The Restaurant Guys

Hotel Jerome general manager Stephane Lacroix shares how Aspen’s historic luxury hotel preserves its soul, builds a culture of service and delivers a guest experience rooted in quiet luxury. 
Why This Episode Matters
Why true luxury is more about attention than flash
How historic hotels stay relevant without losing their sense of place
What leaders can do to build trust before asking employees to perform
Why excellent  service depends on communication and recovery, not perfection
Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott begin their Aspen Food & Wine Classic adventure at Hotel Jerome, where they found what they considered the best cocktail bar in Aspen: Bad Harriet. The clue that someone was paying attention? A bottle of Hans Reisetbauer Carrot Eau de Vie on the back bar, which is not exactly the sort of thing that wanders in by accident.
The Conversation
Stephane Lacroix joins Mark and Francis at Hotel Jerome in Aspen to talk about leadership, luxury and the daily work of making guests feel deeply cared for. He traces his path from French hospitality and sommelier training to roles at some of the world’s most celebrated hotels and restaurants, including Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, the Ritz Paris, the Watergate Hotel, Hotel Bel-Air and Baccarat Hotel New York.
The conversation centers on Hotel Jerome, a historic Aspen property that Stephane describes as having real soul. Rather than reinventing the hotel, his work is to protect its character, connect with the community and keep the guest experience current without making it feel generic.
Mark shares a story from Julie’s childhood visit to Hotel Jerome, when a young guest who wanted McDonald’s was served exactly that under a cloche. For Mark and Francis, it becomes a perfect example of hospitality: making someone feel like the most important person in the room.
Stephane also discusses training, trust, service recovery and why great hospitality cannot be scripted. The team is expected to communicate mistakes, recover quickly and quietly watch over guests without overwhelming them. By the end, he defines modern luxury as “quiet luxury”: knowing who your guests are, being there when they need you and letting them be when they do not.

Timestamps
0:00 Mark and Francis introduce Hotel Jerome and Bad Harriet
3:30 Stephane Lacroix joins from Aspen
4:40 From French hospitality school to Ducasse, the Ritz and the Watergate
9:30 Why hospitality people should only text from the car
12:15 The McDonald’s-under-a-cloche story
15:00 Hotel Jerome’s history, soul and sense of place
18:30 Resetting the hotel and the team each spring
25:00 Understated luxury and Aspen’s local culture
30:30 Training, trust and avoiding scripted service
35:30 Mistakes, recovery and treating every guest like a VIP
41:00 Quiet luxury and the power of human connection

Bio
Stephane Lacroix is the general manager of Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colorado, part of Auberge Resorts Collection. His hospitality career includes work at Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, the Ritz Paris, the Watergate Hotel, Hotel Bel-Air, the Beverly Hills Hotel, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and Baccarat Hotel New York. At Hotel Jerome, he leads one of Aspen’s most historic luxury hotels with a focus on culture, community and deeply personal service.
Info

Hotel Jerome
Part of Auberge Resorts Collection
Aspen, Colorado
https://aubergeresorts.com/hoteljerome/
Bad Harriet
Hotel Jerome’s speakeasy cocktail bar https://aubergeresorts.com/hoteljerome/dine/bad-harriet/
If you want a chance to get two tickets to our Bourbon, Beer & Beefsteak and live recording with Sother Teague and Jack McGarry in New Orleans on July 21, 2026,
sign up to be a Restaurant Guys Regular (our paid subscribers) here  https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/ 
Then email TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com. Put "beefsteak" in the subject line. 
We'll pick the winner and let you
Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular
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Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/
Stage Left Wine Shop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Our Places
Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/
Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/
Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Recorded at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Mark Pascal and Francis Schott continue their conversations with three people who know how to make complicated subjects feel immediate: sommelier and wine communicator Amanda McCrossin, Master Sommelier and restaurateur Bobby Stuckey, and chef, author and television host Andrew Zimmern.
Why You Should Listen
Amanda McCrossin
Why wine should feel fun and accessible—not like knowledge you had to inherit.
The case for putting ice in wine, trusting your own taste and keeping “wine-tainment” accurate.
Bobby Stuckey
Why strong restaurant culture still depends on standards, systems and “constant, gentle pressure.”
How growing a restaurant group can create meaningful opportunities for the people who helped build it.
Andrew Zimmern
What convinced him to enter the competition-show world with Food Network’s Pitmasters.
How regional barbecue is evolving through Japanese, South Asian and other cultural influences.
Why great barbecue depends on balance, excellent meat and precise doneness—and why live-fire cooking is not automatically barbecue.

