The Secret Weapons Behind the Country’s Top Restaurants – TAG Restaurant (Zagat)
Zagat
FEATURE
The Secret Weapons Behind the Country’s Top Restaurants
By Zagat Staff
March 18, 2015
When it comes to the success of a restaurant or bar, executive chefs and general managers usually get all the attention. But as even they will tell you, it’s the people who quietly keep things running from day to day who truly deserve the glory. Today, we’re turning the spotlight onto the crack team of butchers, barbacks and maitre d’s who help the country’s top restaurants thrive.
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Name: Delfina Serrano
Title: “Kitchen Mama” at TAG
Stats: Serrano (just like the chile) started on dish duty at TAG on the day it opened in 2009, and she’s the longest-tenured employee, never having missed a single day of work save for her vacation time. Completely self-taught, Serrano makes all the potstickers and fresh pastas; she breaks down all the fish and meats; and she makes the gnocchi, the stocks and the sushi rice. “She’s the backbone of TAG and TAG Restaurant Group. You name it, she does it,” says exec chef and owner Troy Guard.
Secrets to success: Serrano was named the TAG “Rock Star Employee of 2014,” beating out 250 other staff members in the TAG Restaurant Group, an empire of seven food temples. She’s the mother of two and three months pregnant, “and she’s still the hardest working employee we have,” says Guard, adding that while she has a motherly approach, “everyone knows she’s a badass.” In addition, Serrano is responsible for getting the prep crews in line at every new restaurant that Guard opens.
Future plans: Continue to work her way up the ladder.
1441 Larimer St.; 303-996-9985