. Melba is the founder of the beloved Melba’s in Harlem, and she just recently opened the 4th Melba’s in Grand Central Terminal Dining Concourse. She is also a fixture on the New York food scene, a food insecurity activist, and a vibrant beacon of glamour and kindness.Being “born, bred and buttered in Harlem”, Melba knew she wanted to stay close to home so she could nurture and provide an exquisite yet comfortable dining experience to the community that raised her.Listen in to our chat to hear about: ~ How Melba learned all aspects of the restaurant business from her aunt Sylvia Woods of the iconic American Classic Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem~ The impact of growing up with grandparents who were gardeners~ What Josefina Howard said to Melba when she said she wanted to open her own restaurant, and how that changed everything~ How Melba took Windows on the World’s slow Sunday Brunches and turned them into the wildly successful Gospel Sunday Brunch that ran until Sunday, September 9th, 2001. ~ The inspiration she’s taken from 114th Street, Harlem’s historic Minton’s Playhouse, and gazing at the monuments of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman

You meet the best people working in restaurants! Case in point, this episode’s guest, Tatiana Mejia, maître d’ at Michelin-starred Francie in Brooklyn, and a dear friend.  Folks come to restaurant work via all different paths, many of us finding the right balance of physical activity, mental engagement, social interaction, and reliable income in a place we didn’t originally imagine ourselves belonging. One of the mission’s of Maître d’ Diaries is to share our love for the vocation of taking care of people through hospitality. To shine a spotlight on how the work of serving and hosting can be  a satisfying, fulfilling, and fun way to make a living. Listen in to hear: ~ What it was like to be maître d’ at the landmark Tavern on the Green (600+ people a night, 1,200 for brunch, in case you didn’t know!)~ The similarities and differences between working retail and restaurants ~ How working FOH can develop people skills and build community~ About crying in the coat check–the FOH version of crying in the walk-in~ How a weekly sauna ritual helps Tatiana sweat out the stress of the work week~ Her current favor savory martini

Ever wonder what it was like booking out a restaurant ON PAPER, before the dawn of online reservation platforms? At Maître d’ Diaries one of our raisons d’être is building a bridge between restaurant industry old guard and the vibrant, essential Next Generation populating the new post-pandemic workforce. One way we do this is by gathering and sharing stories from the trenches (or the floor, if you will).This episode’s guest, Roger Raines, has a LOT of stories. Roger started his illustrious hospitality career with one of the most respected restaurant groups in the country—Union Square Hospitality—back when tables were reserved over the phone by humans using a pencil and sheets of paper.And like many of the very best maîtres d’hotel, Roger is also a renaissance person with multiple cultural pursuits and passions that make him culturally aware and good to chat with at the front door of whatever restaurant he’s running.Roger’s first restaurant job was reservationist at Gramercy Tavern. He worked his way up through Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Maialino, and the opened new location of Union Square Cafe. Listen in to hear about:~ How much fun it used to be to run a wait list by phone and on paper~ What he hates about cell phones in restaurants ~ The difference of how people treat men and women at the door ~ What it was like to be James Brown’s road manager~ The upstate B&B run by USHG alum that we should all visit ~ What Tabla was like~ How awesome the Criterion Collection is

You meet some of the best people in the restaurant business. Folks like our guest Olivia Salomon, a server at Le Veau d’Or in New York City, who find joy and satisfaction taking care of other people and helping create memorable experiences for them. Whether it’s a warm welcome at the door or a server with a wonderful tableside manner, someone who is called to the work and does it with care can really make a difference in how we feel at the end of the day. The word restaurant derives from the French word for restoration. A place where you can restore your body with sustenance. And perhaps now more than ever, restaurants are places where we can revive our spirits and sense of well being. At their best, good restaurants feed our need to connect with other humans. All the more so if our server or maitre d’ is someone who’s passionate about spreading joy and love and positivity in the world.Listen in to our chat with Olivia to hear about: ~ How she figured out Pete Wells was coming in and then what happened~ The importance of mentorship and how we can support the Next Gen~ Why she loves the Danny Meyer 51% philosophy ~ How to hold the work of serving so it’s empowering rather than demeaning~ The difference between being a server and a maître d’~ The unexpected joy to be found taking care of older clientele~ Why kindness is the life hack Olivia wants everyone to know about~ How to deal with challenging personalities at the door

Tom Piscitello is a New York maître d’ legend! He ran the door at some of the city’s best Italian restaurants, including Coco Pazzo, Babbo, Beppe, A Voce, and Ci Siamo. Tom joined us from his terrazzo in Sicily, where he and his husband now live the semi-retired life of private hospitality, making beautiful memories for their guests at a 3-bedroom luxury lighthouse with a view of Mt. Etna, hosting and taking care of visiting friends and locals. Che bella vita! Tom saw it all working in the hottest spots in the 1990’s and turn of the millennium New York dining scene, and in this episode he shares some glimpses from behind the scenes and among the celebrity-filled tables at the restaurants that had the bella fortuna to have him as their host. Join us as we talk about: ~ How to make a good first impression on the welcome~ The two words that people always say when they’re lying~ The thing he can’t tolerate from guests or staff~ How great Esca was and what a genius Dave Pasternak is ~ One way to make a guest “yours for life”~ The time some old guy punched him for a table~ The qualities he looks for in a maître d’ ~ The one thing you should never ask on a first interview~ Tom's favorite part of Italian hospitality 