The Guests
Amanda McCrossin
Amanda McCrossin is a certified sommelier, wine personality and creator of SommVivant, where she makes wine approachable across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. A former sommelier and wine director at PRESS Restaurant in Napa Valley, she now hosts the Wine Access Unfiltered Podcast, contributes to Wine Enthusiast and speaks at major food and wine events around the world. 
Amanda’s site
https://www.amandamccrossin.com/

Bobby Stuckey
Bobby Stuckey is a Master Sommelier and founder and partner of Frasca Hospitality Group. After working at The Little Nell and The French Laundry, he co-founded Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, inspired by the hospitality and cuisine of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
The group also includes Tavernetta, Sunday Vinyl, Pizzeria Alberico, Osteria Alberico and Tavernetta Vail. Stuckey is also a winemaker, cookbook author and longtime advocate for independent restaurants and hospitality professionals.
Frasca Hospitality Group
https://www.frascahospitalitygroup.com/team-member/bobby-stuckey/

Andrew Zimmern

Andrew Zimmern is an Emmy- and James Beard Award-winning television host, chef, writer, teacher and producer best known for the Bizarre Foods franchise. He is also the host and head judge of Food Network’s Pitmasters, a competition in which teams manage fire, fatigue and continuous barbecue challenges over an extended cook. His other projects include Wild Game Kitchen, books, culinary travel experiences and media companies Food Works and Intuitive Content. 
Andrew’s site
https://andrewzimmern.com/

Timestamps
0:00 The small restaurant world—and the second round of conversations from Aspen
2:10 Amanda McCrossin: Making wine less intimidating and more fun
10:30 Ice in wine, personal taste and the controversy of la piscine
15:30 The ten-year road to becoming an “overnight” wine-media success
22:30 Bobby Stuckey: Building destination restaurants outside major dining capitals
29:30 Growth, restaurant culture and the systems behind great hospitality
37:00 Andrew Zimmern on Pitmasters, open-fire cooking and luxury ice fishing
44:30 Regional barbecue, global influences and what separates great from merely good
56:30 Andrew discovers the unofficial appetizer hiding at the end of the skewer
If you want a chance to get two tickets to our Bourbon, Beer & Beefsteak and live recording with Sother Teague and Jack McGarry in New Orleans on July 21, 2026,
sign up to be a Restaurant Guys Regular (our paid subscribers) here  https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/ 
Then email TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com. Put "beefsteak" in the subject line. 
We'll pick the winner and let you
Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular
https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/
Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/
Stage Left Wine Shop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Our Places
Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/
Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/
Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Recorded live at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Mark Pascal and Francis Schott sit down with four influential voices shaping American food and hospitality. Food & Wine Editor in Chief Hunter Lewis and chefs Claudette Zepeda, Cassidee Dabney, and Melissa Perello.
Why You Should Listen
Hunter Lewis
Why the Aspen Classic feels like “adult food and wine summer camp” and still makes even celebrated chefs bring their A game.
How live events and genuine human connection offer something algorithms and AI cannot replicate.
Claudette Zepeda
How growing up between Tijuana and San Diego shaped her expansive understanding of Mexican cuisine, migration, and cultural identity.
Why authenticity is personal and how Cooking the Borderlands preserves the recipes and stories that might otherwise disappear.
Cassidee Dabney
How Appalachian cooks transform seasonal necessity, preservation, and humble ingredients into deeply expressive cuisine.
Why the future of luxury dining may be less about spectacle and more about thoughtful food, analog experiences, and being genuinely cared for.
Melissa Perello
How Frances and Octavia became enduring San Francisco neighborhood restaurants by building committed teams and lasting community relationships.
Why restaurant longevity depends on consistency, evolution, and doing excellent work long after the opening-night attention has moved elsewhere.
The Guests

Hunter Lewis
Hunter Lewis has served as Editor in Chief of Food & Wine since 2017. A former professional cook, he previously held senior editorial roles at Cooking Light, Southern Living, Bon Appétit, and Saveur. Under his leadership, Food & Wine has received honors from the James Beard Foundation, the IACP, and the American Society of Magazine Editors.
Food & Wine https://www.foodandwine.com/

Claudette Zepeda
Claudette Zepeda is a San Diego–based chef, writer, television personality, and founder of Chispa Hospitality. Her cooking explores regional Mexican food and the cultural exchange found along the U.S.–Mexico border.
Her debut cookbook, Cooking the Borderlands: Spice and Smoke Between Mexico and the States, combines personal stories with more than 100 recipes reflecting the intertwined communities and culinary traditions of the borderlands. 

