Brian: Tell us a little about yourself and where you’re from and what kind of training you’ve had.

Sebastian: I’m from Harbor, Connecticut born and raised which is a small city. My grandma had a restaurant for 25 years, my uncle had 3, and my cousin had 2. I’d get home from seventh grade through middle school, have an hour to get homework done then have a half hour to forty- five minutes to get ready for dinner. At seven years old I was doing salads, pizzas, breads, everything, so pretty much, I started working when I was
seven. I moved down to Florida when I was fifteen in ’92 because of family reasons and went to culinary school in Fort Lauderdale. The art institute back then was a small school, you had to go in and get tested. You had to get recommended from a chef first. They didn’t want drop, outs they wanted a hundred percent graduates from classes. School was a little pricey, but it was a really good program. Once you got in, well you had to do a mystery box for the master chef and you had two hours to prepare one course, which is plenty of time. And he would taste it and if you got in then you got in, if you didn’t, then you could try again the next year. But I got in the first time. Never graduated, unfortunately never graduated. I had family situations.

 Brian: How long wrere you there?

Sebastian: It was an eighteen month run. I wasn't interested in a bachelor’s, because I think you can learn more in the field then you can in school. School is simply learning the basics then you can take it from there. I didn’t think a bachelors was really necessary, so I left school and the master chef got me a job over at East City Grill and Café Max over in Fort Lauderdale…

Brian: East City Grill?

Sebastian: Yea, it’s not there anymore. But we had a fourteen man kitchen, and we did anywhere from nine to fourteen different courses, one vegan, one mixed.  There were seven thousand bottled wines there; it was insane, great place, great place.

Brian: After working in the Fort Lauderdale area, how did you end up back at Naples?

Sebastian: I was staying with roommates from college and I decided to come back. I missed fishing, so I moved back and just started working at Bay Side, kind of wasted my time, because they were the talk of the town and kind of full. I left there and went to Chops City Grille.

Brian:  From Chops City Grill, you went to Aqua Grill, and also started your personal chef business.

Sebastian: Right, which I still do…

Brian: How did you get involved with Naples Tomato?

Sebastian:  I told them, "Look I’ll stay with you through season, just let me do some of my parties on Sunday and stuff." The owner and I were discussing that we weren’t doing the right business and he was someone that was good at listening to the guests, which I find to be very important in the restaurant business. And they decided to go with this system like in wine shops. They have a room where you can taste wines, the new ones that come in or bottles that they have on hand. What this
is are all the wines that are on our menu, so when you come in and wait to be seated you can taste different wines and that way you have already decided what you want when you get to the table.

Brian: So all of these bottles are available on your menu?

Sebastian: Correct, I think we have about 36 different wines on the menu that you can taste.

Brian: Then of course you have the wines that are available by the glass that you can taste as well right?

Sebastian: Right, these in this room you can get in 1, 3, or 6 once pours. So you get a choice, and then all the tasting notes are up here and they constantly are changing, you know.

Brian:  Now is this a Couvinet system?

Sebastian: It’s an advanced Couvinet system. Yes, it’s almost like…the bottles here are always selling, never resting.

Brian: So let’s talk more about you here a Naples Tomato and your guests. You’ve been here for a little bit over 2 years?

Sebastian: Yes

Brian: If you could have a conversation with every guest that dines here in your restaurant what type of…what do you think that conversation would go like, what would you ask them?

Sebastian:  When having a conversation with a guest you  have to understand where they're coming from. Number one is always their satisfaction. Whether with the cuisine, the service, they should be satisfied. When I talk to a guest, which I try to do on a regular basis, we always talk about the food first, then usually wine comes up and the service. Questions I would ask them: Is there any recommendations? We do have a questionnaire that is out there online, which helps us a lot.

Brian: Do people utilize that a lot?

Sebastian: Yes   

Brian: Talking about the industry itself, not necessarily locally but the whole restaurant industry. What trends do you see? 

Sebastian: The new food science, the molecular gastronomy. 

