Oyster Shuckers! Pastry Chefs! These Are the Unsung Heroes Behind Philly’s Best Restaurants
The chefs and owners usually get all the attention but these standout industry stars are the backbone of the city's food scene.
Graphic by Jamie Leary / Illustrations by Jessica Bromer
A spill that’s wiped away within seconds. An impeccably folded napkin at your place when you return to your seat. Complimentary cookies that come with the check. Behind every small detail is an entire team of people working tirelessly, in both the front and the back of house, to make guests’ visits memorable and keep Philly’s top restaurants moving with the precision of a Swiss watch.
When it comes to hospitality, “either you have it, or you don’t,” says Best Oyster Shucker Gary McCready. Connecting with customers comes easily to Oyster House’s head shucker, who can keep conversation flowing as easily as he opens bivalves. With his air of bonhomie and his ability to guide diners at the Center City seafood restaurant to oyster varieties they’ll love, McCready is often the reason in-the-know diners request a seat at the raw bar.
Going off-book with drinks tailored to customers’ specific tastes is Best Beverage Director Jillian Moore’s favorite part of the job. For example, when a My Loup regular who loves Bud Light — which isn’t on the menu — comes into the Rittenhouse bar, Moore has a can of the beer ready. “The more that you are open to being hospitable and generous, the more good ideas come to you,” she says.
Exceptional service doesn’t just happen in the moment; it also takes meticulous planning and coordination. In Kensington, Best General Manager Marissa Chirico keeps Emmett’s dining room running flawlessly by briefing staff on every celebration and dietary restriction and hyping them up like they’re a high school football team, reminding them why delivering great service is paramount. “[Our guests] woke up really looking forward to this dinner, and then they took time getting ready for it,” she says. “We want to honor that.”
Crafting a menu can be an act of hospitality too. “When we create our food, it’s almost always about how the guests are enjoying it and how the food flows,” says Best Chef de Cuisine Jacob Trinh of Little Fish in Bella Vista. It’s the philosophy behind the restaurant’s prix fixe menu, which features playful dishes that bring personality to seafood, such as the red crab chawanmushi, Trinh’s interpretation of crab fries, made with a dashi and egg custard base, Indonesian crab, and a Cooper Sharp and Old Bay espuma.
Best Pastry Chef Amanda Rafalski likes to bring a little of her own story to the table to connect with diners. She often delights guests at Rittenhouse’s Friday Saturday Sunday with whimsical desserts like confetti cake, which she makes for people’s birthdays, inspired by the boxed Funfetti cake her husband makes her every year. While her job is about food, Rafalski says, “at the same time, it’s about reaching out to people.”
Illustrations by Jessica Bromer
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Published as “Holding the Line” in the August 2026 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