Cassidee Dabney
Cassidee Dabney is Executive Chef of The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. She joined Blackberry Farm in 2010 and became executive chef of The Barn in 2015.
Her multicourse menus express Blackberry Farm’s seasonal Foothills Cuisine, drawing from Appalachian traditions, the property’s gardens, and regional farms. The Barn has received James Beard Awards for Outstanding Wine Program and Outstanding Service. 
Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN
https://www.blackberryfarm.com/ 

Melissa Perello
Melissa Perello is the chef-owner of Frances and Octavia in San Francisco. A Culinary Institute of America graduate and former Food & Wine Best New Chef, she is known for seasonal California cooking that combines fine-dining technique with the warmth and accessibility of a neighborhood restaurant.
Frances offers a rotating, ingredient-driven menu in a relaxed neighborhood setting, while sister restaurant Octavia presents Perello’s modern California sensibility on a larger scale. 
Frances Restaurant, San Francisco, CA
https://www.frances-sf.com/
Timestamps
1:00 Hunter Lewis: Why Aspen makes the food world bring its A game
4:00 Live events, human connection, and what AI cannot replicate
8:00 Claudette Zepeda: The multicultural food of Tijuana and the borderlands
16:00 Preserving family recipes, defining authenticity, and cooking under pressure
27:30 Cassidee Dabney: What defines Appalachian cuisine
35:30 The future of luxury hospitality and making home cooking luxurious
42:30 Melissa Perello: Building Frances and Octavia for the long haul
51:30 Restaurant community, staff longevity, and the next chapter in San Francisco
If you want a chance to get two tickets to our Bourbon, Beer & Beefsteak and live recording with Sother Teague and Jack McGarry in New Orleans on July 21, 2026,
sign up to be a Restaurant Guys Regular (our paid subscribers) here  https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/ 
Then email TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com. Put "beefsteak" in the subject line. 
We'll pick the winner and let you
Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular
https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/
Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/
Stage Left Wine Shop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Our Places
Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/
Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/
Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

