Latest / What’s Up, Wake / Recipe for Success: Cooking Up Conversations with Scott Crawford
Transcript
- [00:00:00] Melissa: For our first ever episode of What's Up Wake, I set out to find someone who would check off my top three qualities for an ideal guest. One. The mystery factor, everyone knows this person's name but doesn't necessarily know a lot about them. Two, the it factor, A name that is nationally recognized and celebrated, and three, what I call the do-gooder [00:01:00] factor. Someone who uses his or her platform to help improve the lives of others in our area. I'm so thrilled and honored to be sitting with our first ever guest, who most definitely checks off all three factors. His name is synonymous with the burgeoning foodie scene in Wake County. He's a 2025 James Beard Foundation nominee for outstanding restaurateur. Five times semifinalists for Best Chef in the Southeast and 2024 outstanding hospitality finalist nominee. He's the visionary behind some of the area's most renowned culinary establishments, opening three new restaurants and his first cocktail bar last year alone. He's the leader and creator of the incredibly popular restaurants, Crawford and Son Jolie. Broo. Crawford's Genuine and Crawford Brothers Steakhouse, as well as the cocktail bar Suter. This episode is surely a recipe for success. [00:02:00] Please join me in welcoming chef restaurateur, CEO, advocate, and all around local rockstar Scott Crawford. Welcome, Scott. Scott Crawford: Thank you. Thank what an introduc you so much. Melissa: Yeah, thank you so much for being here. Scott Crawford: My pleasure. Melissa: Okay, so first I want. To, for you to give us a little bit of a history lesson, how you became who you are today, how you got into being a chef, how you got started in the business, all of that good stuff. Scott Crawford: Sure. First of all, thanks for having me especially on the first episode. I'm honored to be here. How I got started in this industry was a little bit of an accident, and I've told this story before, but I enjoy telling it. I found restaurants. I moved from my hometown in Pennsylvania as a very small town. I moved to Florida when I was 17, and I found restaurants as a way to earn, quick cash and [00:03:00] it fit my lifestyle, which was I liked to party. Back then, I liked to stay up late. I was a night owl. I liked to be at the beach all day. I could do all of those things and still go to work. I liked the people. I fell in love with the energy of restaurants, but really it was just a way to earn money. I started as a buser and a dishwasher, and then I was a server, and then I was a bar back. And then just one day someone didn't show up in the kitchen and, . I guess it was fate because I worked that shift and it was just magic for me. And the next day the chef and several of the cooks made the comment that you belong here with us. And those are some pretty powerful words. Melissa: Absolutely. Especially for a young guy who left home at an early age. Scott Crawford: With no direction. So now I had a, I had a crew, I had people [00:04:00] and I took a pay cut, but it was magical to start learning all the things that they knew how to do. That just and then later, I realized how many boxes this checked for me. I was an adrenaline junkie and cooking in a busy kitchen is nothing but adrenaline. You live. On adrenaline, I needed a creative outlet. Since I was very young, I've needed a creative outlet. And when I don't have a creative outlet it's not good for me. It's not good for my mental health or my my energy's way off when I'm not able to be creative in some way. And so it, it gave me that it gave me all this incredible comradery. And so I just took it and ran with it and from there. Every time I felt like I didn't have much more to learn and in, in a kitchen, I would then try to get into a better kitchen with a better chef or some other type of cuisine that I could learn. And I went from there. Melissa: So [00:05:00] you started your culinary experiences in Florida? Scott Crawford: Correct. Melissa: And then what was next? Was that California? Scott Crawford: Yeah. I actually went from Florida to, I did a short stint in Richmond, Virginia, and I was very inspired there, even though I was there only a short time. I was inspired by a young chef named Michelle Williams and she inspired me just to. Really get serious. Okay. She, recognized that I had some talent. She led in a different way also than other chefs had led that I'd worked for. She led with a little more empathy for her team and she led in a way that I had not seen. And I went from there back to Florida, and I got a culinary degree, just a two year culinary degree. Because I had, during my time in kitchens, I had already made a, an attempt at going to college and I had dropped out. So [00:06:00] I wanted that sense of accomplishment. I wanted a piece of paper that said, I knew how to cook. In hindsight, maybe I should have just, done an apprenticeship somewhere or whatever, but it was good. It, the education was good and it opened a door for me with a chef named Scott Howard, who was working in Tampa at the time. And he then later took me to San Francisco during that era, which was, when