Welcome to our 3rd “We’re Booked” episode. Our guest is author, cookbook collaborator, and podcast host, Andrew Friedman.Andrew has made a career chronicling the life and work of some of our best chefs, and is currently collaborating on a memoir with Daniel Boulud, to be published by Grand Central Publishing in 2027.Andrew is the author of Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll: How Food Lovers, Free Spirits, Misfits, and Wanderers Created a New American Profession. Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll (Ecco 2018) tells the story of the evolution of the American chef in the 1970s and 1980s, and is essential reading for anyone in love with restaurants and restaurant history. To write it, Andrew interviewed more than 200 industry figures including legends such as Wolfgang Puck, Jeremiah Tower, Alice Waters, Jonathan Waxman, and Ruth Reichl. We started this podcast to have a place to share stories and preserve the rich history of the exciting world of restaurants we’ve been blessed to be a part of. Listen in as we: ~ go back in time to the incipience of “California cuisine” and its impact on the development of a distinctive American cuisine~ discuss the confluence of the Blue Ribbon after hours culture and the dawn of the food network in the early 90’s which ushered in the now seemingly perennial era of the celebrity chef~ highlight the importance of FOH staff being able to call a play in real time~ hear a real life example of the kind of hospitality behavior Andrew would like to see 86ed.

Fasten your seat belts for a spirit-driven ride through NYC modern cocktail culture with the beloved, legendary, Sarah Morrissey who worked on the front lines of the cocktail revolution in New York from almost the beginning. Recorded one Saturday over bagels pre-service at Le Veau d’Or, where Sarah’s the AGM and Bar Manager, if you don’t already have the pleasure of knowing Sarah, you’ll feel like you do after joining us for our chat. One of our main purposes at Maître d’ Diaries is sharing stories and preserving the incredible history of our ever evolving F&B business. During this episode you’ll get a comprehensive overview of all things cocktail, learn what a Sasha Bar is, and stroll down the streets of early 2000-2010’s New York City, past the legendary speakeasies and cocktail lounges that started it all, many of which are sadly closed, each of which played an important role in the way spirit culture has evolved in the 21st century. And you’ll meet some of the major innovators in the bartending world who directly impacted what we now experience as standard when we go out for a cocktail. Sarah epitomizes the amount of hard work, enthusiasm, and devotion to information acquisition required to work in beverage at a high level restaurant or bar. Her knowledge of all things spirits–and insider information about how the city’s most popular bars are run–is matched only by her incredible warmth and the down-to-earth genuine affection and appreciation with which she welcomes every guest she comes in contact with. You’ll also hear about Erica’s new favorite gin–just in time for the upcoming G&T season. Cheers! 

A “We Can Transfer That” episode happens at least once a season on Maître d’ Diaries. These episodes are designed to highlight the many transferable skills one can hone working the door and floor of a restaurant. It's sort of a "how did you get from there to here" interview that showcases the incredibly satisfying and multi-faceted careers that sometimes get their start when someone becomes a server, a host, or a busser. One of the best things about the hospitality business–and this podcast–is the people we get to meet. This year at Will Guidara’s wonderful Welcome Conference, Erica had the thoroughly joyful experience of meeting Bradley Knebel of Empowered Hospitality. Bradley was studying Mathematics at Georgia Tech when he got a job as a server and fell in love with hospitality. He turned his passion into a career, moved to New York City, and began working for Union Square Hospitality Group where worked in a variety of roles–which we elaborate on during our chat. Bradley is an impressively well-rounded F&B guy. He’s earned his Level 2 Sommelier Certification, taught classes at Murray’s Cheese, and in 2022 he was the opening general manager of Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi, which earned a 3-star review in the New York Times, and two years in a row topped Pete Wells’ list of best restaurants in New York City.  Listen in to hear about: ~ What it was like to be involved in the Hospitality Included movement at USHG~ Bradley’s thoughts on the pay disparity between front and back of the house workers~ What working in HR can teach you about running a business~ What an independent HR company can offer smaller operators~ Why Bradley thinks that egos are the biggest killer of restaurants~ How it all sort of started for him at Longhorn Steakhouse~ How to help people become better leaders and how satisfying that can be~ The power of mentorship on both sides of the relationship

Maître d’ Diaries is a front of the house industry podcast designed to build community with other dining room professionals, foster pride in the art of hospitality, share stories from the front lines, facilitate conversation among OG restaurant folks and the Next Gen, and address the very real challenges that are facing the industry we love. We are delighted to introduce you to Sabrina Marte, an up-and-coming FOH star who has recently taken on the position of maître d’ at NoHo Hospitality’s Bar Primi in Penn Center. Sabrina is one of those people who lights up a room and exudes a welcome at the door that embraces each guest as they cross the threshold. While she may be what some people call a natural, you’ll learn that she also puts an enormous amount of thought into how she executes hospitality. Listen in on our chat to hear about:~ How she got into the business~ Who inspires her: shout outs to Sean Prinz, Inta Erglis, Trisha Devila, and Justin Sievers!~ All the love she has for NoHo Hospitality~ How what managers remember about us can make all the difference~ Pretty much the weirdest guest interaction you’ve ever heard ofYou’ll end up feeling that the future of hospitality is in good hands!