This is a Vintage episode from 2006.
Jay Weinstein, author of The Ethical Gourmet, explains how everyday food choices affect farmers, animals, workers, the environment—and what ultimately ends up on the plate.
Why This Episode Matters
Why inexpensive food may carry environmental and taxpayer-funded costs that are hidden from shoppers
How farm subsidies can favor industrial agriculture over smaller farms
Why ethical production and better flavor often meet at the same farm
Practical ways to buy more responsibly without attempting dietary sainthood
The enduring value of local farms, CSAs, seasonal produce, and preserving food at its peak
Banter
Mark and Francis begin with an important distinction: a cookout is not necessarily barbecue. From college pig roasts that finished around 2:00 a.m. to whole-hog dining in Manhattan, the conversation becomes a loving tribute to smoke, pork, poor planning, and the dangerous optimism of hungry men.
The Conversation
Jay Weinstein joins the show to discuss The Ethical Gourmet and the confusion surrounding terms such as organic, natural, local, humane, and sustainable. He argues that diners do not need to solve every problem in the food system; even switching to products such as organic dairy and eggs can support better farming practices. The discussion examines the hidden costs of inexpensive food, including agricultural subsidies, petroleum-based fertilizers, industrial production, and the pressure placed on smaller farms. Jay, Mark, and Francis also explore whether ethically raised food necessarily tastes better, agreeing that the difference becomes especially clear with well-raised chicken, meat, eggs, and ripe seasonal produce. The conversation closes with local farms, CSAs, preserving tomatoes and fruit, and one essential summer commandment: do not refrigerate a good tomato.
Timestamps
0:00 Cookouts, real barbecue, and the hazards of roasting a whole pig
7:25 Jay Weinstein and the idea behind The Ethical Gourmet
10:25 One simple ethical food choice anyone can make
16:35 Can ordinary families afford ethically produced food?
19:00 The hidden costs of cheap food and agricultural subsidies
24:00 Local farms, CSAs, seasonal produce, and preserving the harvest
31:00 Why good tomatoes should never be refrigerated
Bio
Jay Weinstein is a chef, journalist, and author of The Ethical Gourmet. His work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and Travel + Leisure, and he previously cooked at Le Bernardin.
Info
The Ethical Gourmet by Jay Weinstein
C-A-J-A-C-H-I-N-A, https://lacajachina.com/
Local Harvest
https://www.localharvest.org/locations/
If you want a chance to get two tickets to our Bourbon, Beer & Beefsteak and live recording with Sother Teague and Jack McGarry in New Orleans on July 21, 2026,
sign up to be a Restaurant Guys Regular (our paid subscribers) here  https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/ 
Then email TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com. Put "beefsteak" in the subject line. 
We'll pick the winner and let you
Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular
https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/
Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/
Stage Left Wine Shop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Our Places
Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/
Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/
Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Recorded live before an audience at Sunken Harbor Club in Brooklyn.
Why This Episode Matters
 Gage & Tollner’s revival shows how a historic restaurant can be preserved without turning it into a museum. 
 Sunken Harbor Club demonstrates how tropical cocktail history can be reworked through modern technique, research, and strong storytelling. 
 St. John and Garret offer practical insight into crowdfunding, opening during COVID, and building a destination bar above a landmark restaurant. 
 The conversation connects serious non-alcoholic cocktails, classic steakhouse drinks, the Martini, and Charles H. Baker Jr. to the larger evolution of cocktail culture.
The Conversation
The live conversation opens with Mark admitting that it took him several meetings to realize writer St. John Frizell and bartender “Sinjin” Frizell were the same person. Francis recalls Garret recognizing The Restaurant Guys at Tales of the Cocktail, back when being recognized in public was still a notable event.
From there, St. John tells the improbable story of finding Gage & Tollner’s landmarked interior beneath the remains of a TGI Fridays, an Arby’s, and a makeshift mall. He explains how 450 crowdfunding investors helped revive the historic Brooklyn oyster and chophouse and how the restaurant was preparing to open when COVID closed New York.
Garret traces Sunken Harbor Club from a weekly pop-up to one of the country’s most distinctive cocktail bars. He explores forgotten tropical formats, historic steakhouse drinks, the challenge of creating serious non-alcoholic cocktails, and the timelessness of the Martini. 
The conversation also reaches Charles H. Baker Jr., his amazing life and the idea that a great drink can be built as much on story and context as on the recipe itself.

Timestamps
00:00 Live from Sunken Harbor Club
02:00 St. John, Sinjin and a James Bond pronunciation lesson
04:00 Garret’s first encounter with The Restaurant Guys
05:30 The opening cocktails and Sunken Harbor’s menu philosophy
08:30 Gage & Tollner prepares to open as COVID closes New York
11:00 How the Sunken Harbor Club began as a weekly pop-up
14:00 Finding Gage & Tollner behind false walls
17:00 Raising $450,000 from 450 crowdfunding investors
20:00 Reconstructing forgotten cocktails and the Cross Current
25:30 Historic steakhouse drinks meet tropical cocktails
30:30 Why serious non-alcoholic cocktails are so difficult
42:00 Martinis, Charles H. Baker and cocktails built around stories

Bios
St. John Frizell is a writer, restaurateur and co-owner of Gage & Tollner and Sunken Harbor Club in Brooklyn. His work has appeared in publications including Bon Appétit, Saveur and Punch, and he is also the founder of the acclaimed Red Hook restaurant and bar Fort Defiance and a noted authority on cocktail writer and adventurer Charles H. Baker Jr. 
Garret Richard is the Chief Cocktail Officer of Sunken Harbor Club and the co-author, with Ben Schaffer, of Tropical Standard. His career includes acclaimed cocktail programs at Existing Conditions, Slowly Shirley, ZZ’s Clam Bar and Exotica, and VinePair named him its 2024 Next Wave Bartender of the Year.
Info
Sunken Harbor Club
Brooklyn, New York
Gage & Tollner
Brooklyn, New York
Tropical Standard
By Garret Richard and Ben Schaffer

If you want a chance to get two tickets to our Bourbon, Beer & Beefsteak and live recording with Sother Teague and Jack McGarry in New Orleans on July 21, 2026,
sign up to be a Restaurant Guys Regular (our paid subscribers) here  https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/ 
Then email TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com. Put "beefsteak" in the subject line. 
We'll pick the winner and let you
Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular
https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/
Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/
Stage Left Wine Shop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Our Places
Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/
Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/
Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com