Thomas Keller was really just getting his name made in ville and. Gary Danko and all these amazing chefs were doing this amazing work in San Francisco. I had never heard of people talking about happy cows make better milk. And we had a farm liaison, we had a person who was on staff who just worked with farmers and foragers to bring us product. It was just an unbelievable experience and so that opened up all sorts of. Opportunity for me to learn. And then when I returned [00:07:00] to the East coast, 'cause all my family's here and I knew I was just going to the West Coast to train I joined the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, and that's probably where , you go to get your master's degree in Melissa: Oh, okay. In Scott Crawford: hospitality and And cooking. And you back then, it was either Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton. And everyone was either Four Seasons trained or Ritz Carlton trained Melissa: then. Okay. Scott Crawford: So that was my, when, I really started to come into my own as a chef and become start to discover what kind of chef I was going to be. Melissa: It sounds like at that point you'd worked with several head chefs and each of them had their own way of doing things. You mentioned Michelle Williams. How were you able to blend what they had taught you and make it your own? Scott Crawford: I think that's a process, and it's a process too, of taking things that you like from their leadership taking things that you didn't like [00:08:00] and sifting through all of that. And then gaining experience as a leader and trying to incorporate things to become this sort of type of leader that you want to be. And I think that's always an ongoing, even to this day, leadership is so important in being a great chef. You cannot be a great chef without being a great leader. You can be a great cook, but you can't be a great chef unless you know how to lead people. And, get people to buy into your vision. So the leadership thing was really crucial for me to and I think maybe that's what made me successful earlier on, was that I I studied leadership just as much as I studied cooking. But I wasn't perfect, that's for sure. I was. I came up in the, in an era that was just really hardcore. Sometimes slept in the kitchens. You hear all the stories. It really was that way. It was hardcore. I had to [00:09:00] really think about how I wanted to lead people because I knew that wasn't necessarily right. It was great. In many ways the way I came up. But it also wasn't, it didn't feel exactly right Melissa: or sustainable. Scott Crawford: Correct. Which I would later learn. Melissa: Yeah. You're, this is actually bringing up my next question, which is the fact that you've been named CEO of the Year by Triangle Business Journal, along with the many accolades of being a chef. So how do you handle being a CEO. At the same time as a chef how are the two things intertwined? Scott Crawford: Again, it's about building the right team. I have an incredible team and I have a culinary director who started with me as a chef at Cuisine and has worked with me for over five years. I have a director of operations. I have a director of culture, and we built the, this infrastructure. As we opened [00:10:00] restaurants, Melissa: okay. Scott Crawford: As we had the revenue to pay for these positions, we added them we added the positions, but put people in the positions who understood the company and understood the culture that we're, they're we're trying to create. But for me to be able to weave in the kitchen and then out of the kitchen. Work in the company and then simultaneously on the company. Melissa: Yeah, Scott Crawford: it's a it's a dance but it's all made possible by the people that I have put in these positions. Melissa: And you also mentioned that you love the creative outlet of it, and I'm assuming that each aspect of the restaurants and the business. Really tapping into the creative side of things too. So you're using that creative side in different ways Scott Crawford: constantly. We're being creative as a team. E every day we're having [00:11:00] creative discussions every day. Mm-hmm. Whether it's, sometimes last year a lot of those creative discussions were about concept design, build out. Those are all very creative. Sessions now that everything is open, the conversations are about what can we do that's different and outside of the box for Valentine's Day or upcoming events or wine dinners or just spring menus are coming up. We're very seasonal in how we write our menus. So, there's five concepts that we have to have. Five different meetings talking about spring product with five different chefs and sous and their sous chefs. And the creative juices are unbelievable actually. It inspires me. So now, instead of me just being the one that inspires everyone, they're all inspiring me and it's a really cool place to be. Melissa: It sounds like it. Scott Crawford: It's a, I have [00:12:00] created. My dream job Melissa: and how many people can say that? Honestly not too many. I Scott Crawford: feel so fortunate and to be Melissa: as successful. So it's one thing to create your dream job, but to be so successful at it, that's a totally