With 15 years of business expertise, Gabriella Borg Costanzi’s journey began with a serving job at 15. At 19, she moved to London and subsequently turned a Basic Supervisor at 22.
From numerous new openings to in-house choices, her stint with a big firm was invaluable. After discovering a ardour for wine in a small plate, Spanish & Italian-inspired restaurant, Gabriella briefly explored consulting and ventures outdoors the business earlier than returning to affix the opening workforce at Flor, the second restaurant of the Lyle’s workforce. Shifting onto Assistant Basic Supervisor at Lyle’s, she pursued a WSET diploma and reshaped the Wine program.
Amidst the challenges of beginning at Lyle’s in 2020, in the course of the pandemic, Gabriella emphasised the business’s want for sustainability, particularly specializing in psychological and bodily well-being. Her dedication deepened by means of engagement with Kelly’s Trigger. A shocking job supply prompted her transfer to DC, the place she assumed the function of GM and Wine Director on the two-Michelin-starred Pineapple & Pearls, adopted by a transfer a yr later to the Wythe.
Gabriella began at Le Crocodile in April 2023. Positioned in Williamsburg’s Wythe Lodge, Le Crocodile is an all-day neighborhood brasserie from Chef Companions Jake Leiber and Aidan O’Neal (of beloved Greenpoint restaurant Chez Ma Tante), serving earnest French fare in a setting impressed by their Parisian and New York favorites. As Service & Wine Director, Gabriella explains that the main focus is on generosity with their time, persistence, and data.
“With regard to wine, it’s the identical: winemakers we wish to showcase and wines we’re proud to pour with none inaccessible wall between the individual serving the wine and the individual ingesting it.”
The inspiration for the beverage program at Le Crocodile is easy; little or no added, little or no taken away. Le Crocodile presents meals and wine pairings by means of non-public eating and their Membership du Vin dinners. For Gabriella, it’s all concerning the feeling she will get concerning the meals and wine. “How concentrated is the flavour of the meals? How concentrated is the wine? How ripe, plush, dense, lean does this really feel? Does the depth of the meals match the depth of the wine? What’s the feeling you might have once you’re consuming and ingesting it? What’s the dream wine for this dish?”
Visitors can anticipate generosity, enjoyable, heat, and the liberty to indulge when visiting. Le Crocodile strives for tight requirements in order that their personalities can shine by means of. Gabriella is aware of that many individuals discover wine intimidating. “Wine might be costly, particularly if it’s not someplace you often put your cash, so, the sommelier ought to actually be discovering out what it’s you prefer to drink, what expertise you need and what would make dinner particular. And infrequently, that isn’t the case.
The suggestions that so many friends really feel uncomfortable in eating places the place wine performs an enormous function, that they find yourself simply saying ‘sure’ to one thing as a result of they really feel awkward making an attempt to speak extra once they don’t have the lingo, or they are saying ‘no’ to all pure/natural/biodegradable wine as a result of that one bottle that they had was defective and somebody instructed them that was ‘terroir,’ I imply what, an inhospitable expertise that’s.” Their servers and sommeliers are happy with what they’re serving and need folks to get pleasure from themselves. “We’re not making an attempt to reinvent the wheel – we’re a brasserie and no matter we can we wish to do it effectively, and constantly.”
