Silvano Giraldin
photo: Courtesy Le Gavroche
Everyone’s seen those family trees showing the lineage of chefs from restaurant to restaurant, from the Big Daddy originators to the current young hotshots. Yet it’s not often that we pay similar attention to that key position that keeps a restaurant running smoothly: the general manager.
Last year saw the retirement of one of London’s most revered front-of-house maestros, Silvano Giraldin, who was the public face of Le Gavroche for 37 years. Starting his career at a catering college in his native Italy, Giraldin then travelled throughout Europe to learn languages (he speaks five) and experience life in different countries – a valuable background for dealing with an international clientele. In 1971, at the age of 23, he started as a waiter at Le Gavroche and became general manager by 1975. He later founded the Academy of Culinary Arts' “Les Artes de la Table” as well as its first service competition.
While Giraldin remains one of Le Gavroche’s directors, his managerial mantle has been passed on to Emmanuel Landre, a 10-year veteran who worked his way up from waiter to assistant manager under Giraldin before assuming his current role.
But Landre isn’t the only one who learned his craft from one of the best. Here’s a look at the rest of Giraldin’s family tree:
Jean-Claude Breton: Now at the helm of Gordon Ramsay’s flagship, 68 Royal Hospital Rd., Breton met Ramsay during his tenure at Le Gavroche (1979–1989) and first joined him for the 1993 opening of Aubergine. Meanwhile, one of Breton’s protégés, Stephane Reaubourg, is now putting his skills to good use at Tom Aikens.
Enzo Cassini: Working at Le Gavroche from 1988–1990 prepared Cassini to manage Zafferano, where he’s kept the same team since the restaurant opened in 1995.
Dominic Corolleur: Before joining Hélène Darroze at The Connaught last year, Corolleur worked with Jean-Claude Breton at Royal Hospital Rd. and other restaurants in the Ramsay stable.
Michel Lang: Trained under Giraldin at Le Gavroche from 1982–83 and now manages Alain Ducasse’s Louis XV in Monte Carlo.
Diego Masciaga: After working for Giraldin from 1982–86, Masciaga landed at The Waterside Inn in 1988 and became manager after just five months – he’s now been there for two decades.
Thierry Tomasin: Tomasin was chef sommelier at Le Gavroche from 1991–2002, then left to become general manager at Aubergine and finally opened his own restaurant, Angelus, in 2007.
– Susan Kessler