Keith Pooler

Chef, Owner

Keith is the story of “local boy makes good.” A native of Gloucester, MA, he grew up appreciating the sea and its bounty. Childhood family dinners were a concert of togetherness — everyone cooked and contributed. There was an atmosphere of mutual appreciation and loving respect. Best of all, no one left any food on the plate! Keith’s grandfather had a garden where Keith toiled from planting to picking and everything in between. He also worked in his grandfather’s barn with its horses and chickens; a primer in animal husbandry.

From age 14 Keith has worked in restaurants, climbing the ranks and following his passion and talent to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. While in school he completed stages in Union Square, Vong, and The Gotham Bar and Grill. Upon graduating at the head of his class, Keith joined The River Café in Brooklyn. He worked his way through each station and next headed to Lespinasse under Chef Gray Kunz. Then Keith returned to the Rick Laakonen team, opening the highly anticipated Ilo at the Bryant Park Hotel.

Ready to return home to Boston, Keith became the sous chef at Harvest, the legendary dining room with a culinary legacy as rich as the ingredients it served. He jumped at the opportunity to open Excelsior, working under Lydia Shire, beginning an enduring relationship and friendship with this pioneer of modern cuisine. Then it was back to Harvest as Executive Chef, and there Keith earned accolades for his creative take on New England inspired cuisine. Ready for the next challenge, Keith returned to Lydia Shire’s team, helping open Scampo in Boston.

Clearly he loves the thrill of opening restaurants, and this time it is his own—Bergamot.

Servio Garcia

General Manager, Owner

You know you’ve arrived to a quality restaurant experience when you see Servio Garcia greeting you at the door. Servio is considered one of the city’s most friendly and respected front-of-the-house people. His smile and sense of hospitality lights up a room. You probably have seen him at Craigie On Main, Casablanca, Ten Tables, and Radius. Somehow Servio even found the time while working as General Manager of Casablanca to earn a certificate from Harvard University in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

With his 15 years of experience in the restaurant industry, Servio was ready to open his own place with his friend Keith Pooler in the kitchen. “We first met over late-night drinks at Casablanca, when Keith worked at Harvest,” explains Servio. “We found we shared a dream for owning our own place – and we shared a vision. And now we have it here with Bergamot.”

Neighborhood hospitality is the cornerstone of service at Bergamot. As Servio says, “this is a great neighborhood that appreciates restaurants; we are eager to become a part of the community here.” And the neighborhood has been quick to welcome Servio, Keith and the entire Bergamot team.

Kai Gagnon

Wine Director

Bergamot wine director Kai Gagnon has worked in restaurants from the age of 16. He has an abiding passion for all things service and hospitality. As a teenager he was introduced to fine wine by a relative. He developed an early appreciation for the wines of Beaujolais and Burgundy. By the age of 18 Kai was making regular forays into Quebec to purchase wine, beckoned by the large selections of French wine not readily available in the states at that time.

It wasn’t until later, living in San Francisco, that Kai discovered his passion for hospitality and wine at Firefly in San Francisco. He learned to properly taste and talk about wine in a professional setting. The proximity to Sonoma and Napa to the city and and all its great restaurants and wine shops made San Francisco an ideal classroom.

In 2005, back on the East Coast, Kai joined Craigie Street Bistrot in Cambridge, MA and managed Tony Maws' all-French wine list. In 2006 he became manager and wine director at Pigalle in Boston. There he developed a Franco-centric list with a focus on carefully chosen Burgundy, Loire and Alsace selections.

After a brief stint in New York City Kai returned to Cambridge to help open Craigie on Main and direct the wine program with Tony Maws.

At the beginning of 2010 Kai joined Servio Garcia and Chef Keith Pooler to open Bergamot. He endeavored to create a unique and exciting list that represents the best from all over Europe and the West Coast of the U.S. He drew inspiration from the sunny and warm redolence of the restaurant's eponymous citrus fruit.

Stacy Mirabello

Pastry Chef

A graduate of Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, Stacy earned degrees in baking and pastry arts, as well as food service entrepreneurship. Stacy was born and raised in Boston and started her interest in food at a very young age. Being from an Italian decent, she learned by watching her grandmothers. Some of her earliest memories are when her grandmother spilled a bag of lentils on the kitchen table and picked through each and every legume making sure there were no rocks for the soup. Her excitement for food grew as the years passed. Her career in the business began in her mid teen years, due to the fact her mother was a manager in a very popular, fast-paced restaurant. Here she learned how the restaurant was run from the front of the house.