different beast. Scott Crawford: And we have successes and we have failures, but, overall I think people look at success maybe in the wrong way sometimes. We learn from our failures, which makes us more successful next year. And so we don't view small failures as failures. And so from the outside, I think a lot of people just see the success. But, we have a lot of issues and small failures internally all the time. We just view them as an opportunity to learn. And . We are overall successful. But that's from learning from a series of failures for, 20 years. Melissa: So let's go back just a little bit and I [00:13:00] want to know, and one thing I've always been curious about you is why Raleigh? Why did you go from Florida to California to Charleston, and then you settled in Raleigh? Great. Thank you. Yeah. Scott Crawford: That's a, but I've Melissa: always been curious about that. Scott Crawford: That's a great question. So what I had, I met my wife in Charleston and then I was offered to go, do you know, this historic reopening of the Cloister Hotel on Sea Island. And they wanted, this Forbes five star restaurant that, didn't exist and they wanted me to do it. And so I left Charleston. My then girlfriend, who's now my wife, went with me. We, I had this mission to go open this five star restaurant in Georgia on Sea Island. And and it worked. We did it. We opened this, reopened, the cloister. It was there for 75 years and they tore it down. And anyway, it was a great gig. And after about three years [00:14:00] and we got the accolades, we were looking for, what was gonna be. More long term. We were there to do a job and we enjoyed our time. We had our son when we were there, we got married. And so life was going in a really great way for us. But we were looking for something maybe, where are we gonna put roots and so we actually got a call from the Umstead and they were looking for an executive chef and possibly a food and beverage director. They had been open for a couple years, but they weren't happy with the direction of the food and beverage there. So we came up and we just thought, wow, yeah, maybe this is it. So we decided we'll make this a five year gig and at the end of five years we'll decide, what to do if we're staying or going. And within that five years we certainly fell in love and our kids were going to great schools and. Meeting great people, and we had our daughter here and just, I don't know, it just felt like an amazing community to us, and it was [00:15:00] growing. And so at the end of five years, instead of saying, all right let's go find a new job and a new place to live, we said, let's, it's time to start our own company. Melissa: Okay. We certainly thank you guys for choosing us. Scott Crawford: Oh, we love it. We love it. You Melissa: really have changed the landscape. Of restaurants and establishments in this town. I, I hope that even though you're incredibly busy, you've been able to take a step back and look at all the things you've done and see the impact you've made because it is, it's quite substantial. Scott Crawford: Oh, thank you. Melissa: mean, I don't think that Raleigh was really a foodie scene until, , I don't wanna give you all the credit, but you did have quite a big big role in that. Scott Crawford: I appreciate you saying that. I think there, you're right, there were lots of people who were involved in that and pushing pushing things forward and doing really cool things. But it is nice to know that you can make an impact on your community and I think that when you get, you gain some maturity as a chef and [00:16:00] you've, you gain. Sort of this comfort in who you are as a chef. Then you start looking for those sort of things like, how can I impact my community? Not how can I open a restaurant and make some money, but how can I impact my community? And then, the success follows that it's like a bigger vision. Which, for me just came with maturity and that does feel great. That was one of the reasons I remember that came up in conversation with my wife when we decided to stay here. And she encouraged me to, and she's helped me with the company. She works in the company and she was, doing a lot of things early on when we didn't have the money to create positions. She just did it. So my wife Jessica, was just incredibly supportive and not only in a way of encouraging me. To start a company and start opening restaurants, but she was right there doing the work. And in those conversations, I remember saying, I I think we can [00:17:00] make an impact here because we almost went back to Charleston. And I think Charleston is just, was more fully formed already as a food scene. Now it's, yeah, Melissa: it was already known to be that, right? Scott Crawford: Constantly evolving, but I felt like we could make more of an impact here. Melissa: Yeah, definitely. Scott Crawford: That was all part of the conversation for sure. Melissa: You're re you're reminding me about the saying that if you do what you're passionate about, you'll never work a day in your life. Scott Crawford: Yeah. Melissa: So it sounds like you and Jessica both are, first of all, really good teammates. Definitely. I don't know a lot of people that can work on