A higher calling at Cyrus

Nick Peyton, co-owner and maitre d'hotel of Cyrus in Healdsburg, wears a natty suit and tie when he works the floor of his luxury restaurant.

But on his day off, the 62-year-old Peyton dresses casually in a gray flannel shirt over a blue, Obama-for-President T-shirt that states: "One Voice Can Change the World." The slogan recalls his early years as a long-haired hippie.

"I believe in a greater good and a social contract," he said softly. "We as a society need to look after all of the members. These are tough times."

Looking after people is what Peyton does best. The legendary maitre d' with some 40 years of experience on the Bay Area fine dining scene has developed a philosophy of caring and respectful service that creates order out of chaos and customizes the dining experience for each person's tastes.

"You don't come to Cyrus because you're hungry. You're looking for a more elevated experience," he said. "In 'n' Out Burger makes you feel welcome. At Cyrus, you're expecting a catharsis."

Peyton performs his magic act on the restaurant floor with the humility of a monk pursuing a higher calling. A typical Gemini, he is a convincing talker who exudes a youthful and intelligent spirit.

"The maitre d' is the fulcrum of the restaurant community," he said. "You have to represent the staff, the kitchen, the needs of the investors and the needs of the guest. You're the communicator of all those needs."

On any given night at Cyrus, there are 18 service people in the front of the house wheeling caviar and cheese carts, pouring water and wine, and delivering the 5- and 8-course tasting dishes to up to 60 guests at one time. It's a daunting display of multi-tasking.

"Even before you begin to order, you will have five different visits," he said. "You get canap?, water service, the champagne and caviar cart, and the menus ... Then there's the amuse-bouche, the ice before the main course and, at the end, the warm cookies, mignardises and the cheese cart."

Peyton carefully choreographs this ballet, helping his staff provide a continuum of service that flows naturally and unobtrusively.

When there are complaints, Peyton listens and responds. One gentleman complained that he was left alone at the door while the hostess went to hang up his coat. So Peyton put up hooks, allowing the hostess to seat guests immediately, then return to hang up coats.

Over the years, Peyton has learned to read body language and to pick up all kinds of subtle clues.

"Some people like fast service and others like slow service," he said. "Some want the dishes described, while others don't want their conversation interrupted."

There are a million, tiny details to remember. And it is his ability to recall all those details - for each and every guest - that sets Peyton apart.

"I don't believe in temples of gastronomy," he once said. "I believe in great dining experiences."

The oldest of four siblings, Peyton grew up amid the pastoral fields of Cornwall, at the southwest tip of Great Britain.

His mother always appreciated food. She was raised in a privileged household in Berlin, then was sent to England before World War II as a Polish-German refugee. She met his father, a Royal Air Force officer who flew in World War II, after the war ended.

"He had bad teeth with gaps, a huge handlebar moustache, twinkling eyes, a bald head and bowed legs," Peyton said. "He was the quintessential English gentleman."

When Peyton was 10, the family emigrated to Coquitlam, a suburb of Vancouver, B.C. By the time he was 18, Peyton was in full rebellion. He ran away. finding refuge in the explosive, counter-cultural milieu of San Francisco.

"It was a great time to be young and to be part of that," he said. "I thought we were going to change the world, and maybe we did."

Peyton found work in various restaurants and started using the jobs as a springboard for travel. At age 23, he married for the first time and had two children: Justin, now, 36, and Kyra, now 33.

Landing back in San Francisco as a divorced dad, Peyton worked his way up from back waiter to captain at several high-end restaurants.

"My vision was to be the maitre d' of a really fine restaurant," he said. "So I decided to go back to hotel and restaurant school at San Francisco City College."

One of his big breaks came by chance. While putting himself through school, he worked at the Millbrae Ramada, where he waited on a "short, bad-tempered troll of a man."

"It became my personal mission to get this man to smile," he said. "I would remember the foods he liked and the wines ... but he never smiled.

"One day, he said to me, &‘Young man, I do not know what you're doing here, but if you ever want a real job, please come and see me,'" Peyton recalled. "He was Peter Goldman, managing director of Fairmont Hotels."

Peyton landed a plum job as maitre d' of the Squire Room at the Fairmont San Francisco. He worked there from 1978 to 1987, then moved to Masa's for four years.

When the Ritz-Carlton asked him to open their new restaurant - the Dining Room at the Ritz - he jumped at the opportunity. Working with Chef Gary Danko, Peyton started developing a deep knowledge of cheese and launched a pioneering and wildly popular cheese cart.

"I loved the idea of it because it comes after dinner, when you're satiated," he said. "I always believed that Americans would embrace it."

Peyton left the Ritz in 1997 to work at Farallon, then teamed up with Danko to launch a restaurant from the ground up, the eponymous Gary Danko that opened in 1999.

"It was an immediate and huge success, riding on the dot-com boom," Peyton said. "But it was a terrible marriage. ... My dream had unraveled on an emotional level."

However, Peyton found a future partner in Douglas Keane, who helped launch Gary Danko as sous chef and, when he left, told Peyton to give him a call if he ever wanted to open another restaurant.

Taking a year off to lick his wounds, Peyton called Keane, and together they started building a new dream: a destination dining spot located in Healdsburg.

Peyton and Keane opened Cyrus March 4, 2005. Meanwhile, Peyton and his wife, Carla, and their 8-year-old daughter, Hannah, purchased a house and moved to Santa Rosa last year.

The restaurant, like Peyton's life, continues to evolve.

"We look forward to moving from the new kid to being that steady, reliable, special occasion place that you know is going to give you the whole experience," Peyton said. "If we get it right, you walk out of the restaurant floating. That's what we strive for."