Latest / Forking Around with Flavor South Florida / Chef David Burke: Culinary Creativity, Memorable Meals, and Building Restaurants That Last

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Chef David Burke: Culinary Creativity, Memorable Meals, and Building Restaurants That Last · Forking Around with Flavor South Florida

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Thank you. Welcome to Forking Around with Flavor
0:06
South Florida. I'm Kerri Paizzi, CEO of Flavor
0:09
South Florida. We are sitting down with entrepreneurs,
0:12
business owners, and influential community partners
0:14
to talk growth, trials, tribulations, and more.
0:17
These conversations lead into Flavor South Florida,
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the region's largest restaurant month, happening
0:22
every September from the 1st through the 30th.
0:24
If you're in hospitality or thinking about building
0:27
something meaningful in this industry, you're
0:29
in the right place. Pull up a chair and let's
0:31
get into it. This episode is sponsored by Altima
0:38
Caviar. Visit them at Altimacaviar .com. Today's
0:44
guest is a true innovator in the culinary world.
0:47
David Burke is a world -renowned chef, restaurateur,
0:50
and pioneer of modern American cuisine, known
0:54
for his creativity, bold flavors, and signature
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dry -aged techniques. From Iron Chef battles
1:01
to building a restaurant empire, he spent decades
1:04
redefining what it means to cook with imagination
1:06
and creativity. Welcome to the show, Chef Burke.
1:10
Nice to be here. I'm so excited. I have like
1:12
thrilling questions to ask you. And I find you
1:16
absolutely fascinating. Thank you. So I have
1:19
to start by saying that. So. You've always been
1:23
known as a culinary innovator. So my first question
1:26
is, what's the direction, the angle you take
1:28
as to what is going on that plate? Because I
1:31
know there's a big difference between consistency,
1:33
creativity, and taking those risks when you're
1:36
creating that menu. I'm changing the menu tonight.
1:40
You know, I started cooking, I was trained by
1:44
the older French guys, disciplined classics.
1:48
They stayed within them. their parentheses of
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what their food was, right? Yeah. They basically,
1:54
it was about who could do it better. The same
1:56
thing, better and over, you know, quality ingredients.
1:59
And then American cuisine started bubbling. And
2:02
the opportunity to be better came with innovation
2:05
and creativity. I mean, if I took over a chef
2:09
job for, and I did in New York City for Larry
2:12
Ford, John and Charlie Palmer, two very well
2:14
-known chefs, respected. How is my creme brulee
2:17
going to be better? Right. If it's the same recipe,
2:19
same blowtorch, right? So you got to think differently.
2:23
You got to outwork them, just like a basketball
2:26
player outpractices. And you got to think outside
2:29
the box. If there is a box, then you got to innovate.
2:33
And it still has to be sensible, has to be delicious,
2:35
but it can present itself differently. And that's
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kind of what we look at. Why is ours unique?
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The key word is unique. Can our food look unique,
2:46
be unique, and still be accepted by mainstream
2:50
people that want something they can recognize,
2:53
something that they relate to flavor -wise? And
2:57
a little aha, like, ah, that's cool. I like that.
3:01
That's a little different. I get it. So it can't
3:04
be completely odd, like molecular gastronomy
3:07
was. Cuisine Minnesota or spa food years ago.
3:11
You can't go all the way out. Some of that stays.
3:15
When that rubber band goes out, it comes 10 %
3:17
stays. So you got to know after years of doing
3:21
it, you understand what the customer wants to
3:24
eat. It's not really what I want to cook. I can
3:27
cook anything, but if they don't want it, it's
3:30
like an artist painting for nobody buys the art.
3:33
So it has to be something. And we're under the
3:36
eye of everybody that eats in our restaurants
3:39
are critic. They're a Yelp critic. They're an
3:41
open table critic. They're a Google critic, right,
3:43
because food is so personal. So, you know, creativity
3:46
has always been something that I've been excited
3:50
to participate in, especially on the plate, but
3:52
also in the design of restaurants. And in menu
3:55
language, the poetry of a menu, how it's written,
3:58
you know, how do you describe the dish without
4:01
being over wordy? So, yeah, creativity is the
4:04
one. Then that's the that's the beat that keeps
4:07
us going. You know, making the same dish for
4:10
40 years. That's OK. But that's not that doesn't
4:13
float the boat. I love I've been to your New
4:15
York restaurants. So I'm from New York originally.
4:17
And I know you're from Jersey originally. So
4:20
we'll get there in a minute. So you like to go
4:23
outside the box, which I think that's amazing.
4:25
I love that. I love going to a restaurant and
4:27
remembering what I ate and going back and going,
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what makes that memorable? What stood out for
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me when I went? So I went to both Birdie's and
4:35
Seahawk Prime. And Seahawk Prime, I'm still thinking
4:40
about the bacon. And I'm still thinking about
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my dessert, which was the cotton candy. And I
4:45
had this lobster dumplings. I'm still thinking
4:47
about that memorable meal because I eat out.
4:51
just about every night of the week. And everyone
4:53
says, well, what did you have? And I go, you
4:56
know, I don't remember. Now, when I remember
4:58
what I had, it's the truth. And when I remember
5:01
what I had and I have a specific thing that I'm
5:03
like, I'm going back for that, that to me makes
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it a great restaurant. So that I admire so much
5:11
about you. That's why I said you're fascinating
5:12
because it's a high end. To me, a high -end scale,
5:17
it's a beautiful, beautiful build out of a building.
5:19
You've done a fabulous job with it. And I'm jaded.
5:22
And it takes a lot for me to get impressed with
5:24
food, honestly. And so the fact that you are
5:27
able to be able to execute that in a way that's
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fine dining, upper scale, but still be fun and
5:36
playful with it, that's what I think makes you
5:39
so interesting. So on that note. You have so
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many restaurants. How many restaurants do you
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have currently? Ten. Ten. Okay. And they're in
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New York and Florida. Jersey, New York, Florida.
5:51
Jersey, New York, Florida. We were in Saudi and
5:54
we're in North Carolina, but it didn't work.
5:57
Yeah. And that's okay. Saudi closed on its own.
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That was an internal problem with the father
6:02
and son. And North Carolina just wasn't a market
6:04
that worked for us. Right. You know, location,
6:09
rent, workforce. Mm -hmm. Clientele that doesn't,
6:13
you know, you're looking, Charlotte, there's
6:15
not one celebrity chef there. Not that you have
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to be a celebrity chef to be good. They haven't
6:19
developed a foodie culture, and I don't want
6:21
to insult anybody, but there's a couple good
6:23
places. Yeah. But it's not, you know, it's driven
6:25
by bankers and people eating in chain restaurants
6:28
that are quite good. Just different. Yeah. Now,
6:30
you know, and they like Southern food and like
6:32
steak. So, you know, it's... Florida's booming.
6:34
Florida is... Well, Florida's got a lot of New
6:36
York. It's got a lot of Boston. It's got a lot
6:39
of Philly. It's got a lot of Chicago. We're so
6:41
lucky for that. And so how, between 10 restaurants,
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they all have their different concept, different
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menu items. How do you manage all that? We have
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three Red Horses. And a Red Horse is, it's similar.
6:56
And the menus all intertwine a little bit, unless
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it's a pizzeria. 277 Park Building, we have a
7:01
grab -and -go, high -end, and a restaurant. And
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we consult for a couple of places. Seahawk Prime
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is the greatest hits menu. It has the great beef.