Join us this episode as we step away from the welcome and into the wine cellar for our chat with Raj Vaidya, whose career trajectory has taken him from a bagel shop in New Jersey all the way to being Chef Daniel Boulud’s International Wine Director, and now collaborating with Daniel Johnnes, as the Director of Operations for Pressoir, the organization behind wine festivals La Paulée, La Fête du Champagne, La Tablée, and much more. Born in New Jersey and raised in his family’s native Bombay and in Singapore, Raj attributes his passion for fine cuisine and wine to his family and their obsession with food and drink. Listen in to hear about: ~ How working breakfast in a diner in New Jersey taught Raj to understand the theater of service~ His thoughts on corkage~ How making an old lady cry early on in his career forever changed his understanding of what people are looking for when they come to a restaurant~ Tips for the two best ways to learn more about wine~ Some of the places Raj likes to eat in NYC~ Which two wine books he recommends for people who want the best general reference options~ Who he’s learned from over the years (shout out to Chefs Craig Shelton & Daniel Boulud, Brett Traussi, Daniel Johnnes, John Slover, Robert Bohr, Michel Couvreux, and more.)

Paris Pryor has been hearing about Maître d’ Diaries since long before we launched. In fact, her passion for the business and for hearing stories about restaurants past and present helped inspire our inception. Erica and Paris met while opening the Michelin-starred Francie in Williamsburg, Brooklyn during the pandemic and became fast friends. (Although some have asked if they are really mother and daughter!)Paris has experienced, accomplished, and learned quite a bit in the decade since she arrived in New York City in 2015, when she started moonlighting in the hospitality industry while pursuing her passion for theater at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Maybe her roots in the dramatic arts explain why she has one of the most sparkling dining room and tableside presences you’ll ever see. Very quickly, Paris was inspired by the vibrant excitement of her new stage, which has become a rewarding vocation and career.Paris got her start with USHG and participated in the reopening of the iconic Union Square Cafe, one of NYC most renowned and successful restaurants. Her first post as a kitchen server/food runner ignited her passion to learn more and she quickly moved up to private dining captain. Before long Paris was invited to join the pre-opening team at Manhatta, where she was restaurant manager.Listen in to hear about:~ How she teamed up with John Winterman and Chef Chris Cipollone to open Francie, and got the dream opportunity to work with and learn from NYC wine legend Raj Vaidya~ The unparalleled service and dining experiences she had at Cafe Carmellini & Restaurant Daniel~ The "disconnect of wanting to be connected" and why she thinks taking pictures in restaurants should be mostly 86ed~ How she established the reputation as the most loyal employee by trekking through the snow in the pandemic to deliver fried chicken to a certain famous personage

Welcome to our chat with Tizzy Beck, maître d’/manager at the Waverly Inn in the West Village. Tizzy is one of those people you meet and say, where have you been all my life? She’s a personality powerhouse, a native New Yorker and a born host. She's been featured in the New York Times for helping to kick off a New York style burger trend in Milan. Clearly she’s quite a badass. Listen in as we talk about how moving to Milan to work in fashion led her to becoming a restaurateur because she wanted to create the kind of American restaurant she was missing and knew would be embraced. Prior to opening Tizzy’s Bar & Grill, Tizzy had never worked in a restaurant, and she believes that thinking like a guest (as opposed to an employee) has made her a certain kind of owner. We also discuss what it’s like to work in a legendary restaurant where photography is not allowed, how our Maître d’ Spidey Sense helps us when a celebrity we don’t know arrives, a great meal she and her partner Mark Ladner had at Fasano, and how she wants to make sure we all just “keep it classy”.

Dante and Erica look back at 2024 and the holiday season in NYC. We talk about our aspirations for 2025, the physical challenges of doing a job that has us on our feet most of the day, what it’s like to do a restaurant brand refresh in a popular 15 year old restaurant, and what it means to have a purge party. Listen in for Dante’s reaction to the news that Maître d’ Diaries has a YouTube channel, what’s new for Season 3, and Erica’s current obsession with what the runway to 60 looks like. You’ll also get a preview of some of the guests for Season 3.

Maître d’s have a lot of great stories, and sometimes we get to meet really interesting people while just doing our jobs.  In honor of ELECTION WEEK we’re offering up a wholly positive, but still dishy behind-the-scenes story of what happened when President and Mrs. Obama came to dinner at Maialino in New York City.  Listen in to hear how Roger Raines graced telling a private party that they couldn’t be seated until everyone in their party had arrived, and what happened when he inadvertently tried to check the Presidential Football. God Bless America