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The BRABO Restaurant Team
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.
Born in Toronto and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, BRABO sommelier David Kurka realized his true calling was in oenology after a stint taking philosophy classes in Charlottesville, Va. While he was studying Kant in the classroom, Kurka grew more interested in Chianti while working as an assistant manager and bartender at a local Italian restaurant in Charlottesville. As Kurka learned more about the geography, science and history of wine, he decided to shift his focus and started pursuing a career in food and wine.
While working his way up through restaurants in Virginia and DC, Kurka was first certified with the International Sommelier Guild in May 2009, followed by the Court of Master Sommeliers Level I in May 2010, and Level II in July 2010. In 2009, Kurka served as bar manager at the wine-centric restaurant Inox in McLean, Va. under sommelier John Wabeck, who imparted his love of craft cocktails and from whom he learned how to be a floor sommelier. Most recently, Kurka was the assistant general manager and sommelier at Robert Wiedmaier's Brasserie Beck.
While Kurka loves wine--particularly Piedmont, Italy, for their high-quality product across all different styles—he also has a penchant for cocktails and mixology. At BRABO, Kurka has been using new ingredients in traditional cocktails, such as Dolin Vermouth; a lighter, drier Vermouth produced in the town of Chambéry in the French Alps. He has also come up with inventive cocktails involving BRABO's house made sodas, such as the Heirloom Fizz: an "evening-appropriate" Bloody Mary made with Sun Gold heirloom tomato soda, jalapeno juice, Ketel One vodka, and Fee Brother's Celery Bitters.
Under Kurka's watch as sommelier, BRABO was most recently awarded the 2011 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Kurka enjoys sharing his knowledge about wine and mixology, and conducts frequent tastings, wine dinners, and cocktail demonstrations at BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier, and the adjoining BRABO Tasting Room and The Butcher's Block.
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BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier - Lorien Hotel & Spa Reservations
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