7:13
It has the signature bacon, lobster, dumplings,
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the crabs, pretzel crab cakes. We have a lot
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of signature dishes. And to your point of remembering
7:22
a dish, I'm exactly like you. I can eat 12 dishes
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in the best restaurant in New York City and six
7:27
months later, I don't remember one of them. Yeah.
7:30
Right? But I can go somewhere else and have something
7:32
and say, man, that was good. Because it was visual.
7:35
It was interesting. It was unique. And it taught
7:38
me something. And I'm impressed by it. I think
7:41
I don't really copy anybody. I never have. And
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people copy me, and that's okay. People copy
7:46
a lot. Some people need to do that to get to
7:48
the next level. I don't. Right. But you're inspired
7:52
by something. It's a postcard. We create a postcard.
7:55
That bacon is a postcard in your head. It really
7:59
is, and it will be forever. You see it. You taste
8:02
it. You're cool. You talked about it with your
8:04
table. It's conversational, right? And I'm still
8:08
telling people about it. Right, and it's fun,
8:11
right? And it makes sense. And that's what we
8:15
try to do. How do you create a postcard? Where
8:18
are you going to take it? And it could be the
8:20
cook, the way you present a check. It could be
8:22
a drink. And some of it's in design, too. Some
8:26
of it's art. I mean, I go to restaurants, and
8:27
I haven't been in two years, and I remember a
8:29
painting. Yeah. Because I love art. Oh, no, that's
8:31
absolutely a piece of the pie. But when the painting's
8:33
the best part of your restaurant, then you've
8:35
got a gallery. It shouldn't be. But it doesn't
8:38
mean. I had 18 courses the other night, Omikase.
8:41
Where? Somewhere in Connecticut. Okay. And you
8:46
know what? It's very expensive. And you know
8:47
what? I'm just kind of over it. Yeah. Because
8:50
it wasn't. And I had a scoop of ice cream at
8:53
the end. You know, $400 I had. Scoop of ice cream.
8:56
That's the best you can do. Right? Make something
8:59
to end it with like a wow. Right? Like, don't
9:04
die off like that. It was bothering me. It's
9:07
still bothering me. And then the next day, I
9:09
ate that on Monday or Tuesday, I forget. Wednesday,
9:13
the New York Times wrote a full -page article
9:15
about how omakase is boring. Really? It can't
9:19
be boring. Yeah, and I agree. I agree with that
9:21
article a lot. It's so trendy right now. Well,
9:23
it is and it isn't. I mean, because after you
9:26
go a few times, it can be, it depends on the
9:28
chef. Yeah, yeah. The chef does make the experience
9:30
of omakase. If he's going to spin it up and give
9:31
you some really cool, interesting things. Yeah.
9:34
I had no hot food. 17 cold dishes. Four different
9:37
tunas. I'm not, I don't, you know, nothing crispy,
9:41
nothing hot, no meat, you know, and then dessert
9:44
flat. So there was no, it was a freight train,
9:48
not a roller coaster. Right, right. Have you
9:50
been to Taki Omikase? It's in Delray. No. That's
9:54
pretty good. I'm sure they're known for it. And
9:56
Moody Tongue in West Palm. Those are like my,
9:58
and Sushi Bar. We have a lot of Omikase actually
10:01
come to, right now, come to think of it. A rowdy
10:04
air. But if you think about it, for that price,
10:07
it should be extraordinarily excellent. Yeah.
10:09
Right? It shouldn't be just okay. I went to an
10:12
omakase in London a couple months ago, and it
10:15
was $700 a person. And it was phenomenal. Here
10:20
I am still thinking about it, still talking about
10:22
it. And that's, you know, that's the name of
10:24
the game with this. I think it's like you have
10:26
to be that memorable person because people always
10:28
ask me when I had a phone call this morning,
10:30
somebody, my friend's going to New York City.
10:32
Where should I eat? What should I do? Bring the
10:34
kids, all that. So I always say the same thing
10:37
with the food. You can't sustain in New York
10:39
City. If you've been in a restaurant in New York
10:42
City for a couple of years, I feel like you've
10:45
got to be good, right? Like, do you agree with
10:47
that? Because I feel like. There's so much competition.
10:50
There's a restaurant everywhere. You can't avoid
10:53
a restaurant in New York City. If you're going
10:55
to last in New York for a long time, you've got
10:57
to be good. Then you're good. You're great. You've
10:59
got to be great at that point. Unless you're
11:01
in a location. I'm talking like. No, you have
11:04
to. If you can, for the chefs like myself and
11:07
others that have been in New York for 40 years.
11:09
Yeah. You're working hard. And you have good
11:14
years and you have bad years. There's times when
11:16
the economy is difficult. The labor is tight.
11:19
The rent and labor now, it's difficult. And the
11:23
younger generation of cooks and waitstaff, it's
11:26
kind of not the same. I don't want to sound like
11:28
the old guy that walked uphill. It's not the
11:30
same. The focus and the energy and the work ethic
11:33
has changed a little bit. People complain about
11:37
the lifestyle in a restaurant. The culture. Well,
11:41
you can't change. The culture is not going to
11:42
change after 100 years just like this. It takes
11:45
time. And the culture in the restaurant should
11:48
be respectful, no doubt about it. But there is
11:51
a culture in it that makes it interesting and
11:53
fun to work. I'm not saying it should be sexual
11:56
harassment and people should be, you know, screamed
11:59
and yelled at. But there's a culture of. Rock
12:03
and roll, sports, intensity, you know, being
12:06
in the weeds, that's fun, right? And getting
12:09
through it, right? There's a sense of challenge.
12:12
And if you don't want a challenge, don't work
12:14
in a restaurant. But don't come in and try to
12:16
take the challenge away from the restaurant.
12:18
Can't afford not to be challenged. Right. I mean,
12:21
I always tell everyone my first job was a hostess
12:25
in New York on Long Island. at a steakhouse we
12:28
did 600 dinners every saturday night and i was
12:31
in what we called the hot seat because i could
12:34
take it i could take the hangry people yelling
12:35
at me i was 16 years old and i i tell people
12:39
this all the time like just be nice to the staff
12:41
like nobody's perfect i do expect good service
12:44
don't get me wrong i'm expecting a service right
12:48
and it's just, I think people have never been
12:51
in that rest, in the industry, in the kitchen.
12:54
I mean, just the heat of the kitchen, the stress
12:56
of the kitchen, you're on your feet for how many,
12:59
12, 15 hours? When you're a chef, right? People
13:02
don't talk about or think about the brutal pieces
13:05
of it. But they shouldn't have to. I guess. I
13:08
mean, that's what we do, yes. But like so much
13:11
credit is given. But you know, when someone,
13:13
you were a hostess, when someone waited 15 minutes,
13:16
they started yelling at you, right? Oh, yeah.
13:17
Have you ever seen anybody yell at a doctor in
13:19
a doctor's office when they wait a half hour?
13:21
Right, exactly. Never, right? Exactly. So it's
13:24
about respect. Respect the process, right? They're
13:27
yelling at a 16 -year -old girl, like bullying
13:29
them. Yeah. Or taking it out on a waiter. You
13:31
know, I had a guy one time came up to the kitchen
13:34
window when I was working. First week of a restaurant
13:36
opening. Tapping me on the shoulder, looking
13:38
for his food. Right. I said, you really think
13:43
you're going to get it quicker by interrupting
13:44
me? I said, you know, now you're stopping me
13:48
from getting the four tables ahead of you out.
13:51
Yeah. But, you know, when people use the word
13:54
hangry. That's it. Yeah, and that's what it is.
