“Today we’re nominating Chaydha Pleasant, who’s one of our servers here,” says Michael O’Neill, general manager of Egg restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn of his charming and bubbly employee. “She’s a lot of fun—she has a great laugh.”
At Egg, classic Southern American breakfast dishes like biscuits and gravy, duck hash, pancakes and housemade pork sausage have been on offer for 13 years and counting. Pleasant happily serves the restaurant's guests day in and day out.
“She’s so goofy,” adds fellow server Nora Kaye. “I feel like she has this warmth that she brings to every table that she serves and I think that she also brings a lot of great insight and creative ideas of how to improve Egg and the Egg community.”
Pleasant, a North Carolina native, knows many of her customers by name and people ask for her regularly. “It’s really fun to be able to speak to the customers and different folks about where I come from and how I celebrate and what makes me proud to be the person I am,” she says.
“She is one of the most genuine service employees that we’ve ever had here—she really cares deeply about the people that she’s serving,” continues Kaye. “No matter who they are, she brings the same amount of interest and care to their dining experience.”
Pleasant grew up as a member of the Bahá’í Faith, which focuses on the unity and equality of all people. “It was a strong banner that you treat people as how you’d like to be treated,” she says. “It’s really important for me to put my best face forward.”
And put her best face forward she does; Pleasant always has a pep in her step and greets diners with delight. “In the industry, compassion isn’t necessarily a thing that’s measured or rewarded, but it’s a huge part of the service experience,” adds O’Neill. “She offers that in a way that I haven’t seen. We’re proud to have her. We love having her here.”
Video and photos shot by Kathryn M. Sheldon, an award-winning producer, photographer and editor with a background in still photography and television production. Having produced food and beverage content for seven years at NBC, she is currently producing video content for the MICHELIN Guide.