Stacy’s curiosity and passion continued to evolve while she took a position as a pastry cook at Truly Jorg’s, a prominent bakery located on Boston’s North Shore. Jorg became her mentor teaching her classical European style pasteries and chocolates. She enrolled in Johnson & Wales in the pastry program and continued to work for Jorg on the weekends and holidays. She eventually moved on to become the pastry chef at the Providence outpost of the acclaimed Capital Grill. Here, she was not only responsible for execution, but was also a member of the company’s corporate training team. During the summers she would work as server and eventually as dining room manager at Hay Harbor Club on Fishers Island, NY. Stacy’s leadership role continued as the pastry chef for the Chow Fun Food Group in Providence, overseeing the company’s five pastry departments.

Upon graduating she wanted more, she wanted to learn more and train more. She packed up her bags and had a one way ticket to England to work at the Waterside Inn, under Michel Roux. Here she was taught classical French desserts and cuisine. Throughout her time at The Waterside Inn she slowly made the transition from sweet to savory. Stacy’s time in Europe lead her on to a culinary excursion to wind up in France, trailing in restaurants here and there, and truly experiencing French cooking. She made her way back to to the States and took a position as poissonier and tournant at the Spiced Pear in Newport. Her most recent stint was working directly with Dave Punch as lead line cook at Ten Tables in Cambridge.

Contrary to many pastry chefs, Stacy’s career includes experiences working in many areas of a kitchen and restaurant, she gained invaluable front-of-house knowledge, making her aware and sensitive to her guests’ tastes—but her true passion is creating food harmony behind the scenes.

Dan Bazzinotti

Sous-Chef

Growing up north of Boston, Dan developed a passion for cooking at an early age while spending time with his grandmother. He received his first formal training at Whittier Technical High School, and working nights at a local Italian restaurant.

After high school he attended Johnson & Wales University where he received a Bachelors degree in Culinary Arts. He also trained at Brennans Restaurant in New Orleans under Chef Michael Roussel.

Upon returning to his home town of Boston, Dan worked under chefs Lydia Shire and Keith Pooler at Scampo restaurant. With Chef Keith as his mentor, Dan was able to develop his style and hone his techniques. Upon opening Bergamot, under the leadership and direction of Chef Pooler, Daniel’s goal is to help create delicious food, while providing our guests with an unforgettable experience and most importantly, to have fun doing it!

Paul Manzelli

Bar Manager

Born and raised in Harvard Square, Paul Manzelli knew the ins and outs of every street in Cambridge. His great-great-grandpa lived next to Longfellow Park on Mt. Auburn Street, and Paul grew up in that historic home. Flash forward twenty-something years and Paul is making some neighborhood history of his own – this time outside Inman Square on the Cambridge/Somerville line.

As Bar Manager of the highly acclaimed Bergamot Restaurant in Somerville, Paul brings a deep talent for creating and mixing cocktails, years of experience in the restaurant/bar industry, and an instantly contagious smile and warmth that has quickly made Bergamot’s bar a neighborhood destination. Classic cocktails with classic ingredients touched by a creative twist is Paul’s mission at Bergamot. “You won't find any molecular bartending here,” he explains. “It is all about staying true to the commitment of the best, freshest ingredients, brought together really well in a glass for you to enjoy. That’s what I want to accomplish with every cocktail.”

A hard worker, Paul’s first job was as a kid at Harvard Square’s Out of Town News. There he quickly learned the art of reading people (not textbooks). After graduating from school he landed a job at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston – the envy of every underage youth.

There wasn’t a food or drink that Paul wouldn’t try, so he knew his next stop was a restaurant where he could learn more about the food side of the business. He met Servio Garcia, then the General Manager of the legendary Cambridge restaurant Casablanca. Hired as a bartender, Paul quickly became the Bar Manager and then Assistant General Manager, all the time mixing great cocktails and learning the restaurant business. Paul had his “Aha!” moment when a guest ordered a Sancerre. “She looked at me and asked me what Sancerre was. I guessed it was a grape. I was mortified when I looked it up and immediately, really the very next day, enrolled in Boston University’s Wine Program. I didn’t ever want to be ignorant again!” Paul graduated from levels 1, 2, and 3 at BU and says it was the smartest thing he ever did.

With his experience at Boston University, Paul knew it was just the beginning of his formal education into the business, and next graduated from Newbury College’s Hotel & Restaurant Management program. After a year at Mistral as the floor manager, Paul headed back home to Cambridge to the new Craigie On Main. There he worked with Bar Manager Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli and Chef/Owner Tony Maws. “You knew you had to bring your A-game to the bar every day. It was extraordinary – so busy, so creative, so committed."

Paul joining Bergamot completes the circle of incredibly talented and committed individuals leading the team at this new restaurant earning high marks from critics and consumers alike. With Keith Pooler in the kitchen, Servio Garcia on the floor, Kai Gagnon directing the wine program, Stacy Mirabello creating pastries, it was time for Paul to reunite with Servio and run the Bergamot Bar. Paul's presence at Bergamot has deepened its stamp as the neighborhood bar in the area.