13:57
It's hard. It's hard. But the expectation is
14:01
high. People come in, they have an expectation.
14:04
And when it comes to food, it's different. Yeah.
14:08
Food, you know, people in a restaurant take abuse.
14:11
We took abuse for COVID. It was like COVID was
14:13
a foodborne disease. Oh, shut down a restaurant.
14:16
You can go drink at a, you can go have liquor,
14:19
buy liquor at a liquor store, but you can't go
14:20
to a restaurant. You can go to an elevator, but
14:22
you can't go in a restaurant. Yeah. That was
14:24
wild. Wild times. Wild times. So you're from
14:26
New Jersey originally. Where in Jersey are you
14:28
from? I grew up in Hazlitt. Okay. So I have a
14:31
very serious question for you. Bon Jovi or Bruce
14:35
Springsteen? I don't know. Do you like either
14:38
one of them? I do. I like them both. Oh, but
14:40
you have to pick one. This will determine how
14:44
our friendship plays out. I liked Bruce more
14:45
in the past because I met him more, came to the
14:48
restaurant a lot. But I like them both, actually.
14:51
But I met John recently a couple times at the
14:54
New Jersey Hall of Fame Awards, which I was inducted
14:57
into, and he was a speaker. You were? And his
14:59
keyboard player, David Bryan, who was... We share
15:04
the same birthday and year. He was inducted this
15:06
past November. And I got to chat with him. You
15:10
just got to call it. I would have been able to
15:13
call it a year ago easily until I met John. So
15:15
at this point, right now, I said, well, I'm going
15:21
to say Bruce. Okay. Because John's going to be
15:24
around longer than Bruce. I can make it up to
15:27
him. I ask you this because when I was very little,
15:29
I lived in Sayreville, New Jersey. I still have
15:31
friends, family. In Jersey, lots of my dad's
15:35
side. So Jon Bon Jovi stole my heart at a very
15:38
young age, and he's my favorite. So the second
15:41
I hear Jersey, I'm like, I have to know. I have
15:44
to know which team we're here, we're on. Which
15:46
concert are we going to? Well, I grew up between,
15:49
Hazard is between Sayreville and Freehold. Yeah.
15:52
And Jon's closer to my age. And when I was a
15:55
kid, I didn't listen to Bruce. I was more of
15:57
a rock and roller. You know, Skinner and Lawman
16:00
Brothers, Pink Floyd, all those Rolling Stones.
16:03
Great tunes. You know, The Who. I love that.
16:06
Real rock and roll. And Bruce was bubbling around,
16:09
and then he became more well -known after my
16:12
teen years. Right. But he used to hang out in
16:15
some of the local bars and this and that. But
16:17
when you're 10 years younger than someone at
16:19
12, I think he's a bit older than me, you don't
16:22
really hang out in the same circles. Yeah. But
16:26
Jersey's good. But you're a Skinner. I love Jersey.
16:28
Oh, you're a Skinner guy. Okay, okay. I see them
16:30
this summer again in Jones Beach. Nice. That's
16:34
a great, that's a great spot. I'm going to see
16:36
Bon Jovi at Madison Square Garden in July. That's
16:39
good. Going up for that. So that week I will
16:42
be eating at one of your New York restaurants.
16:43
Oh, you better believe it. I'm going to make
16:45
my reservations right now. Well, July in New
16:47
York is going to be crazy. I know. FIFA and the
16:50
250th anniversary and all that stuff. Oh, I know.
16:52
So we have a nice summer coming. That's why I
16:54
booked my ticket. I also have Rush tickets for
16:57
the end of July. Well, I have extra tickets.
16:59
Come on, let's go. Where are they? Madison Square
17:01
Garden. Oh, yeah, let me know. July 27th, let's
17:03
go. We're there. I remember when Rush came out.
17:05
We're doing it. Rush, UFO, Scorpions. It's R50.
17:09
All right, we can talk about music all day. Let's
17:10
get back to food. All right, so speaking of celebrities,
17:13
you had some time on Iron Chef. You've been with
17:16
Bobby Filet, Top Chef. Rachel Ray, Chopped, America's
17:21
Most Wanted. No, he said that. You said that.
17:23
He wasn't really on America's Most Wanted, folks.
17:26
He wasn't. American Kitchen is my show that I'm
17:29
shooting with Fox Nation. Tell me about that.
17:31
Well, we shot one episode over the holidays,
17:33
which we had, we used one of my restaurants.
17:36
And we did holiday. We did that. We had two young
17:38
ladies with us, two guest chefs. And one of them
17:41
did Hanukkah dishes. I did roast beef. The other
17:43
one did like pasta, Greek style. It was fun.
17:46
It was fun. It was a cooking show that was not
17:51
old fashioned. It was like a Hallmark show. We
17:53
taught you how to cook. And we all sat down and
17:55
we invited guests and ate, set the table. And
17:58
this episode will be. at the Garden City Hotel
18:01
where I have two restaurants. We're going to
18:03
be shooting for veterans, 250th anniversary of
18:06
America. We're going to make, I'm doing salmon
18:08
cooked on wooden planks over a bump. Oh, I love
18:11
that. And there's, Robert Irvine's going to do
18:14
some, I think, beef and tomato salad. And Andre
18:21
Rush is a chef who was at the White House. He's
18:23
going to make some kind of ribs and corn or something
18:26
like that. And we're going to feed about 30 vets.
18:28
That's amazing. And we're going to do it at the
18:30
150 -year -old Garden City Hotel, which is Long
18:32
Island's pride and joy hotel. And talk about
18:36
American food and how far it's come. Like the
18:39
plank salmon is an old American Indian dish.
18:41
And they nail the fish to a board, tie it, and
18:47
then smoke it over the fire. Peel the meat right
18:50
off the skin. What's the date? We're going to
18:53
do, we're shooting that, well, we've got to shoot
18:54
in May. It airs in July. It airs before July
18:57
weekend. So the TV stuff is good. It's always
19:00
good exposure. The competition shows are fun.
19:03
I did those when I was younger. And, you know,
19:06
it builds character. It keeps you on your toes.
19:10
And if you like cooking and you're not afraid.
19:12
I go to country clubs now when I compete in the
19:16
major golf course clubs. And it gets the country
19:18
club chefs some exposure. And then the members
19:21
get to see their chefs in action, meet me, do
19:24
some talking. We do Q &A. It's fun. It's hospitality.
19:28
Yeah. We're givers. We're helping people. We're
19:31
feeding people. We're teaching people. We want
19:34
to impress people. And if you have that gene.
19:37
And you like to impress people and show off a
19:40
bit. And you like your craft. That's what it
19:43
takes to be part of what it takes to be a good
19:45
chef. You know, you need the other stuff too.
19:47
Yeah. Dedication, hard work, stamina. You know,
19:50
there's a lot of pitfalls too. You gotta, it's
19:53
like, you know, you're working in a kitchen.
19:54
It's like a landmine too. Oh, for sure. There's
19:57
a lot of things that can go wrong. It's dangerous
19:59
back there. I don't belong back there. No. So
20:05
you seem like, Like you can handle pressure.
20:09
Like you do well under pressure, I feel like.
20:10
I do my best work under pressure. I think you
20:13
do. I feel like you do. And so were any of the
20:16
shows, did you have any like memorable moments
20:18
or any like really difficult moments when you
20:21
were on the shows? Like Bobby Flay, how was that?
20:27
I beat him. I beat him, but he won. Every time,
20:32
every time. No, that was 22 years ago. Yeah.
