Our Team at BRABO
All of the team members at our three venues bring a rich and varied background to their respective roles. The result is the synergy and sense of hospitality for which BRABO has quickly become known. Find out a little more about some of the people who make BRABO what it is.
General Manager Gonzague Muchery
Seasoned restaurateur Gonzague Muchery leads the dining staff at both BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier and BRABO Tasting Room. Muchery grew up around the restaurant business in his native Lille, France. His parents owned a fine dining restaurant in Lille, and Muchery followed the hands-on knowledge he gained there with formal training at the hospitality management school in Orchies, France. Most recently the General Manager for Eric Ripert's Westend, Muchery is excited to now be part of BRABO.
Karen Hayes, Executive Sous Chef
Born and raised in Nashville, Karen Hayes first came to DC to study architecture and later ended up working in some of DC's most prominent kitchens for the last 15 years. Karen first met and worked for Chef Robert Wiedmaier at Aquarelle, The Watergate Hotel's fine dining restaurant, during the mid 90's as a line cook.
During her self-taught, culinary career, she has also worked for Ris Lacoste at 1789, Brian McBride at the Park Hyatt Hotel, Trent Conry at 701, Jamie Leeds at Hanks Oyster Bar, The Kennedy Center's Rooftop Terrace and also as a sous-chef at Wiedmaier's fining dining restaurant, Marcel's.
As in the discipline of architecture, Karen finds similarities in the structure of cooking and enjoys the outlet for personal creativity. Surprising no one more than her mother, who will tell you Karen was a very picky eater as a child, Karen credits her happiness to doing what she loves most, cooking.
Leah Dedmon's first professional direction in the wine industry started after graduating from Wake Forest when she landed her first job at the Marshall Street Smokehouse & Wine Bar in Winston-Salem, NC managing the fine wine program.
Dedmon later moved to San Francisco and worked for the California Wine Merchant as a wine sales associate and then for Universal Wines & Spirits, LLC in Miami as the Director of Supplier Relations. In Miami, she also completed her Intermediate Level Sommelier Certificate at the US Sommelier Association, Wine School at LeCordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
Shortly after transferring with Universal Wines & Spirits to the Washington, DC market in 2008, Dedmon went to work for Wiedmaier as a manager for Brasserie Beck and to prepare for the WSET Wine & Spirits Advanced Certificate Level 3 at the Washington Wine Academy that she completed in December 2008.
Salena Zellers, the manager of the Butcher's Block, has been involved in the retail business as a wine consultant for the past six years. Salena has extensive experience in planning and implementing wine tastings, wine dinners, and many other special events featuring food and wine. Salena has also developed and conducted wine education classes focused on taking the mystery out of wine and helping the consumer understand and describe their personal wine preferences so they always select a wine they will enjoy. Ask Salena about Champagne or sparkling wines and you'll see her bubbly passion sparkle even more.
Karen Hayes, Executive Sous Chef