Brian:  You know one of the great trends out there is buying local. Do you buy local yourself?

Sebastian: Yes, I buy local.

Brian: Do you find that there is enough local product to support what you do?

Sebastian: Quality wise no I’m not very happy with the quality here, you know.

Brian: So what do you think that’s due to?

Sebastian:  Look at the soil… you know that’s number one and another thing is look at the salty air. You know if you grab our tomatoes here and then you grab a tomato from California, I’d rather have a tomato from California any day, our tomatoes here are, and don’t get me wrong their good, but they're used for ketchup, if you really think about it. I mean their used for sauces and things and there are some good tomatoes here, but they almost have a salty, almost sulfury type of flavor. If you eat a tomato from California its fruity, its flavorful, it’s a really beautiful tomato and I think soil’s got to play a really big part of it. Organics are great and it's all I use for my personal chef business.

Brian: What does the 'green craze' mean to you? 

Sebastian: I really appreciate what it is, but it's so expensive.

Brian: List a couple of chefs who were your inspirations?

Sebastian: Mario Batali, I think for being a TV chef. He’s the man. No one knows food better then him. You know I think that Emeril, giving credit for what he’s done, he’s brain washed people. I think that he is definitely a people person, you know what I mean and his food is very comfort and easy to see, but he’s a game show host. Look at him though he’s top dog and he, I think, started the culinary spotlight and I do give him credit for that. It took some one like that to open it up, a game show host, and some one to look at.  Daniel Humm, I think that I would work for him.

Daniel is from California, and now he’s in new York, but he’s the sweetest chef . He’s about 6 foot 8 and works at the Eleven Madison, but he worked with Gérard Rabaey, the food scientist. I think he is someone who is balanced out. 

Brian: Well let’s talk about the level you want to go to, what do you see for your future?

Sebastian: I love fine dining, there’s not fine dining in this town. You have artesians and they are closed 6 months out of the year. Why am I here, I don’t know? I did pass up a job in New York, but  I didn’t want to raise my family in New York, so my family is a big part of it.  I’m here and this is comfort food, and this is not what I really want to do, but I’m building up something  that I’m not good at, and that’s the business side of things.

Brian: Do you see yourself owning your own place one day?

Sebastian: No, you know my uncle owns 3 and my cousins own 2 and my grandma owns a restaurant, and I know what goes into it and this is where I want to be. I have my own business as a private chef and that’s as far as I’ll go.

Brian: What would you say your style of cooking is?

Sebastian: I'm good at quick thinking, you can put a few ingredients in front of me and you know if I haven’t tried it, I’ll figure it out and get it together.

Brian: So if you had to put together a menu every night out of a mystery basket, you’d be happy with that?

Sebastian: Oh yeah! I love that stuff more then anything.

Brian: Do you cook at home much?

Sebastian: It depends. I guess yeah I do, I mean do I go all out, no. Every six months I go crazy at home and my son has had foie gras and truffle and all that, but most of the time, its just mac and cheese, hamburgers and steaks. 

Brian: In your kitchen what one piece of equipment can you not live without?

Sebastian: I have an alto sham, double stacked and the thing with this is that once you shut that door it stays at that consistent heat throughout the whole night. And that by far is my favorite piece of equipment here. Mostly I do things that can just be made by hand.

Brian: In your opinion, what makes NaplesTtomato stand out from the rest?

Sebastian: One thing is marketing and the food here is really good. We have Robert who was a manager at the Ritz and he has really stepped it up and we make a great team so I’m very happy he’s here.  I think a combination of him and me, we’re both very passionate when it comes to this restaurant, his goal is the same as mine; to build an empire. We have a huge amount of regulars, a huge amount.  Every guest is very important.

Brian: Is there anything you think you can do better?

Sebastian: Always.

Brian: Do you use any reservation systems like Open Table?

Sebastian: Open Table. I think it's like the coolest thing out there in terms of reservation sytems.

Brian: Thank you.

Sebastian: No problem, glad we got to do this.