20:37
I was happy to be on because TV is always good.
20:39
Bobby was a good competitor. I like him a lot,
20:41
actually. I did a lot of really interesting dishes.
20:45
And Bobby did some interesting dishes. He did
20:47
mostly lamb chops. We did all kinds of part of
20:49
them. The theme was lamb. Yeah. And I had created
20:52
this Himalayan salt technique. Yeah. I got a
20:58
patent on one of the ideas I had. Oh, we're going
20:59
to talk about that. And the other one was I put
21:02
raw lamb on a piece of salt, like carpaccio.
21:05
And you had to eat it. And it was seasoned. And
21:08
one of the judges was like, oh, my God, I don't
21:10
like lamb in general. I can't eat it raw. And
21:13
I'm like, you're a food judge on a national TV
21:17
show. You shouldn't be able to eat anything.
21:20
Yeah. But it was good. We did nice dishes. And
21:24
I made a lobster dish. It was so beautiful. It
21:26
was angry lobster on a bed of nails. And I put
21:28
these little lamb spring rolls in between the
21:30
lobster. Yeah. And the lady's like, one of the
21:32
judges, I think it was Jewel. The singer. Oh,
21:35
I love Jewel. She's a pretty girl, yeah. I've
21:38
been told I look like her. Is that true? Oh,
21:40
really? I think so. You do? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:41
You don't have to lie. We had dinner later that
21:44
night, all of us. So she's like, you know, she
21:47
goes, I really loved it. She goes, but it's really
21:49
a lobster dish, not a lamb dish. I said, I know.
21:52
I just wanted America to see the best lobster
21:55
dish. Yeah. Because I didn't care if I won or
21:57
lost. I was there to show off my work. Right?
22:00
I can't control the winner or loser, but we wanted
22:03
to, I'm like, you know, that dish looks so good,
22:05
let's throw it on TV. So, you know, you're either
22:08
coming in first place or second. To me, it's
22:11
about the exposure. You know, it doesn't, I'm
22:14
not going to walk around with my license plate
22:16
that says I beat Bobby Flay. Right, right. So.
22:19
So, I met you and Guy Fieri, I think I'm saying
22:24
his name right, at your opening for Birdies.
22:26
Oh, were you there? I was. I was. And I had a
22:29
fantastic time. Yeah, that was not planned. He
22:32
just showed up. Really? Yeah, yeah. That's amazing.
22:34
Because I just met him. Oh, that's so nice. I
22:37
don't know him. I haven't known him except for
22:39
a few months. So I met him at the Food and Wine
22:41
Festival in Miami at Bobby Flay's luncheon. Okay,
22:44
okay, okay. So I didn't really know him. Full
22:46
circle. I might have met him in New York at a
22:47
big event. Right. And I told him I had just opened.
22:50
He lives across the river there. And so we met,
22:54
and that was when? Maybe February. Yeah, two
22:58
months ago. So two weeks later, I was at a local
23:00
restaurant. So I said, come on in. I was at a
23:03
local restaurant called La Michele. Yeah. And
23:06
I walked in. He was eating with the owner. And
23:10
he's like, hey, Bert. So we became fast buddies.
23:12
Cool. Nicest guy. So I said, come in one day.
23:16
He just happened to show up when we had the opening
23:19
night of Birdie, unplanned, and we had the cameras.
23:22
That's how that worked. Yeah. That's so funny.
23:25
So who's the biggest celebrity in your phone?
23:27
This episode is sponsored by Altima Caviar. Experience
23:31
exceptional. Visit them at Altimacaviar .com.
23:36
The biggest celebrity in my phone? Yeah. That's
23:39
a good question. Adam Duritz is one of them.
23:41
The Counting Crows lead singer. President Trump's
23:44
another one. He's in my phone. And Joey Pantoliano,
23:48
he's an actor. Would any of them answer if you
23:50
called them right now? I don't know. I wouldn't
23:54
bother. Call one. I wouldn't bother. One, but
23:57
I could. Do you want me to call one? Yeah, call
23:59
one. Call one. See if he answers. Middle of the
24:01
day on a Thursday. You know who Joey Pants is?
24:05
Yeah. He's a great guy. Say hello. I always ask
24:08
people that question. I'm like, who is there?
24:10
Because there are celebrities on my phone. And
24:11
I'm like, how cute is that? Look at his face.
24:17
Come on, Joey, answer the phone. Hello. There
24:21
he is. Joey! Yes, sir. How you doing? I'm good,
24:25
David. How are you? I'm hanging in there. I'm
24:28
hanging in there. Are you in Connecticut? Yes.
24:30
Good. I hate to bother you, but I want you to
24:33
meet some young woman who asked me to call you.
24:36
Hold on. Hey, Joey. My name's Kerri. I run the
24:39
Restaurant Month Flavor South Florida here in
24:41
South Florida. And David is so kind to be on
24:43
my podcast right now. And I asked him to call
24:46
someone in his phone, and he chose you. So we're
24:49
just saying hello. We're in Jupiter right now.
24:56
We're in Jupiter at the Mothership podcast studio.
25:00
We're north of Palm Beach. That is correct. That's
25:06
right. Right down the road. Yeah. I'll talk to
25:11
you soon. Bye -bye, baby. I love you, wife. That
25:15
was fantastic. That was amazing. I love that
25:17
he answered. But yeah, so let's go back to...
25:21
Guy Fieri birdies. That's how this conversation
25:24
started. See what happens. He showed up with
25:27
his nephew and somebody else. And I was busy
25:31
because it was a busy night. It was like a weekend
25:33
night. I don't remember. So my manager's like,
25:37
Guy Fieri's over at the birdie. That's the opposite
25:39
side of the Seahawk. I said, well, I can't get
25:42
there for a few minutes. No, no. He came to Seahawk.
25:45
I was at the birdie in the kitchen. Oh, right.
25:47
Yeah. Because it was our opening night. And I'm
25:49
like, oh, I should have made him. Pizza and hamburgers
25:51
over here. So then he walked up. He spent a few
25:54
minutes talking to my chef over there looking
25:55
at the food. Then he came over. He bought me
25:58
a bottle of his tequila. Yeah. And he brought
26:00
that in. And then, you know, of course, he's
26:02
a huge, huge star. And everyone's like, oh, shit,
26:05
there he is. Let's get pictures with him. We
26:07
happened to have our social media team filming
26:09
the opening. And he happened to walk into it.
26:11
And it was okay. It was actually a pretty good
26:13
time. That's awesome. So we spent about an hour
26:15
walking. You know, so I'm getting to know him
26:16
a little bit. I like him. He's a gentleman. He's
26:20
successful. He's a nice guy. I've met him about
26:23
three times or so. You know what? He reminds
26:24
me of Emeril in a way of like what you see is
26:26
what you get. Emeril's so nice. And I've known
26:29
Emeril since 80, before the Food Network. Before
26:33
he did the band and all that. And he is just
26:36
down to earth, nice, sweetheart guy. Loves what
26:38
he does. And I get the same impression from him.
26:41
Well, Emeril, he had a great restaurant at Universal
26:44
Studios at a hotel I stayed at. And it has since
26:46
closed. It's a lot of years ago. Let's talk about
26:49
birdies for a second. So I know there's something
26:51
about golf, golf simulation that you are into.
26:55
Is that what drove the concept of birdies? Do
26:58
you like golf simulators? Well, I had a restaurant
27:01
I consulted for in Morristown that had golf simulators.
27:03
They did a lot of business, right, for events.