a daily basis with their spouse and not butt heads or with any family members, quite honestly, and not butt heads. So it's and I always tell my kids. Who you marry is the most important decision of your entire life. Sure Scott Crawford: is. Melissa: So it sounds like you, you got a good one. Scott Crawford: Yeah, definitely. Melissa: So you have been very vocal over the years about your past struggles with addiction and your sobriety journey. I'm wanting to know why [00:18:00] that's important to you, that you are vocal about that, and then I want you to touch on. Your founding of the area's, Ben's friends and your work with healing transitions. So if we can roll that long question into Sure. One conversation, that'd be great. Scott Crawford: So to answer you, the first part of your question as we were discussing earlier the way that we came up in, in this industry. Drinking drug use was always a, just a recreational part of the being a chef or a cook that was just accepted. And at times, encouraged and I perpetuated that I'm guilty of it. I worked hard and I played hard and I taught my cooks that, before I really knew that it wasn't sustainable. We're in our twenties and we think we're invincible and we can do this forever. And it was great. We couldn't do it forever. We all ended up, crashing and burning somehow, whether it was burnout or, for me, I was struggling with addiction for a long time. I guess I was functional, but [00:19:00] just, it was a long struggle. And so when I, I met someone named Mickey Baxt, who later founded Ben's friends with Steve Palmer, but I met him 20 years ago. When I was a, just a month sober and I was just doing it. Was this Melissa: in Charleston? It was, yeah. Scott Crawford: Okay. I was sober just to, because I was pretty sure that I, I was not gonna live much longer if I didn't get sober, but I really was a relapse waiting to happen. And he just he saw that and took me under his wing. And an Melissa: addict can spot an addict a mile away. Oh, listen, I have found that. Scott Crawford: We, he and you, he could see the struggle in me even though I was sober. , and he took me under his wing. And to this day, he's still my sponsor. I, I celebrated 20 years of sobriety in October. Wow. Melissa: That's amazing. Scott Crawford: And he was, he's been there every step of the way. And so has Steve Palmer, someone who's also very important in my life. I met him a little bit after I met Mickey. He's also in [00:20:00] the industry and he's also. Sober. And so Mickey and Steve founded Ben's friends in Charleston. Ben's friends is a support group developed specifically for people in the industry to learn how to be sober in the industry and to be, a support for them. And so I brought the first chapter outside of Charleston. To Raleigh and then now it, it's, they've gone on to expand that to I, I don't even know how many states now, but it's nationwide. Melissa: Okay. Scott Crawford: And Ben's friends is I think an amazing work and I always want to plug it. And we're doing a, I'm always trying to look for ways to raise money so that they can continue to expand. And healing transitions is something here in Raleigh. That is a, uh, this is a recovery facility where you can go there to detox and you can stay in the program for up [00:21:00] to a year. I've hired graduates of the program, and this is free if you don't have insurance. This is free to anyone. Melissa: That's quite remarkable. I do want to touch on that because my father was an alcoholic growing up, and so I've been through the whole process of trying to find a place, trying to find the right fit. And not every place is the right fit. That's right. And then can you get in and will it take our insurance? And, how long can you stay and they'll kick you out when you're not quite ready to leave. So that's why I think healing transitions is such. A unique place and to have it here in Raleigh, especially since Dorothy Dix is no longer, what it was originally founded for. Healing transitions is really special because of that. Scott Crawford: It is a special place and they're saving people's lives. Yeah. And they're allowing people to go get well. Do the work, learn how to be sober, and then come back out and lead, [00:22:00] great lives. And you can go in there, with no place to live and no place to go and they just don't turn anyone away. Melissa: Yeah. Scott Crawford: It truly is an amazing place and I serve on the board there now, and I've learned the more I learn about healing transitions, the more I love it. And we did a big fundraiser in October on the 20th to and part of that was to celebrate my 20 years. And I picked up my 20 year chip from the Director of Healing Transitions, Chris Budnick, who's become a very good friend of mine. And it was just a really special evening. And at the same time we cooked, I cooked with a bunch of sober chefs and volunteers and just staff from our restaurants. Raised a lot of funds. They constantly, they need fundraising, obviously if they are gonna put people through the program and house them for a period of time for free if they don't have insurance. So we're always looking for creative ways to raise money for healing transitions. Melissa: