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His early years yielded an opportunity instilling an appetite that would later lead him around the world.  “A friend had a contact for a month long job in London.  I didn’t speak a word of English, but I figured, ‘Why not?’  It was the best experience that really changed my life.  I was working at a Hotel in London at Regent’s Park.  It was 350 rooms, they put me on room service because my English was terrible.  I was living in the staff house with all kinds of nationalities: German, Spanish… I discovered another life, another culture, many cultures and I loved it so much.  I got to be in this house in one of the best areas in London.  London was more alive than Paris for sure.  So when I came back to Paris and I was kind of depressed always keeping in the back of my mind that if I had another opportunity to do something somewhere else, I would.” 

While reacclimating to Paris, Xavier landed job at the renowned Plaza Athénée.  “It was my first serious job behind the bar where I really started to learn how to be a bartender.  The Plaza Athénée at this time was one of the trendiest bars in France… a lot of models, famous actors.  It was a mix of high-end service but at the same time very trendy.

“I learned hospitality in a way that was all about the details.  Cocktails were very conceptual at this time because they were selling for 20 euros and for 20 euros you can come up with great concepts, use great glassware… we kind of had an unlimited budget to work with.  Once a month we’d all get together for something like a research-and-development meeting, everybody would break off into groups of 2 or 3 people, it was a big team like 20 people, and everybody would come up with crazy ideas, some ideas were not that great looking back on it, but for the time it was pretty cool.”

            Balancing earnest work in the moment while keeping an eye out for opportunities to grow as a person and a professional seems to be Xavier’s strength.  “Unfortunately, in Paris, at this time there was nothing going on in the cocktail scene outside the hotels.  Recently, many people have opened great bars in Paris, but that’s new.  Before I left that was nonexistent so I was looking for a place to go and it made more sense to try New York.  Alain Ducasse was the Chef of cuisine at all the kitchens in Hotel Plaza Athénée, and of course he’s one of the most renowned chefs in all of the world.  He was opening another restaurant in New York and I spoke to a someone who was consulting with Ducasse.  Two days later Alain Ducasse came to the bar, shook my hand, and said, ‘Ok, we got you.’ 

“I came to the US and helped open Mix in New York.  Unfortunately, the place did not succeed.  The truth is New York can be very tough especially when you come from another country and another culture where you think you have the best.  You should always be careful because New York is so competitive and each corner of the street is totally different.  If you open on the avenue or if you open on 58th St it requires two different businesses.  It takes some time to understand that.  So we made mistakes.  But for me, it got both feet on New York soil.” 

The adjustment from France to New York provided insights that Herit draws upon regularly.  “I think the French culture in terms of gastronomy is really strong because it’s apart of our blood; it’s apart of our genes; and apart of our culture.  Everybody eats as a family at the table all together.  In terms of work, the way the French manage is not as diplomatic as the way we manage a restaurant in America, it’s just apart of our culture.  In France, if there is something wrong, we’re going to tell you right away, ‘What are you doing here?’  Fucked up, huh?  And in America we’re going to wait until the end of service and take you aside, ‘Listen I think you should work on this and that.’  So you have to learn that there are different ways of doing things, different cultures.  I think after 12 years in New York I’m totally for the American style rather than the French style which I think is very Old School.” 

Xavier worked arduous hours to gain a foothold in the states, “My Visa was attached to Mix in New York which was not doing very well and neither was my income, but I started to realize once you’re set up in New York you can work many places.  After connecting with other French people, I started to work in some French Brasseries in the Upper East Side.  I ended up doing three jobs at the same time working four doubles a week.  I discovered in the American system, the more you work the more money you make, the less you work the less you make.  So I worked.  The first year was really difficult.  There were times when I would ask myself if this was really where I wanted to be?  But there was something that attracted me to this city so I knew I wanted to stay.”

As Mix in New York grinded to a halt, Xavier exercised his connections to find a position at Daniel Boulud’s, Daniel.  This job established Xavier Herit’s reputation in the New York cocktail scene.  “At this time the bar at Daniel was very quiet.  It was more like a waiting room for the restaurant.  There was a bar but the cocktails were not developed.  There was jazz music playing quietly.  It was very different from where I was used to being like Plaza Athénée that had models everywhere, people spending money, DJ’s… So I wasn’t sure how long I was going to last at Daniel.  I decided to give myself six months and I ended up being there seven years. 

“It ended up working in my favor that nothing had really been done with the bar.  All the cards were on my side to change and improve things.  I was able to develop a cocktail program in a high-end environment which is what I was used to so I was comfortable.  I started to really appreciate Daniel Boulud who was like a mentor the way he approached hospitality.  He treated people when they came through the door like they were coming into his house.  He was always curious and personable with everybody.  This is what people want in America.  When people know the name of a chef they want to see the chef.  I think this may be what hurt Alain Ducasse when he opened his restaurants, I mean he’s a very very talented chef, but he’s not one to be stuck on the floor.