27:06
So we have a big restaurant, Seahawk. We want
27:09
to do something like a sports bar that isn't.
27:12
hundreds and some odd dollars a head to eat.
27:14
Right. You can have events. You can golf if you
27:17
want, but we also have music. We have bingo.
27:20
We have comedy. We have paint and sip. It's an
27:23
event space. Yeah. And it's also, of course,
27:25
open for the residents of the building and the
27:27
public to come in, shoot some golf balls or play
27:30
some baseball. There's a lot of sports on it.
27:33
Or listen to live music and let your hair down
27:36
without being in a fine dining restaurant. It's
27:39
still quality food. Different price point and
27:41
more handheld food. Oh, that hot dog, though.
27:44
That hot dog was good. I ate that hot dog. That's
27:47
a big dog. That is a huge hot dog. Yeah, yeah.
27:50
So it's got some uniqueness to it. You remember
27:53
the hot dogs. Yeah, I remember the hot dogs.
27:55
And so, you know, we're just starting to ramp.
27:59
I mean, we opened New Year's Eve Seahawk Prime.
28:01
Very busy. Ten weeks later. Or not even 10. Yeah,
28:05
maybe 10 weeks later, we'll open a second restaurant.
28:07
It's a lot of work. Yeah. So that one, you know,
28:09
we got to push that one a little bit more now.
28:12
Now we're coming into off -season. We're going
28:14
to use it for locals, and we're going to do,
28:15
we're booking music. You know, we had a slower
28:19
start because Seahawks stole the show. Right.
28:22
And the Birdie's Coupe, good name. It's a beautiful
28:24
space. Cigar, we get out there smoking if you
28:27
want. You know, that'll mature into something
28:29
really cool. It is a cool spot. Hopefully we
28:32
see that as a... place that everybody knows and
28:35
can visit and go have a good time without the
28:37
fine dining feel, you know, where you can just
28:41
drop in with a group of 10 or 12 or come off
28:44
a boat or come back from a thing or just have
28:47
an event. You can have an event for 100 people
28:49
there where you can golf and you don't have to
28:52
break the bank. You know what I mean? Because
28:54
it's more casual. And for people that don't want
28:57
to get... Lipsticked and dressed up every night
29:01
for dinner. That's a more casual option. I have
29:03
a couple of restaurants in New Jersey where we're
29:05
in high -end zip codes. And we do bingo. And
29:08
people are like, bingo. I love bingo. And people,
29:10
the women are like, you know what? I come here
29:12
with my hoodie on. I don't have my flat sneakers.
29:16
I don't have to get all made up. I'm not on a
29:18
date. I'm not going to see anybody. I know that.
29:20
And they're like, you know what? Saves us time.
29:22
It's like ladies night out. You know, there's
29:25
a few guys playing, but bingo is kind of fun.
29:27
A boy is a territorial. Yeah, but funny you say
29:29
that. So that's really neat about the concept
29:31
of birdies is that you can have, I can bring
29:35
my son there. I can bring a date there. I can
29:37
bring my girls there. A bunch of guys can go
29:39
there. I mean, it's actually, now that I'm like
29:41
really thinking it through, I'm like, it's a
29:44
cool spot because you can accomplish all that.
29:46
And a lot of those restaurants, like I wouldn't,
29:48
I mean, my son is 14 and he's, he's. been eating
29:52
nice places since he's little so he he can handle
29:54
Seahawk Prime but a lot of kids can't you know
29:57
so I feel like I wouldn't that's like for me
30:00
Seahawk's more of like date night or couples
30:02
or something right where birdies is unique because
30:06
like you can do All of the above. And a lot of
30:10
restaurants can't say that. We have people eating
30:12
brunch at Seahawk and their kids are over at
30:15
the birdie. I love that. And they're smacking
30:18
the ball. They're throwing the ball around. They're
30:20
running around. It's a little bit, you know,
30:23
because we have pizza over there and we have
30:26
pretzels and we have hot dogs and we have steak
30:30
frites and roast chicken and all that too. But
30:32
it's a little noisier. And it's great. I mean,
30:36
I don't think it always has to be fancy. And
30:39
even when I go out to dinner, sometimes I'm weird.
30:44
I don't know a lot of people think like this,
30:46
but on Friday or Saturday night, I'm going to
30:48
get dressed. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday,
30:51
I'm going to be a little more casual. I'm still
30:53
going to dress nice, but I'm not trying to like...
30:56
get all decked out because I just feel, is that
30:58
like, do you feel like that's like, that's appropriate,
31:00
right? I feel like I'm doing the right thing
31:02
because like Tuesday night, my friend's like,
31:04
what are we wearing? I'm like, I don't know.
31:05
It's Tuesday. Like figure it out, you know? Well,
31:08
it's everything shouldn't have to be a plan.
31:10
I know, right? Oh, we're running out of time,
31:13
but I have games to play with you. Oh, we've
31:15
got games. When's the trivia game? Not bingo.
31:19
I should have, I should have brought some bingo,
31:20
but I did not. All right. This is a tricky one.
31:25
We're just going to test your knowledge here.
31:27
All righty. What do you think currently today
31:31
are the top ordered dishes in the United States?
31:36
Steak. Yep. Number one. Prime steak. Hamburgers.
31:42
Yep. Hamburgers. Number six. Chicken. Chicken.
31:46
So to be specific, it is an elevated chicken.
31:50
Okay. But yeah, elevated chicken dishes. Pasta.
31:54
Chicken parm. Chicken parm. I don't know. There's
31:58
not. Pasta's number 10. Okay. How about tacos?
32:04
Tacos is number four. I don't even know if fish
32:08
is in the top 10. Pasta's number four? Pasta's
32:11
number four. So what's number two? A fish. Oh,
32:15
it is a fish. Pacific fish. Salmon. Yeah, salmon.
32:18
That's right. I'm happy to see that. Number three
32:21
is also a fish. Well, sort of a fish, yeah. Lobster,
32:26
right? Lobster. So it's more in the high end.
32:29
I'm thinking chain restaurants as well. We have
32:33
the lobster signature dishes, so I like the word
32:35
for lobster. Is sushi in there? No. Not in the
32:39
top ten. Nope. You got most of them. There's
32:42
two left, and they're kind of tricky, to be honest.
32:45
I don't know if you have... Or salad. Caesar
32:51
salad is a big thing. Salad in general is a sandwich.
32:56
Maybe there's a type of wrap or a sandwich. Pizza's
32:59
got to be in there. I think it's more of an elevated.
33:03
Oh, it's an elevated thing? Because when I looked
33:05
up what you're saying was correct of the pizza
33:07
and quesadillas, that was like a lower tier list.
33:12
So I'm going to tell you. Number eight is vegetable
33:15
forward entrees. Example of a cauliflower steak.
33:20
Number nine is Korean barbecue style. That I
33:25
believe. The vegetable one, I agree with you.
33:28
I don't believe Korean barbecue. When you get
33:30
out of the major cities, no one's eating Korean
33:31
barbecue in Idaho. This is true. Or Missouri.
33:35
This is true. This is true. So it might be, you
33:38
know, in the major cities, yes, I like Korean
33:41
food. But yeah, you got all the other ones because
33:44
it's funny. I find there's a lot of trendy foods
33:47
too right now. I see a lot of truffle right now,
33:50
foie gras, caviar. I see caviar everywhere. I'm
33:53
not mad about it by any means. I don't see foie
33:57
gras anywhere. No? I don't use it anymore. Not
34:01
that I like it. I don't think people in the 80s,
34:04
90s, every menu. If you were fine dining, you
34:07
had to have it. And the marketing was good. Now
34:09
it's being banned in New York. And it is in California.
