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
Preserving the Seasons: Canning, Pickling & Seasonal Cooking | Paul Virant
This is a Vintage episode from 2012.
Why This Episode Matters
Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott visit DeBragga & Spitler and get...
Knowing When to Change: Ice Cream, Fine Dining & Reinvention | Nicholas Harary
Why This Episode Matters
Nicholas Harary explains why he chose to reinvent one of New Jersey’s most acclaimed fine-dining restaurants before the business forced him to.A surprisingly technical look at what separates great ice cream from mediocre ice cream: butterfat, overrun, and the cold chain.Nicholas, Mark Pascal and Francis Schott debate whether traditional fine dining is dead or simply evolving.The conversation turns to Michelin: what its stars mean today, how the Guide’s expansion model complicates perceptions of independence, and why restaurateurs should always focus on the customers in the room.Banter
Ma...
The Mystique, Money and Madness of Truffles | Jane Black | Preview
You’re hearing a preview of this subscriber bonus episode. Restaurant Guys’ Regulars can hear the full episode, plus other commercial-free bonus episodes, at restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com .
This is a Vintage episode from 2006.
Why This Episode Matters
Stripper Food, Bachelor Parties & Other Bad Ideas | Inside Track
This is a Vintage compilation from 2010.
Why This Episode Matters
The Conversation
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott find the...
Can Local Food Save a Town? | Ben Hewitt
This is a Vintage episode from 2010.
Why This Episode Matters
Hardwick, Vermont became an early test case for whether local food and small agricultural businesses could help revitalize a struggling rural economy.Ben Hewitt challenges the feel-good version of the local food story: What happens when artisanal food creates jobs but remains too expensive for many people in the community?The conversation explores how small farms can compete through distinctive, value-added products rather than commodity agriculture.Mark, Francis and Ben dig into questions that remain central to the food system: affordability, farm viability, subsidies, food access...How Do We Get a New Generation Into Wine? | Tony Margiotta
Why This Episode Matters
Why wine may not be losing younger drinkers so much as failing to introduce itself to them wellHow small, independent producers can offer something industrial wine cannot: place, history and storyWhy wine education works better through tasting, comparison and discovery than scores and intimidationHow restaurants, retailers and wine lovers can make wine more approachable to people just beginning to explore itBanter
Francis returns from the Russian River Valley with a deeper appreciation for Pinot Noir and plenty to say about what he learned. The Guys talk about how tasting wines...
Heirloom Seeds, Local Farms & Better Food | Erica Renaud
This is a Vintage episode from 2006.
Why This Episode Matters
Erica Renaud explains why heirloom, traditional and open-pollinated seeds matter to agricultural biodiversity.Mark and Francis share how they worked directly with local farmers to plan crops, commit to purchases and even shoulder some of the farmer's risk.The conversation connects sustainable agriculture with something more immediate to a restaurant: better-tasting food.From backyard tomatoes to restaurant purchasing, they explore ways consumers, chefs and farmers can build a closer connection to where food comes from.
The Conversation
In 2006, organic farmer and researcher...
Authentic Italian Food vs. the Algorithm | Vincenzo Prosperi
Why This Episode Matters
Italian food isn’t one cuisine. Vincenzo Prosperi explains why Italy’s regional traditions matter—and what gets lost when everything is reduced to pizza, pasta and red sauce.Authenticity and innovation can coexist. The question isn’t whether chefs should create new dishes, but whether classics should be changed beyond recognition and still carry the old name.Social media is changing restaurants. Vincenzo, Mark and Francis dig into influencer culture, food designed for photographs and the pressure on restaurants to pay for attention.Preserving tradition means supporting the people still cooking it. Vincenzo is shift...Non-Alcoholic Pairings at Thomas Keller’s Restaurants | Paul Roberts
This is a Vintage episode from 2006.
Why This Episode Matters
Why guests who are not drinking deserve a beverage experience equal to the food, not simply still or sparkling water.How sommeliers can build non-alcoholic pairings using the same principles as wine: weight, acidity, texture and flavor.Why thoughtful glassware and presentation communicate that every guest matters.How one memorable beverage program can turn the non-drinker into the person who chooses the restaurant for the entire table.The Conversation
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott are joined by Master Sommelier Paul Roberts, then director...
Farm-to-Table Was Only the Beginning | Spike Gjerde
Why This Episode Matters
What local sourcing looked like before restaurants had reliable farm-to-kitchen distribution.Why supporting local agriculture is an economic commitment not merely a menu description.How “farm-to-table” became vulnerable to greenwashing and what genuine sourcing requires.Why whole-animal butchery, preservation and culinary craft are increasingly difficult to sustain under modern restaurant economics.Why “sustainable seafood” may be too simple and how ocean warming, acidification, habitat loss shape the larger story of what reaches the plate.The Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott return from Tales of the Cocktail with lessons in hospitality...and staff...
Can Wine Unlock Creativity? | Michael Gelb
This is a Vintage episode from 2010.
