the opportunities I had. He opened a lot of doors for me but made it clear it was up to me to go through them. It was the best way to do it in this industry. If people think you’ re here because of someone you know, you experience a different acceptance and very little respect. But my passion and dedication for my work always produced results.
Getting back to your career, where did you go after Daniel?
After I had moved on from restaurant Daniel in late 2000, I realized I had submerged my entire life into working there, and I wanted something else. I staged at a few places looking for the right fit. I discovered I was used to working so meticulously, fast, and under extreme pressure that I would find myself chopping food just for the act of it as if I had to do something. I thought it was time for a little more balance in my life, and perhaps I may want a family one day.
I started at La Grenouille in the winter of 2000 as a Rotissuer. It was a classic iconic New York City French restaurant. It was also another very tough place to work. I focused my energy on cooking meat with different techniques. I even had to cook kidneys! I don’ t like organ meat at all, nor have I ever eaten one, but I had to learn how to cook them and cook them well, even though we would only sell maybe three orders a week.
In 2001, I moved on to La Caravelle with Troy Depuy. He had been the Exec Sous Chef at Lespinasse when I was there, so I was able to get my foot in the door, and it was a seamless transition. I had only been there three weeks on September 11, 2001. Due to the economic reaction, the restaurant was only doing 10-20 people a night for a few weeks. I was nervous about my position, as I was the newest employee. I will never forget when I heard something that will stick with me forever. Chef Troy was talking to the two owners who were inquiring about the possibility of cutting some staff. Chef told them“ If you want to get rid of anybody, you get rid of me first.” They stuck by him, and for two or three weeks, we continued to do 10 or so covers, but no one complained. Then that passed and things slowly returned to normal. It taught me to be loyal to my staff. He treated us respectfully, and we wanted to do our best for him!
Chef Troy wanted the restaurant to be more on the modern side of cooking. So half the menu was French classics, and the other half was modern. It was a difficult start, but slowly the more modern menu outsold the classics every night. I learned so much from Troy about fish and flavors, as well as seasoning / spices and cooking fish. We had been getting positive and great reviews from many sources, so Troy reminded us that any day we might be reviewed by the New York Times. Without saying anything, every day I would portion four pieces of each fish perfectly, and if the reviewer never came in I would just use them up. I did this for over two weeks because I wanted to be ready for the New York Times.
One night in the thick of the service the Chef looked over at me, and nonchalantly said the New York Times was here. So I ran off my station, and returned quickly with my perfectly portioned fish and said,“ Chef, which one would you like to use!” He looked at me, picked his fish, and we went on with business as usual. It went perfectly! The Chef had no idea that I had been doing that for some time. It just shows the amount of passion and respect I have for the food. Although we didn’ t get the four stars that year, we did earn three Michelin stars!
Why Muttontown Country Club?
After La Caravelle in 2002, I made a career decision to go into hotel side of cooking. I started at The Mark Hotel as a Sous Chef / Chef de Cuisine. They put me in numerous seminars that taught other sides of management in the kitchen- people, staff, schedules, personal interaction styles- it was great. I was there for two years, and was into a major lifestyle change, as it was during that time that I married my wife, Nicole. I wanted to start a family, so I needed to make some choices. I was commuting to the city from Long Island daily and decided to take a job as Sous Chef at the Muttontown Country Club, which was much closer to home in 2005. I met Troy Albert at Muttontown Country Club where he was General Manager. My life changed significantly for the better, and I’ ve been in the club scene ever since. During this time, I had my first son Anthony and my daughter Sofia. After my first year at Muttontown, I was promoted to Executive Chef and never looked back. I was there for five more years, and I reunited with Troy at the Sebonack Golf Club in 2009.
Sebonack is well recognized as one of the finest golf clubs in the world. Was the transition difficult?
Since I had worked closely with Troy in the past, the transition went extremely well. The club was in its early stages with the normal growing pains, and it was great to be part of an emerging club story on Long Island. I interviewed with the owner Mr. Pascucci, Mark Hissey, and Troy. They wanted to make sure the personal chemistry was solid, and that I knew how to cook. I accepted the position in March 2009. Shortly after joining, Mr. Pascucci wanted to taste the entire menu. That’ s when I realized I would be part of something different here. I had to make four different versions of chicken salad and tuna salad using different ingredients, and we had it all laid out at the bar for him to taste. Of course, he had questions about each dish and that’ s how we got started. I wasn’ t sure what to expect here, but it’ s certainly a high-end and quality driven culinary program. Sebonack has grown significantly from a food perspective since 2010, and we have a passionate and dedicated team always looking to expand our menu.
It seems like you’ re at home at Sebonack. Has the experience lived up to your expectations?
It’ s been a great experience working for the Pascucci family. Mr. Pascucci is tough, fair and has a passion for food. The ability to use such beautiful farm fresh ingredients is so important to me. The membership here is very exclusive. We have members who only dine here in the summer, despite having other alternatives in the Hamptons. Recently, a member pulled me over and said,“ I can eat anywhere I want, but I choose to eat here because you make this food wonderfully, the service is great, and the view is spectacular.” Comments like that are what every chef wants to hear, and makes me happy that our team earns the respect of our members every day.
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