34:13
So it's like, do I like it here and there? Yes,
34:16
I use it. I like to eat it. I don't have any
34:18
issue with eating it. I don't put something on
34:22
the menu that causes people to have a conversation
34:25
about cruelty to animals. Right. So you avoid
34:28
that. You don't want people sitting down and
34:30
saying, oh, plus I got bacon. Some bacon. I don't
34:33
eat some bacon. The best bacon ever. So we've
34:37
had vegetarians. I've had vegetarians smack me
34:40
in the restaurant saying, come here. And they
34:43
smack me and say, you broke me. Those are the
34:46
people eating the cauliflower steak. No, they
34:48
say, you broke me. The bacon's hanging in front
34:51
of me, blow torching it, and people are snipping
34:53
it with scissors and eating it with clothespins.
34:55
And I'm like, I had to try it. Yeah. It's okay.
34:58
Listen, I love vegetables. I would eat a vegetable.
35:01
I'd order a vegetable main course. And I like
35:04
the way the Indian culture and the Asians treat
35:07
vegetables with sauce. And they treat it with,
35:10
you know, they don't just steam it. Right. You
35:12
know, and so we're making it. What's your favorite
35:14
vegetable? Leeks. Oh, leeks are good. But not
35:18
to eat alone. Leeks are good. Leeks are a great
35:20
accent. I like, my favorite vegetable to eat
35:22
is an. Onion ring. Onions, right? A good onion
35:25
ring. Well, you have onion rings at Bertie's.
35:27
I love onion rings. I had those too, by the way.
35:29
The ones we do at Seahawker made in a curry batter,
35:32
so good. I like asparagus, mushrooms. I mean,
35:37
Brussels sprouts. Your favorite one to cook with.
35:41
I like spinach. You know, if I had to eat a vegetable
35:42
every day or something with a steak, spinach.
35:46
That spinach this morning. Cream spinach? I like
35:48
both, but I like sauteed spinach with olive oil.
35:51
Just a big pile of spinach, even cold. Like cook
35:54
it and chill it with sesame oil, like Asian or
35:56
soy. Just eat it. I'm going to change your name
35:59
on my phone to Popeye. I'm doing it. When you
36:03
call me, it's going to say Popeye. I couldn't
36:05
eat spinach as a kid. It was weird. I hated it.
36:07
It was in a can. Well, yeah. But when I eat it,
36:11
I had some this morning. I was working on a new
36:12
dish, and I threw some spinach in a squid ink
36:15
linguine with octopus. It was like, man. Did
36:18
your parents cook when you were a kid? No. My
36:20
mom's in that Worst Cook Hall of Fame. Really?
36:22
No. My mother was terrible. I love your mom.
36:25
I love you. But she didn't learn how to cook.
36:28
My dad was more creative. He'd make breakfast
36:30
and stuff. He had imagination. We ate wholesome
36:35
food. My dad was a health guy. He was a runner.
36:37
As a hobby, he ran marathons and such. So I ate
36:40
brown bread, no sugar, no processed food, no
36:43
soda in my house. I don't really crave that kind
36:47
of junk food. I don't eat Doritos and I don't
36:49
eat potatoes, but I don't have that. I grew up
36:53
drinking and eating healthier foods. I mean,
36:55
I'm not Jack LaLanne by any means, but I tend
36:59
not to eat garbage. Yeah. No, that's great. I
37:02
don't eat fast food anymore. I did for many years
37:04
because of convenience. I'm in the airport. You
37:06
know, chefs eat at 10, 11 o 'clock at night.
37:09
There's only drive -thrus open. Oh, I know it.
37:11
And it's like, you know what? I stopped that.
37:13
I don't trust it, to be honest with you. Do you
37:16
cook at home? I will. I'm not home enough to
37:19
cook at home. During the pandemic, I cooked with
37:20
my puppet. I had a left -hand puppet named Lefto.
37:24
No way. That's what it is. You want to see him?
37:25
Yeah. He made a lot of money. I really do want
37:28
to see him. His name is Lefto. He's my left -hand
37:30
man. What? I would have brought him, but he's
37:33
on a date. Oh, man. I'm really sad you didn't
37:35
bring him. He's a miniature me. I have to see
37:40
this. Let me see where he is. Instagram? Thank
37:43
goodness this episode's on YouTube, too, because
37:46
this is just amazing. I'll bring him next time.
37:51
What's your favorite meal? You're just home.
37:54
What are you going to cook, let's say? He's got
37:56
his own. Let's see, let's see. Oh, my God. He
37:58
has an Instagram? Yes. Stop it. Oh, my God. This
38:03
is hilarious. He travels. He's been to Thailand.
38:06
I was in Dublin at the John George's restaurant.
38:10
He sat with me. He's funny. I'm going to follow.
38:15
We're going to collab him. Yeah? We're collabing
38:17
him immediately. So during the pandemic, he would
38:21
do videos with me, and he would ask questions.
38:25
Yeah, I see that. I mean, you should be on stage
38:28
with this guy. He would ask questions that the
38:29
audience would ask. Like, why are you using olive
38:31
oil? Why do you like, do you like cream spinach
38:33
or regular spinach? Okay. What's your favorite
38:35
vegetable? And I'd answer, and he would, his
38:38
job was to make. leftovers taste good from my
38:41
original dishes. His name's Leftovers. I can't
38:44
do that. And he would be like, well, you know,
38:45
I'm not done with him. He's on a hiatus. I can't
38:48
stop laughing. I love this guy. I cooked during
38:51
the pandemic at home, and I laughed my butt off
38:54
because I couldn't. You know, I'm a good cook.
38:57
I mean, I know I'm a good chef, but you forget
38:59
how good of a cook you are when you're at home.
39:01
Right. With no recipe, just pulling stuff out,
39:03
even making desserts, just winging it. And you're
39:07
like, and sometimes you're not going to lose,
39:08
right? You take chances. Yeah. Well, I made food
39:10
for my neighbors. Some of them were elderly,
39:12
so I'd make like. two gallons of soup, and we
39:16
would put it on our stoops because no one wanted
39:18
to shop. And so I'd make roast chicken, and I'd
39:21
bring a couple of neighbors a roast chicken.
39:22
Oh, that's so sweet. And the idea was left, I
39:24
was telling people, think about your neighbors
39:26
or anyone else, make extra food, because you
39:29
don't want to go to the store as much. Go to
39:31
the store, buy stuff, and cook for three days.
39:34
Some cooks do that anyway. That's their system,
39:37
right? And I liked it. I like cooking at home.
39:40
I'd love to cook at home when I retire. What's
39:42
your favorite food to cook at home, though? I
39:44
usually only make breakfast because that's the
39:46
only thing I'll make at home. But I saute everything
39:51
at home because I want to see it. I can cook
39:54
anything in a frying pan. Do you have any secret
39:56
tips for amazing eggs or pancakes? Is there something
40:01
I'm missing? I mean, why do they make them so
40:04
fluffy? You got to whip the eggs. Egg whites.
40:08
You can make them fluffy. Okay. If you separate
40:10
the eggs, it's a lot of work. If you separate
40:12
the eggs. You know what? You want to know the
40:14
chef breakfast? Yeah, tell me. Tell me everything.
