The Restaurant Guys

Hospitality consultant Preston Lee explains how restaurants can build stronger teams, earn employee trust and create the kind of human connection that keeps guests coming back.

Why This Episode Matters

• Why hospitality begins with genuine care, not a memorized script
• What younger employees need from restaurant leaders today
• How daily training creates consistency without overwhelming the staff
• Why the employee experience directly shap...

This is a Vintage episode from 2005.

William Walker of Jersey Fresh joins Mark Pascal and Francis Schott for a conversation about New Jersey agriculture, local produce, farmers markets, and why fresh food tastes different when it does not have to travel halfway across the country.

Why This Episode Matters

• Jersey Fresh is more than a label. It is a long-running New Jersey Department of Agriculture program built to connect farmers, ...

The Ghost of Jerry Thomas Has Notes | AI, Dale DeGroff & the Future of Cocktails 

Mark and Francis attempt the impossible: an interview with Jerry Thomas, the 19th-century bartending legend who helped write the book on American cocktails. With help from AI and a performance by cocktail icon Dale DeGroff, Jerry returns to judge the modern bar, defend showmanship, and remind bartenders that the guest still comes first.

Why...

This is a Vintage episode from 2006.

Julie Powell joins Mark Pascal and Francis Schott to talk about Julie & Julia, her year cooking 524 Julia Child recipes, and how a personal blog became a book before food blogging was a career path.

Why This Episode Matters

• Julie Powell captured an early moment in food blogging, before the form became mainstream.
• The interview took place before Julie & Julia became a movie, so the conver...

This is a Vintage episode from 2006

George Motz joins The Restaurant Guys to talk about Hamburger America, his documentary celebrating eight beloved burger institutions and the regional traditions, family pride, old grease, beef, and stubborn conviction that make them more than just places to eat. 

Why This Episode Matters

• Before smashburgers became trendy and before Hamburger America became a restaurant, George Motz was docu...

Chef David Burke joins Mark and Francis at the New Jersey Wine & Food Festival for a conversation about Jersey dining, restaurant ambition, early kitchen life, and the creative ideas that become a chef’s signature.

Why This Episode Matters

• David Burke’s career runs through New Jersey, New York City, and a national restaurant footprint, but this conversation brings him back to the Jersey roots that shaped him.
• David...

This is a Vintage episode from 2006

Why This Episode Matters

• Long before craft beer became mainstream, Garrett Oliver was arguing that beer belonged at the fine dining table
• This 2006 conversation captures the early days of American craft brewing before the explosion of brewery culture and IPA dominance
• Garrett explains why beer may pair with food better than wine — then challenges Francis to prove him wrong
• The episode explor...

About This Episode

Recorded in person at the New Jersey Wine & Food Festival at Crystal Springs Resort, this special episode features conversations with chefs, restaurateurs, producers and hospitality leaders shaping New Jersey’s food scene.

Featured Guests

• Mike Carino & Mike Cosenza — Mike’s Pasta & Sandwich Shop 
• Florian Wehrli — Crystal Springs Resort 
• Jacques Torres — Jacqu...

This is a Vintage episode from 2007.

Why This Episode Matters

• Before celebrity chefs became mainstream brands, chefs like Morou Ouattara and Gavin Kaysen were navigating what television exposure actually meant for serious working chefs.
• Morou Ouattara discusses bringing West African flavors into contemporary American cuisine years before global pantry ingredients became common.
• Gavin Kaysen reflects on competing as a young chef on ...

Why This Episode Matters

• What actually makes a great wine pairing
• How younger diners are changing wine culture and what that means for restaurants
• Where real wine value exists right now (hint: not where everyone’s looking)
• Why hospitality, not knowledge, is still the key to selling wine
• The evolving role of sommeliers in a less formal, more competitive dining world

The Banter

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott open the show swa...

This is a Vintage episode from 2010

Why This Episode Matters

• Why most Pinot Grigio on the market tastes the same—and how to spot the real thing
• The difference between DOC vs IGT wines (and why it actually matters in your glass)
• How geography—especially Trentino-Alto Adige—shapes flavor more than marketing ever will
• A candid look at wine pricing: what’s quality vs what’s branding

The Banter

Mark P...

Why This Episode Matters

• Elizabeth McCall, Master Distiller of Woodford Reserve, joins the show to talk bourbon, innovation, and what makes Woodford Reserve distinct in a crowded whiskey world.
• She explains how barrel toasting, proprietary yeast, fermentation, pot still distillation, and texture shape the Woodford Reserve house style.
• The conversation explores the current state of the whiskey market, including slowing demand, over...

This is a Vintage episode from 2008.

Why This Episode Matters

• Stephanie Izard joins the show just after winning Top Chef Season 4, while the moment is still fresh and the career shift is just beginning.
• She gives a candid look at how Top Chef compares to real restaurant life: the parts that felt authentic and the parts that felt more like high-pressure catering.
• The conversation captures Izard before her later restaurant empire, as...

Why This Episode Matters

• Michael Cecchi-Azzolina offers a front-of-house counterpart to the classic back-of-house memoir: a sharp, funny, often brutal look at how great New York City dining rooms really worked.
• The episode captures a vanished New York restaurant culture in which the maître d’ controlled access and the rhythm of the room long before reservation platforms flattened the experience.
• It explores how restaurants b...

This is a Vintage episode from 2005.

Why This Episode Matters

• Dr. Paul Rozin brings psychology into the dining room, explaining how culture shapes appetite, portion size, pleasure, and food anxiety.
• The episode gets at a question that still feels painfully current: why do Americans obsess over food and health, yet often get less pleasure and worse outcomes from eating?
• Paul’s comparisons between American and French attitudes ...

Why This Episode Matters

• Robby Younes explains how Crystal Springs Resort and the New Jersey Wine & Food Festival helped New Jersey recognized as a serious food-and-wine destination.
• Mark Pascal and Francis Schott connect the conversation to a bigger restaurant truth: in a tougher market, people are choosing fewer but better experiences and rewarding restaurants that feel human, memorable, and genuinely hospitable.
• Robby&rsquo...

This is a preview of a full subscriber episode from 2006.

Why This Episode Matters

• Tom Colicchio was already one of the most respected chefs in America, but this conversation catches him at a fascinating moment: building restaurants, debuting Top Chef, and defining what modern American dining could be.
• The episode gets at a bigger question than television: what makes a real chef leader, and why talent without professionalism is no...

Why This Episode Matters

• Paul Clarke explains why Imbibe has lasted 20 years by staying consumer-focused, independent, and credible.
• It’s also a great look at how cocktail culture changed over two decades, from teaching people the basics of a proper sour to telling deeper stories about the people and ideas shaping what we drink now.
• Mark Pascal and Francis Schott connect that editorial philosophy to hospitality itself: lead ...

This is a Vintage episode from 2007

Why This Episode Matters

• Though this is a vintage episode, many of the producers and traditions discussed here remain part of the American artisan cheese conversation today.
• American artisan cheese was growing fast, and this conversation captures the moment when local cheese in the U.S. stopped being a curiosity and became a movement.
• Jeff Roberts explains how better-informed consumers helped cre...