The Restaurant Guys
The Restaurant Guys is one of the original food and wine podcasts, launched in 2005 by restaurateurs Mark Pascal and Francis Schott. With roots as a daily radio show, the podcast features in-depth conversations with chefs, bartenders, winemakers, authors, and hospitality professionals—offering the inside track on food, cocktails, wine, and restaurant culture. New episodes and vintage conversations because the best stories, like the best bottles, age well. Expect insightful, opinionated, and entertaining conversations about food, wine, and the finer things in life. Subscribe for ad-free content, bonus episodes and invitations to special events! https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/ Contact: TheGuys@RestaurantGuysPodcast.com
Episodes
This is a Vintage episode from 2005
Why This Episode Matters
- Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn joins Mark Pascal and Francis Schott for a thoughtful conversation about how wine service was evolving in America in the mid-2000s.
- The episode explores what a great sommelier actually does: guide, educate, and make guests feel comfortable rather than intimidated.
- Roger talks about the growing professionalism of the restaurant and wine worlds...
Why This Episode Matters
- Eamon Rockey has worked at the highest levels of restaurant service, cocktail culture, beverage education, and spirits production, giving him a rare view across the industry.
- The conversation looks at how fine-dining standards, bar technique, and product development intersect in the real world.
- Mark, Francis, and Eamon dig into the difference between useful innovation and performative cocktail prep.
- The epi...
This is a Vintage episode from 2007.
Why This Episode Matters
- Baking isn’t magic; it’s chemistry. Gail explains ingredient function so you can so you can bake with intention rather than habit
- Learn how to substitute intelligently (yogurt for buttermilk, butter vs lard, etc.) without sabotaging structure
- The episode is packed with practical fundamentals: tools, pantry essentials, pie crust fat choices, and why ice cream flavors mus...
Why This Episode Matters
- What happens after a reality cooking show and how to convert exposure into growth
- Scaling a wholesale bakery: space, equipment and financing
- Why wholesale can be a sustainable alternative to retail
- Every entrepreneur underestimates two things: money and time.
The Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott open the show reflecting on why service still defines the dining experience. They also debate wheth...
Vintage episode (2006)
Why This Episode Matters
- The Guys dissect classic “wine gaffes” and the social survival tactics that follow.
- Susan Ridley explains why Hendry’s vineyard site matters: cool maritime influence, rocky soils and foothill elevation
- A look at vineyard thinking from a grower-driven perspective, where farming stress, decades of experience, and selectivity shape the wine.
- Wine dinners are the best “real-world” wine ed...
Why This Episode Matters
- Why food that reflects place matters more than Michelin prestige.
- How Xtreme Foodies connects global travelers with local culinary experts.
- Why tasting-menu fine dining is starting to feel formulaic—and what’s replacing it.
- From Texas barbecue to Neapolitan pizza, a conversation about food, identity, and memory.
The Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott open the show debating shepherd’s pie, Irish–Mexica...
This is a Vintage episode from 2006.
This is just a teaser from a bonus episode for our subscribers. If you'd like to become a Restaurant Guys' Regular and listen to the entire episode and other commercial-free episodes, subscribe at
https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com
Why This Episode Matters
- The episode examines how food, sexuality, and culture have always been intertwined
- It reframes restaurants not just as p...
Why You Should Listen
- What “closing time” really means — and why restaurants, and their staff, should honor what they promise
- An inside peak at Valentine’s Day operations, ticket flow, and why larger tables can ease pressure on the kitchen
- The Guys react to mass spectrometry and a look at tequila additives
- Egg price spikes, labeling myths, yolk color tricks, and a smart baking tip when extra-large eggs cost less
The Banter
Mark ...
This is a Vintage episode from 2005.
Why You Should Listen
- An early, still-relevant look at sustainable seafood
- What “dirty fishing” and bycatch really mean
- Practical advice for diners and restaurateurs
- A snapshot of the 2005 Endangered Species Act debate
The Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott react to a “health study” revealing that water is still king. The Guys spiral into soda culture, marketing myths, and one of the s...