Why This Episode Matters
The Conversation
The Restaurant Guys, Mark Pascal and Francis Schott, welcome author and organizational consultant Michael Gelb to discuss Wine Drinking for Inspired Thinking: Uncork Your Creative Juices.
Michael connects wine and creativity...
The American Beefsteak: Politics and Excess | Sother Teague
Recorded live at the House of Suze during Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans 2026.
Why This Episode Matters
Discover how the American beefsteak became a tool for political organizing in New York and New Jersey.Learn the feast’s essential rules: endless meat, bread as a plate and no concern for remaining clean.Hear how Prohibition and women’s suffrage changed public drinking—and the beefsteak itself.Find out how New Jersey preserved the tradition after it faded elsewhere.The Conversation
Mark Pascal, Francis Schott and Sother Teague take the stage together to exp...
How Prohibition Backfired on America | Daniel Okrent
This is a Vintage episode from 2010.
Why This Episode Matters
How a freedom-loving nation came to outlaw the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol through a constitutional amendment.Why women’s suffrage, progressive reformers, wealthy industrialists and economic politics created unexpected alliances on both sides of Prohibition.How Prohibition fueled corruption and organized crime while weakening Americans’ respect for the law.Why speakeasies helped create nightclubs, cocktail parties and social drinking among men and women.The Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott debate a New York Times writer who confronted chef Marc Forgione afte...
Restaurant Trends That Don’t Add Up | Inside Track
Why This Episode Matters
The Guys taste ʻŌkolehao, a nearly lost Hawaiian spirit made from kī root, and explore its unusual history and revival.Why Michelin retired its Green Star—and why judging sustainability is far more complicated than judging what arrives at the table.The economic problem facing bars devoted exclusively to non-alcoholic cocktails.A simple way to uncover better bottles and better values when restaurant wine-list prices are climbing.The Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott welcome two of their favorite guests: each other.
Longtime listener Kelvin sends the Guys bottle numbe...
How Classic Cocktails Were Lost—and Found | Ted Haigh
This is a Vintage episode from 2006.
Why This Episode Matters
How America’s cocktail golden age flourished from the Gilded Age through Prohibition and how it eventually gave way to highballs and vodka.Why pre-Prohibition whiskey was stronger, more aromatic and dramatically different from much of what followed.How cocktail historians reconstruct forgotten drinks using antique bar guides, vintage bottles and nearly vanished ingredients.Why Ted Haigh believes cocktails should engage an adult palate rather than conceal alcohol beneath sweetness.Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott explore the emerging trend of beer cocktails, fr...
Hayman’s Gin: Tradition and Revival | James Hayman
This was recorded on-location at Bar Convent Brooklyn 2026
Why This Episode Matters
The First Great American Hospitality Empire | Stephen Fried
This is a Vintage episode from 2010.
This show was recorded in 2010 and discusses a high fructose corn syrup study in rats. The current human evidence does not support the Princeton rat-study implication that high fructose corn syrup is uniquely more fattening than sucrose, but excess added sugar in our food supply, as well as obesity, are still of concern today.
Why This Episode Matters
Fred Harvey built one of America’s first national hospitality systems, proving that restaurants could scale without abandoning quality, standards, or service.The Harvey organization changed railroad dining from a pun...Hotel Jerome and the Art of Quiet Luxury | Stephane Lacroix
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 flashHow historic hotels stay relevant without losing their sense of placeWhat leaders can do to build trust before asking employees to performWhy excellent service depends on communication and recovery, not perfectionBanter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott begin their Aspen Food & Wine Classic adventure at Hotel Jerome, where they found what they...
Wine, Restaurant Culture and What Makes Great Barbecue | Live from Aspen | Part II
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 standa...Regional Food, Restaurant Longevity and the Future of Hospitality | Live from Aspen | Part 1
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 Dieg...What Does Ethical Food Really Mean? | Jay Weinstein
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 shoppersHow farm subsidies can favor industrial agriculture over smaller farmsWhy ethical production and better flavor often meet at the same farmPractical ways to buy more responsibly without attempting dietary sainthoodThe enduring value of local farms, CSAs, seasonal produce, and preserving food at its peakBa...
Reviving Gage & Tollner and Reinventing Tropical Cocktails | St. John Frizell & Garret Richard
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 Conve...
Vineyard 7 & 8 and Spring Mountain Cabernet | Launny Steffens
This is a Vintage episode from 2005.
The Restaurant Guys welcome Launny Steffens, co-founder of Vineyard 7 & 8 in Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain District, for a conversation about mountain fruit, terroir, and the pursuit of a more food-friendly California Cabernet Sauvignon.
Why This Episode Matters
Launny explains why he chose Spring Mountain for Vineyard 7 & 8 and why elevation, slope, fog, and sun exposure matter in Napa Cabernet.The conversation explores terroir in practical terms: how land, weather, soil, and farming choices show up in the glass.The Guys discuss the tension between powerful “cult Cabernet” styles and wines...The Natural Wine Debate and the Future of Wine | Ray Isle
Ray Isle returns to The Restaurant Guys nearly 20 years after his first appearance to consider where wine is headed and whether the industry has made something pleasurable unnecessarily difficult.