40:17
It's a 90 -second breakfast. Yeah, do it. You
40:20
put toast down. Yeah. You put two eggs in a coffee
40:22
cup. Whisk it up with a little butter, maybe
40:25
a little cheese. You throw that in the microwave
40:27
for 70 seconds. The toast takes 90 seconds. And
40:31
you get a piece of butter. You butter your toast,
40:34
and you got hot eggs in less than two minutes.
40:37
And then all you got to do is wash one cup. That
40:39
was my trick for years. Chef on the go breakfast.
40:42
Two eggs in a coffee cup. Souffle comes way up.
40:45
Yeah. And you eat. You got hot eggs. You didn't
40:47
have to cook them, really. Yeah. And you got
40:49
toast. And that's when you make an egg sandwich.
40:51
And you're out. And that's it. And you can add
40:53
ham to it or whatever. Yeah. That's just fast.
40:56
That's how we eat in the kitchen in the restaurant.
40:58
You know, in the restaurant, you got all the
40:59
stoves on anyway, so everything's hot. At home,
41:02
you got to go find a frying pan. You got to take
41:04
it out. It's a whole production. It's a whole
41:06
pan. Then you got to clean everything. So this
41:08
way, it's, you know, that was my... I'm actually
41:09
a pretty good cook at home. And I don't cook
41:12
a lot at home because... I just, it's a whole
41:14
process. I got to go over to the supermarket,
41:16
then I have to buy, then I have to chop, and
41:18
I have to get pans dirty. And then in the same
41:20
amount of time, with the same amount of money,
41:22
I could just go to a restaurant and eat whatever
41:24
I want. You know what's becoming popular now
41:25
is we serve, we sell turkeys to go on Thanksgiving
41:28
with the stuffing and the brussels and the sweet
41:31
potato. Already made, you heat it up, and it's
41:34
like $500 for eight to ten people. People are
41:37
like, perfect. I don't have to shop for an hour
41:39
and a half. Unpack, chop, chop. Clean, clean.
41:43
And it's like, and the food's better. And it's
41:46
like, you know, it's a ton of work. Years ago,
41:47
kids helped. The aunt came over and helped. I
41:50
remember like husking corn on Long Island, sitting
41:52
on my back stoop for my mom. Like, she's like,
41:54
okay, husk the corn. I'm like, okay. Wow, that
41:57
was weird. I was like a flashback. But now, you
41:59
know, people, well, first, kids don't want to
42:01
help that much. Some do, some don't. And time
42:04
is money. Back then, not every homemaker worked.
42:09
Not every, you know. People don't want to come
42:13
over and help now. Your neighbor and your in
42:15
-laws don't want to come over and start cooking
42:17
with you and doing dishes. No way. So I took
42:20
my family out. I'm in the restaurant business.
42:22
I tell my mother, my brother, my father, come
42:24
to the restaurant. It's easier. It is easier.
42:27
It's all there. Well, there's also a bar. So
42:29
for the people that don't want to sit at the
42:31
same table, you go and get it. It's fun. I like
42:35
the holidays. I like working on the holidays.
42:37
You do? Well, you know, you only get to cook
42:39
turkey once a year. Yeah. Right? And people's
42:41
holidays, if you do the holidays well, the same
42:43
people come back. Because no one wants to risk.
42:46
going out with grandpa and the in -laws and waiting
42:49
a half an hour for table or having shitty food.
42:51
You can charge if you can deliver. Yeah, no,
42:55
that's true. You got a kid over here. You got
42:57
grandma. You make everybody happy. They come
43:00
in, their table, their reservation's honored
43:03
at the right time. You can charge for it and
43:06
had a good meal. And it was pleasant. And they
43:08
leave and they trust you now. When you try to
43:11
overbook and someone gets screwed and wait and
43:14
then the table's too small, grandpa's bad, all
43:16
of a sudden they never come back. So you got
43:18
to respect who's coming on the holiday. Saturday
43:21
night in December in New York, you can overbook.
43:24
People expect to wait. Right. No, that's very
43:27
true. I've worked. Many, many, many of holidays.
43:31
I've worked Thanksgiving in the restaurants.
43:33
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day, all of
43:36
it, Easter. It's not for the week. So it's funny.
43:39
So my son, he's getting ready to go to high school
43:42
in a few months, which is crazy to me. And the
43:46
other day we had to fill out this form for the
43:48
intake. And he said, so put your electives in.
43:52
So you have to choose. And I am shocked what
43:55
he chose. He chose art, which I wasn't surprised
43:58
about. He's very creative. And he chose debate
44:01
and he chose culinary. That's good. And I was
44:04
like, you chose culinary? I was really proud
44:07
of it. He's like, yeah. He's like, I want to
44:10
learn how to cook. I'm like, oh, my gosh. He
44:13
just stole my heart all over again. Because I
44:16
love that. Because I feel like food brings out
44:20
such creativity. And it always just, to me, makes
44:22
people happy. Every time you're eating, you're
44:24
gathering around a table. I associate food with
44:28
happiness. Because when you're going out to dinner,
44:30
you're going out on the holidays with your family,
44:32
with your friends. And, you know, it's just,
44:35
so it makes me happy. When I was in high school,
44:39
I was interested in cooking. I went to home ec.
44:43
I was called home ec back then. And I signed
44:46
up and people laughed at me. My wrestling coach
44:50
called me a really bad name because I wanted
44:53
to be a chef. Like, you know, like a fairy. Yeah,
44:56
yeah. Like, really? And I was like, yeah, because
44:58
it was the 70s. Where is that guy? Where is that
45:01
guy now? He passed away. He wasn't a bad guy.
45:03
It was, you know what, it's just the way people
45:05
were back then. Yeah, I know. You know what I
45:07
mean? It's like, it doesn't matter. I was okay
45:09
with it because wrestling is a different thing.
45:12
mentality and ego. Listen, my father didn't want
45:16
me to be a chef. He's like, you're crazy. He
45:17
goes, that's a tough business. And it's got a
45:20
lot of pitfalls. Because my dad grew up on top
45:23
of bars. The alcohol, the drugs, the late nights,
45:27
the hours. And back then, they didn't make any
45:29
money. My first job was the kitchen. Vietnam
45:33
vets, God bless them. Dropouts, hippies, God
45:37
bless them too. You know what? These guys are
45:39
the most creative, lovable people. I was a kid.
45:41
I was 14. But you know what? They all stuck together,
45:44
and they could cook. When it came time to work,
45:46
it was like watching a band. get together and
45:51
you say, these guys can't, or you ever see a
45:55
group of bikers pull up and you think, oh, these
45:58
guys don't have jobs. They got jobs. Some of
46:00
them are doctors. Some of them are this, some
46:01
of them are that. They get mislabeled sometimes.
46:04
And I think the culinary world was mislabeled
46:06
for a long time. I mean, it's just a creative
46:08
profession. Do you have any crazy stories that
46:11
you want to share from like this one story, your
46:13
favorite story from like the 70s or 80s in a
46:16
kitchen? I got so many stories. I feel like we
46:18
could be here for four hours. I'll tell you one
46:21
story. Tell me one. Tell me one. People ask me
46:23
oftentimes, like, how did you know you wanted
46:25
to be a chef when you were, like, a freshman?
46:28
Yeah. I'm like, well, you know, I was smart.
46:33
I had good grades. I graduated high school in
46:34
three years, so I was very clever. Good memory.
