to have a good restaurant Undoubtedly, looking at customer service is essential. It is through it, not just the starred chef or the great wine list, that makes diners come back – and often become regular customers.
No wonder the waiters got a day just for them, the 11th of August. This Thursday, CNN Travel & Gastronomy decided to pay tribute to Waiter’s Day with this small sample of professionals from São Paulo who, with their friendliness, are always willing to offer the best experience to diners.
Moses from La Casserole
The city center, in São Paulo, right there in Largo do Arouche, a pearl of São Paulo gastronomy, is pleased to have the services of Moses de Souza Lima . For 34 years, this Pernambuco native has been dedicated to serving diners of the traditional La Casserole .
Until the plate reaches the table, the path is long, and Moses knows each one of them. In 1988, he started washing dishes, became a chef’s assistant and stayed in the kitchen for 5 years. But because of his charisma and kindness, he was invited to go to the salon in 1993, where he never left.
Of all the good stories he has experienced, he has no doubt about one: “Working at La Casserole taught me how to eat well, it sharpened my taste buds”, he says. The dish he likes to prepare and eat the most is steak tartare, which he learned to make with founder Dona Touna (an affectionate nickname for Fortunée Henry). “I remember that the first time I prepared the recipe, I left the dish green with so much mustard I put it in”, he laughs. Currently, he is one of the waiters who gives a show to customers, seasoning the dish with mastery in the hall.
Gomes, from Ici Bistro
The first person who comes to talk to you as soon as we sit at the table in the Ici Bistro in Higienópolis, is the maître d’ Valdeci Gomes . And whether you’re a newcomer to the restaurant or a regular at chef Benny Novak’s house, it doesn’t matter: it feels like you’ve known him for years.
All because Gomes has the ability to make everyone feel at home. Suddenly, we are there telling family stories and discussing the news of the day. After all, it’s been 21 years working in the halls of this small – but giant – restaurant and, today, helping to harmonize dishes with the best wines.
There are so many stories to tell… But the most fun, according to him, was undoubtedly when he received two couples for dinner, and, when he took them to the table, “one sat with the wife of one and the other sat with the wife of the other one.” another”, he remembers with a laugh.
Those who know him are also proud of the social project focused on sports that he launched 11 years ago in Capão Redondo: Talentos do Capão. An initiative that started with 12 children and now serves 150. “It was a joke, because my son had a breathing problem and needed to swim to get better. Today, he became an airline pilot. For you to see how history can change.”
Freddy’s Gildo
Gildo’s WhatsApp photo already reveals that he met a lot of important people. In the click, he appears next to Pele, with the biggest smile on his face and a strong handshake. Hermenegildo Irineu Oliveira is 62 years old and 34 of them were dedicated to the restaurant’s customers Freddy .
In the salons of this French house, opened in 1965, there are politicians, judges and personalities, all in search of tradition – from boeuf bourguignon to foie de veau. And it’s Gildo, who started out as a cashier and now serves as the grand maître d’ and sommelier, that everyone wants to talk to.
“It’s a profession that depends on you to succeed. It has its difficulties, of course, like the crazy schedules, but the most pleasant thing is living with the public. I really enjoy doing what I do”, says Gildo. “I feel part of a family here.”
Pacheco, from Pé de Manga
who attends the Mango tree , in Vila Madalena, you already know what you will find. If it’s a Saturday, you’ll have a little fresh air and lots of green in the middle of the city of São Paulo, with a menu full of tasty snacks for a refreshing drink, as well as the Fredson Pacheco a waiter who has been there for 14 years, receiving everyone with attention and care.
Always in a good mood, Pacheco, of course, sometimes needs to have a lot of patience when stressed customers arrive, who “mistreat their colleagues and in the end don’t pay the 10%”. But he needs to have a waist game, right? Who hasn’t been nervous at work?
The way is to collect memories and take life lighter. Pacheco says that “one sunny Saturday day”, a customer helped himself to the feijoada buffet and, on his way back, distracted and talking, he slipped and fell into the lake outside the Pé de Manga area.
“The whole plate fell on him. We ran to help him, but in the end everyone laughed a lot and he insisted on staying at the restaurant.” And it always comes back, of course.
Santana by Die Meister Stube
Full tables and a captive audience make the day-to-day Evaldo Santana a rush. There goes 20 years of working as a waiter at the German restaurant Die Meister Stube in the Campo Belo neighborhood, and he has nothing but good things to say.
He is a natural communicator, one of those who love to interact with customers and who are always open to hear their stories. There’s only good things to say about the profession – but like every human being, he confesses that he would like to have weekends just for himself and his family.
Of all the stories he spent in these two decades at the restaurant, he laughs to this day when he remembers the excitement of the whole house, with the waiters together, singing in a loud and good tone, “Happy Birthday” – who has never experienced that? Evaldo took the cake in his hands and arrived, all excited… at the wrong table. “My boss’s fault for getting confused. To this day she remembers this story and dies of laughter.”
Source: CNN Brasil