Why This Episode Matters
Natural wine and biodynamic farming overlap in philosophy, but differ sharply in practice.Fifty years after the Judgment of Paris, its impact still reaches far beyond one famous blind tasting.Wine is facing real headwinds, including rising prices, intimidating choice and a growing disconnect from younger drinkers.The future of wine may depend less on prestige and more on accessibility, personal connection and...Market-Driven Brooklyn Dining Before the Hype | Liza Queen | Preview
This is a Vintage episode from 2005.
The Restaurant Guys welcome chef-owner Liza Queen of Queen’s Hideaway, a tiny Greenpoint restaurant where the menu changed with the market, the farmers, the smoker, and whatever was left in the kitchen by the end of the week.
Why This Episode Matters
How to Build a Team That Actually Cares | Preston Lee
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 scriptWhat younger employees need from restaurant leaders todayHow daily training creates consistency without overwhelming the staffWhy the employee experience directly shapes the guest experienceHow AI may make real human hospitality even more valuableBanter
Mark and Francis take aim at New York City’s new anti-alcohol campaign and its failure to acknowledge the social an...
Jersey Fresh, Local Farmers, and the Flavor of New Jersey | William Walker
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, supermarkets, restaurants, and consumers.William explains why “local” is not just feel-good marketing. Produce picked closer to ripeness often has better flavor, better texture, and...The Ghost of Jerry Thomas Has Notes | AI, Dale DeGroff & the Future of Cocktails
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 Episode Matters
Julie & Julia Before the Movie | Julie Powell
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 conversation is rooted in the original book and blog.Julie explains why Julia Child’s ambition, late start, and seriousness about cooking spoke to he...Hamburger America and the Great American Burger | George Motz
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 documenting regional burger culture across the United StatesThis episode captures an early moment in America’s burger renaissance, when great roadside burger stands still felt local, handmade, and deeply tied to pla...David Burke | Jersey Roots and Bold Restaurant Ideas
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, Mark, and Francis dig into the business realities behind restaurant growth, especially real estate, rising costs, payroll, and the value of owning the building.The episode looks at h...Beer vs. Wine: Which Pairs Better With Food? | Garrett Oliver
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 tableThis 2006 conversation captures the early days of American craft brewing before the explosion of brewery culture and IPA dominanceGarrett explains why beer may pair with food better than wine — then challenges Francis to prove him wrongThe episode explores brewing philosophy, Belgian traditions, and the business pressures of growthIncludes a fascinating snapshot of how small Brooklyn Brewery still was in 2006 — despite already becoming influentialThe Banter
Mark Pasc...
New Jersey Wine & Food Festival at Crystal Springs Resort 2026
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
Why This Episode Matters
This festival episode explores sourcing, craftsmanship, sustainability and hospitality through conversations with some of New Jersey’s leading culinary voices.
Topics...
The Next Iron Chef and the Reality of Restaurant Life | Morou Ouattara & Gavin Kaysen
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 The Next Iron Chef and how it shaped his career.The conversation becomes an unexpectedly thoughtful discussion about chef identity, and the reality behind “celebrity chef” culture.The Banter
Mark Pascal and F...
The Future of Wine Service | June Rodil
Why This Episode Matters
What actually makes a great wine pairingHow younger diners are changing wine culture and what that means for restaurantsWhere real wine value exists right now (hint: not where everyone’s looking)Why hospitality, not knowledge, is still the key to selling wineThe evolving role of sommeliers in a less formal, more competitive dining worldThe Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott open the show swapping stories about “elevating” takeout by adding better ingredients, dialing in details, and chasing that last 10% that turns good into spectacular.
The Conversation
June R...
Pinot Grigio Explained: Italian Wine Regions and Labels | Giovanni Barone | Preview
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 thingThe 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 willA candid look at wine pricing: what’s quality vs what’s brandingThe Banter
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott open with stories from interviewing restaurant staff highlighting a simple truth: honesty matters more than experience, especially in hospita...
Woodford Reserve and the Future of Bourbon | Elizabeth McCall
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, oversupply, tariffs, and why Woodford Reserve continues to grow.McCall discusses what a master distiller actually does — from liquid innovation to protecting the integrity of core products.The episode also looks at women in whiskey, changing bourbon dr...Winning Top Chef, Kitchen Culture, and Chicago Ambition | Stephanie Izard
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 she talks about searching for the right space for her next restaurant in Chicago.There’s a strong discussion of kitchen leadershipIt also preserves an...The Maître d’ Was God | Michael Cecchi-Azzolina
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 became the center of nightlife in 1980s New York, and how the city’s economic, social, and cultural shifts shaped the dining room.Beneath the wild stories is a real argument about hospitality: the l...Why Americans Feel Guilty About Food and the French Don’t | Dr. Paul Rozin
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 toward chocolate, cream, portions, and mealtime turn food culture into something concrete and memorable.Mark Pascal and Francis Schott push the conversation beyond nutrition into hospitality, and the cost of...