46:37
And I was an athlete. I was a varsity wrestler
46:40
as a freshman, which is hard to do. I started
46:44
working in the kitchen. the summer of freshman
46:46
going into sophomore year. And the boss, his
46:51
name was Danny the Chef. He was a good -looking
46:53
ex -Marine guy. And everyone else was like, one
46:56
was my mother's cousin, long -haired hippie,
46:58
another couple guys from Vietnam. You know, they
47:01
had pickup trucks and listened to Dad. And this
47:04
little hotel I worked at was near the Performing
47:07
Arts Center. It was in Holmdel, number 35. So
47:11
if you're from Saraville, you know. And Jackson
47:13
Brown was staying there, Meatloaf and Leonard
47:15
Skinner and everybody that played at the PNC
47:17
stayed there. And they would come through the
47:19
kitchen because of the paparazzi. People knew
47:21
they were staying there when they were playing.
47:23
So the girls or whatever would be looking for
47:25
autographs. So all the roadies would come through
47:27
the kitchen and hang out with the other chefs.
47:29
And they knew where to get the stuff or whatever
47:31
it was. And as a kid, I was a dishwasher. I was
47:35
just like, wow, this is good. This is cool. Like,
47:37
I didn't know. The Allman Brothers, big fan,
47:39
you know. They're hanging Greg Allman's in the
47:41
back. And I'm like, this is so exciting, right?
47:44
And then the food was so amazing that they would
47:48
get buckets of clams and pieces, sides of beef
47:52
and veal and cut it. And then all of a sudden,
47:54
I mean, they'd make it into beautiful food. And
47:56
I remember what I saw, and it was still really
47:59
good. I wasn't a food critic back then because
48:03
I didn't really know what good food was. But
48:04
I know looking at it in my head today, they were
48:06
putting out great food. Even a club sandwich
48:08
to me was like fascinating. Layers stacked, cut
48:12
into triangles, French fries, right? Pastries,
48:15
anyway. So I had to learn everything quickly.
48:18
Danny, I had to wash his car. He'd give me an
48:20
extra 10, 20 bucks, whatever it was. He had two
48:22
Corvettes. He always had two hot babes, at least,
48:25
right? I'm a kid, right? Yeah, yeah. I walk out
48:28
one day, he's having sex on top of one of his
48:30
Corvettes with some model. No way. And the screen
48:34
door fucking makes noise, and he sees me, and
48:36
I'm like, and he's like, he goes, I'll pay you
48:38
tomorrow. I said, no worries, man. I'm good.
48:40
I'm good. And I'm walking home that night through
48:43
the drive -in theater. There was an outdoor drive
48:45
-in movie theater, the last one in the state.
48:47
Yeah. It was in Haslett. And I'm driving by,
48:50
and some of the guys I grew up with, they're
48:52
outside of the fence. They would hook up a speaker.
48:56
They were in the cars and Bob Seger's playing
48:58
night moves in one of the cars. And I'm walking
49:01
home and I thought about what I had seen with
49:03
Danny and his vet. And I'm like, I can do this.
49:09
I'm like, I got this. I qualify for this job.
49:14
I want to be Danny. I'm going to be Danny. That's
49:16
amazing. That's a good story. But there's a lot
49:19
of also late night stories in New York City of,
49:22
you know, dangerous things that happen when you
49:24
work in the nightlife. When you get out of work
49:26
at midnight. We need episode two for that one.
49:28
Yeah, yeah. There's a lot. Because you wind up
49:32
out. You're out. New York is a crazy place. Things
49:34
happen. Yeah. Things happen after midnight, right?
49:37
Nothing good happens after midnight. That's what
49:39
I'm told, at least. That's what you hear. You
49:41
should probably go home. Yeah. It's like Cinderella.
49:43
Well, most people do now. The younger generation.
49:45
It's early. Because they have things to do. Yeah.
49:46
They have this. Yeah. Right? And they can go
49:48
to the gym now at midnight. And you can do things.
49:51
And there's, you know, I have my kids. I'm going
49:53
to be grandpa in. Yeah? Six weeks. Oh, that's
49:58
amazing. First one, yeah. But they're not like,
50:00
you know, Moms County. Is Sarahville Moms County
50:03
or Essex? Middlesex. We were rascals. That's
50:09
what you did. You stayed out of trouble. You
50:11
did what you had to do. You avoided being home.
50:14
It's a completely different world. I want to
50:18
wrap up with this one last question. I'm going
50:22
to show you a picture of this guy. If you could
50:25
give him advice, what would you tell him? Who
50:30
is that? Look at that haircut. That was 1987,
50:36
88. I would say stay focused and enjoy the ride.
50:43
That's me. That's a sharp -looking guy right
50:46
there. Yeah, that was 1988 at the River Cafe.
50:50
Yep, determination. I had that. Yep. Yeah? Yep.
50:55
I just say watch the pitfalls. That's all. I
51:00
have good memories. I had a nice career in this
51:03
business. And you're going to keep on going.
51:06
Oh, yeah. No, I'm still going. Anything coming
51:09
up new that we can expect? I'm working on a book,
51:12
like a life story book, at least from my culinary
51:17
journey. And that'll be interesting because it's
51:19
going to be real. And a lot of it's gorgeous
51:22
and good and triumphant, and then there's the
51:24
dark side. Some of these things that we go through
51:27
in life, and I think it's important. What one
51:30
chef in America did, how I got here. And it wasn't
51:35
because of TV, and it wasn't because of this,
51:37
and it wasn't because it was a popular life choice.
51:41
Guys my age that cooked. got into cooking, were
51:46
the pioneers of taking a chance of being in an
51:48
industry that was not embraced by anybody, especially
51:52
economically. We weren't making money. There
51:55
was no food network. There was nobody I wanted
51:57
to be like, right? People were like, well, who
51:59
inspired you? Well, it wasn't Julia Child. I
52:02
didn't want to be Julia Child. I didn't really
52:04
know. I didn't want to be James Beard. I didn't
52:06
want to be. There was nobody that I wanted to
52:08
be except me, right? I just wanted to be the
52:10
quarterback in my kitchen. And that's all I could
52:13
see. Would I want to be like one of the great
52:15
chefs in Europe that owned a restaurant? Yeah.
52:17
But we didn't know who that was because you didn't
52:20
have this. So you were like, you were walking
52:22
into uncharted waters, which has a... very good
52:26
opportunity to break all the rules. And cooking
52:29
in America affords you to break rules. So if
52:31
you're a rule breaker, which I am, you can break
52:35
some rules, meaning you don't have to follow,
52:37
you don't have to put applesauce with every pork
52:40
chop. You can change things. And once you learn
52:42
the chemistry and the science and the geography
52:46
and the history of food, then you have a good
52:49
foundation to create. I'm going to leave with
52:51
that amazing, incredible advice. And I thank
52:54
you so much for being here. This was a joy. Thank
52:59
you. We're fast. This was an absolute joy. It
53:00
went really fast. I'm telling you, we could do
53:02
an episode two if you want. Yeah. Because I feel
53:04
like we could just dive into whole other things.
53:08
Music. New York after midnight. Yeah. Stay tuned,
53:11
folks. Lefto. We got to bring Lefto on. Lefto,
53:16
he's got a fresh mouth. Be careful. Lefto. Stay
53:21
tuned for Lefto. And if your son ever needs help
53:23
in culinary, let me know. Thank you. Thank you.
53:26
Nice afternoon. Thank you. Thanks for joining
53:29
me on Forking Around with Flavor South Florida.
53:31
If you're in the industry, a business owner,
53:33
or just want a better understanding of what goes
53:35
into keeping restaurants alive and thriving,
53:37
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53:39
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53:41
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53:53
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