Meet Pete Tognetti | Bar Manager, Tamayo by Chef Richard Sandoval

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pete Tognetti and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pete, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
My work/life balance has always been cyclical. There are periods where I work 40 hours a week and have ample time for leisure and travel, and then there are times where I work seven days a week, sometimes for months at a time. Now is one of those latter times unfortunately. The response to the pandemic has been especially unkind to those of us who choose to work in hospitality, and I am making up for lost time at present. That being said, it is still important to make time to pursue non-work-related interests. I am an avid reader, a hiker and a halfway decent cook. The long hours and days without a break don’t seem so bad when you make space for the good things in life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Fresh out of college and working an unfulfilling job as a paralegal, I quickly returned to my roots as a waiter and eventually a bartender for better pay and some semblance of levity in my day-to-day routine. For reasons unknown, I became enamored with bartending. I wanted to know everything, and in particular, I aspired to be a sommelier as that profession became an aspirational symbol to me, vindicating my humble upbringing and erasing a rather worrying financial situation being a recent, and indebted, graduate. As a studious person, I purchased every book I could afford on not only wine, but cocktails, spirits, and hospitality and began the arduous life of an autodidact when I wasn’t slinging margaritas and two-for-one Coors Lights. As luck would have it, and I sincerely believe it was luck, I applied for and got the job of bartender at Root Down, a very trendy and truly fantastic restaurant in Denver’s bourgeoning Highlands neighborhood. I realized almost immediately that I was in over my head. For all the books I had read, for my years of honing the speed of my service, all of the whiskey I could scarcely afford but drank anyway to immerse myself in a world I wanted to be a part of, mixology, for lack of a better term, was a new world that quickly humbled me. Fortunately, I had the distinct pleasure of working with people who helped me to become a better bartender and inspired me. The best advice I can give any new bartender that may someday find themselves in the position I was in is this: Take pride in your work but don’t take yourself too seriously. Learn your classics, I cannot stress this point enough. Take correction, and let go of your ego. Learn empathy, which is the root of hospitality and is very difficult to teach but must be learned to achieve lasting success in this industry. If there is any legacy I would like to leave behind, a “brand” if one would wish to call it that, it’s the aforementioned. Distilled it would be: Respect for tradition, respect for your guests and peers, a love for your craft, and a keen eye on the future.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hike Mt. Bierstadt. While obviously not in Denver, it is well worth getting a healthy dose of the profound natural beauty found in our state to kick off this hypothetical journey. From there, a hearty meal at North Italia, a game at Coors Field, a brunch at Sassafras, a concert at Red Rocks, drinks galore at Death & Co., Williams & Graham, El Five, B&GC Denver, and of course Tamayo by Chef Richard Sandoval on the historic Larimer Square. A visit to Meow Wolf, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on Colfax are also highly recommended.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Indeed, no man is an island. If left to my own devices, I would have been as helpless as a newborn behind the bar. I had the good fortune of being around fellow bartenders who gave me guidance and inspired me to be creative and even daring. One such gentleman is Mike Henderson of Edible Beats fame, among other great brands, a living legend in the Denver cocktail scene, and that may be putting it mildly. I have my doubts that he would even remember me, but if it were not for getting to work under his tutelage, I don’t think I would be where I am now, and my gratitude is boundless for this. As a reader, I have an extensive collection of books on all things booze, and one of the best on the subject of bartending, is a book simply titled “The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique” by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, a legend in his own right who I have found inspiration in repeatedly over the course of my career. The Death & Co. people have been another source of continuing inspiration, and their book trilogy is a must read for any serious bartender.

Website: https://www.eattamayo.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tamayodenver/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TamayoDenver/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tamayo-denver

Image Credits
Jonathan Phillips Stephanie Ross Richard Sandoval Hospitality