Maître d’ Diaries

Giovanna Cucolo is the managing partner and wine buyer of Brooklyn’s Cafe Spaghetti and the recently opened Swoony’s, two of Carroll Garden’s most comfortable, fun, popular restaurants. She's worked in many of the city's top dining establishments with some of the country's great restaurateurs, and brings all that experience home to Brooklyn and the Columbia Waterfront district. Giovann...

It was a maître d' reunion! One of the many things chef Daniel Boulud taught those of us lucky enough to have worked with him is the importance of recognizing and celebrating milestone moments.  In that spirit, to partake in the @30atdaniel celebration in the spring of 2023, Dante and Erica invited seven former Daniel maître d's to talk about what their time working the door for Daniel mea...

Join Erica and Dante as they chat with mentor, inspiration and former boss, chef Daniel Boulud, during an epic dinner at Restaurant Daniel in April 2023. Daniel shares his thoughts about the fine dining scene in NYC when he arrived in 1983, who were the maitre d's who held the power, how the role has changed, and the gastronomic history behind his award-winning restaurant Le Pavillon.

Who better to have as our first guest on Maître d’ Diaries than maître d’ extraordinaire, Michael Cecchi-Azzolina? Michael has had two huge hits in a row this past year. His memoir, Your Table is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître d’ , is a best seller that's being touted as a front of the house Kitchen Confidential; and his Greenwich Village boite, Cecchi's, opened this summer to grea...

Join Erica and Dante as they talk about their new Front of the House industry podcast and what you can expect to hear in Season One. Set in part at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Fulton at the South Street Seaport in New York City, you'll experience dining out with two OG maître d’s, and hear what it was like when the New York Times food critics showed up at the door circa 2000's.

Welcome to Maître d’ Diaries! Thank you for joining us! Please come in and have a taste of what you can expect in Season One of our much anticipated front of the house restaurant podcast.