Definition: Maitre d’ – Short for maitre d’hi´tel
– In a restaurant , the person in charge of seating guests, receiving dining reservations, dealing with customer complaints, making sure that all the servers are completing their tasks in an efficient manner.
Definition: Career Maitre d’Hi´tel – Short for Nick Peyton, Maitre d’ and co-owner of Cyrus restaurant in Healdsburg, California
– An individual for whom creating a superior service experience is a way of life; one who has perfected the subtle art of fine service that is anticipatory yet unobtrusive; one who inspires his staff to do the same.
In his illustrious 40+ year career in the hospitality industry, Nick Peyton has perfected the art of approachable fine dining – an elusive combination of genuine warmth and personality combined with exacting execution. As the legendary talent behind San Francisco’s most renowned dining establishments, including Restaurant Gary Danko, The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton, Masa’s, and The Fifth Floor, Peyton has set the bar for the role of maitre d’.
On the brink of celebrating Cyrus’ milestone five-year anniversary in March with Chef/Co-Owner Douglas Keane, Peyton’s subtle service were helped earn Cyrus countless accolades including: four stars from the San Francisco Chronicle’s Michael Bauer, Two Michelin Stars, #1 Zagat’s Best New San Francisco Restaurants of the Decade(2009), and Gayot’s Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. (2010).
Nick Peyton would like to share his life-long insight on creating a five-star dining experience:
– Caring: Fine service is a passion and a talent. Customize each experience to match guests’ expectations. Greet all guests by name, offer reading glasses, personally chauffeur guests home after over-indulging.
– Intelligence: A 47-page handbook of service standards ensures mechanics of service experience are exact and unvarying.
– Personalization: On Cyrus’ champagne & caviar cart, Peyton’s own antique scale (discovered in Amsterdam) balances imported and domestic caviars against a half-ounce $20 gold coin.
For more information about Cyrus, visit www.cyrusrestaurant.com
Posted on 5/19/10.