Why You Should Listen
- From television and advertising to building Asheville’s restaurant scene
- How fine dining, farm-to-table thinking, and wine culture shaped a food town
- The 2008 crisis and a pivot to neighborhood Italian that lasted
- What Hurricane Helene revealed about restaurants as community lifelines
The Banter
Restaurateurs Mark Pascal and Francis Schott set the table with stories starting with Mark’s Uber Eats account ta...
This is a Vintage episode from 2005.
Why This Episode Matters
- How globalization began reshaping wine style, taste, and production in the early 2000s
- Why market pressure and critical consensus can lead to homogenized wines
- The tension between wines made for place versus wines made for approval
- What is lost when tradition and restraint give way to international sameness
- A timeless argument for authenticity, terroir, and consumer respon...
Why This Episode Matters
- Bartenders are central to hospitality culture
- Industry legacy plays a critical role in preserving bar professionalism
- Non-alcoholic cocktails require intention, balance, and structure
- The future of the bar depends on respecting craft while adapting to change
The Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott open the show riffing on old-school hospitality, handwritten reservation books, and whether pencil-a...
This is a Vintage episode from 2011.
Episode Description
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott open the show with reflections on family vacations and the waning of independent restaurants where distinctive dishes are still made in-house.
They are joined by Gabrielle Hamilton, chef and longtime owner of Prune in New York City, for a candid conversation about her memoir Blood, Bones & Butter and the experiences that shaped her life in food...
The Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott return to the restaurant floor with stories about hospitality as a lifelong condition—why you never stop working the room, why saying “goodnight” at lunch still feels natural, and how unusual guests and moments are part of the job. The Guys share a truly unsettling encounter with a guest who can’t eat meat and reflect on why restaurant life is a magnet for stories you can’t make up.
Episode Description
This is a Vintage Selection from 2005. Chef, author, and Saveur editor Melissa Hamilton joins the Restaurant Guys to talk about community feasts, food culture, and the role shared meals play in bringing people together. The conversation centers on the joy of cooking for one another.
The Banter
Mark and Francis reflect on restaurant culture in the mid-2000s, touching on critics, clever reviews, and the er...
Episode Description
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott share stories from recent travels through Ireland and Austria on this travel food podcast, exploring wine, history, and memorable restaurant experiences along the way. From pub culture and historic cities to standout meals abroad, the episode ends with a cautionary tale from a marina restaurant in Florida—and what it reveals about hospitality.
The Conversation
Francis r...
This is a Vintage Selection from 2005
Episode Description
Mary Ann Esposito, pioneering host of PBS’s Ciao Italia, the longest running cooking show, joins the Restaurant Guys to discuss authentic Italian cooking before it was trendy. The conversation explores traditional Italian cuisine, regional cooking, food television, and how Italian food in America drifted from its roots.
The Banter
The Restaurant Guys open with a candid...
From kitchens around the world to cocktail media, why it’s time to talk about cooking with booze
The Conversation
In this episode of The Restaurant Guys Podcast, hosts Mark Pascal and Francis Schott head to Brooklyn to record at the new studio of Tim McKirdy.
Tim McKirdy shares his unconventional career path, from cooking in kitchens in London and Buenos Aires to becoming an influential writer in drinks journalism at VinePai...
This is a Vintage Selection from 2005
Ever wonder how great restaurant wine lists actually come together — and why some completely miss the mark?
The Banter
The Guys tell stories of their “glamorous” lives being restaurateurs that (surprisingly) involves more plumbers than they ever expected.
The Conversation
In this episode, The Restaurant Guys are joined by Chris Goodhart, wine buyer for Keith McNally’s restaurants in New York City, ...
California whiskey isn’t just a trend — it’s challenging bourbon’s throne.
First, The Guys talk about recent dining experiences including being escorted into a bar, and too much salt.
Then, The Restaurant Guys meet up in-person with Jeff Duckhorn, Head Distiller at Redwood Empire, to talk about why West Coast whiskey tastes different, ages differently, and is suddenly showing up on serious back bars.
Jeff breaks down how climate impa...
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