So you once said that cooking saved your life. What did you mean by [00:23:00] that? Scott Crawford: As I alluded to earlier, I think if I didn't have a creative outlet someplace to channel the, my energy, I, it was always being channeled in very negative ways, otherwise. So in that way, I think cooking gave me this refuge, this place to go and be. Creative and focus, all of this sort of manic energy I had. Which if I didn't have that, if I hadn't found cooking, and you hear a lot of chefs say this, I don't know what might have happened to me. But it probably wouldn't have been good. Melissa: And it also introduced you to your sponsor. That's correct. And your closest friends who have helped you heal. Scott Crawford: That's correct. Yeah. Melissa: Okay, so turning the page you touched on this. Briefly, but the concept of farm to Kitchen, has that always been a part of your menu planning and your life as a chef? Scott Crawford: Yes. I think every place I've ever lived, we, I've been in touch with some farmers, we're constantly looking [00:24:00] for small farmers to work with. They have the best product. We they're truly committed. We know that their practices are good. And we use the farmer's market here to inspire us and to tell us when it's time to change the menu. Melissa: Yeah. Scott Crawford: Yeah, it's always been a part of my cooking in almost every one of my generation. Melissa: Yeah. I feel like growing up I don't really remember hearing a lot of. Farm to table type of, the whole concept of that. But nowadays it's become the norm. Scott Crawford: And in Melissa: North Carolina, you can't beat our farms. I'll plug the farmers of North Carolina. We've got some of the best here, Scott Crawford: great farmers here, really anywhere. You just have to look and you, and the soil's different, so you may get different products, but it's a, it's really a concept that's been going on for a really long time. It inspires chefs. Farmers really inspire chefs by what they bring us. So it's almost necessary. Melissa: So when was the last time that you were able to sit and [00:25:00] enjoy a meal without thinking like a chef at somebody else's restaurant? Scott Crawford: It's funny, I probably last night when my wife cooked for me. I enjoy. That is Melissa: a cheat answer. I'm gonna call, Scott Crawford: listen, I people think that I'm really hard to cook for my friends will hesitate to invite me over. I bet I that's Melissa: intimidating. I Scott Crawford: am not difficult to please. I really am not. I'm Melissa: sure you enjoy a break every once in a while. I do any, Scott Crawford: anything that's cooked by someone else. With love and put in front of me, I'm gonna enjoy. And I come from very humble beginnings. I get to eat in fancy restaurants now because I'm a chef, but I didn't grow up that way. Melissa: Yeah. Scott Crawford: So I enjoy just a good meal that's cooked with love. It doesn't matter really who cooks it. Melissa: Nice. Okay. That's the perfect way to end, but I was hoping you would stick around for a lightning round of questions. Scott Crawford: Sure. Melissa: Okay. Your Instagram [00:26:00] profile says motorcycle enthusiast. If you had one free day, where would you ride? Scott Crawford: If I had one free day, I would just get on my bike and go west a couple hours to the Blue Ridge Parkway, get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and just go. Melissa: Yeah, you can't beat that. No. So I'm with you on that. Scott Crawford: If I had more than one day, I'd go to South Dakota. Anywhere in South Dakota, but. One day Blue Ridge. Melissa: Nice. Okay. If you could do anything other than being a chef, what would you do? Scott Crawford: I would probably be a musician, I think, even though I'm not that good at it. I love it. Melissa: Okay. That is the perfect answer for my next question. What is your favorite band? Scott Crawford: Sound Soundgarden is probably the band that impacted me the most over my lifetime. Chris Cornell and Soundgarden. Melissa: I'm going to say that the only correct answer would be Red Hot Chili Peppers. Being a chef. Scott Crawford: I love the chili peppers too. Melissa: Yeah. [00:27:00] Favorite date? Night spot In Raleigh? Scott Crawford: In Raleigh. We've been my wife and I really enjoy Brewery Bavana still. We've been going a lot to Colletta in Fenton. Those are a couple of our latest, but we move around. So those are the two latest. And Brewery Bavana is opening in Fenton also. That's an Melissa: Oh yeah, that's right. So you'll be neighbors. Yeah. Okay. So Scott Crawford: those are two of our recent spots. Melissa: If you could spend the weekend in one international city, which one would you choose? Scott Crawford: Oh, probably Paris. We love, I Melissa: had a feeling you would say that just because of the food scene, right? Scott Crawford: Yeah. We just love it there. It's just probably our favorite city. I. Melissa: What dish does your family, particularly, your kids, request for you to make at home? Scott Crawford: Oh, you know what, we eat a lot. We eat crabs, crab legs. That's what we do on celebratory events, whether it's a birthday or Jolie won a cheer competition or Giles got a good [00:28:00] grade or whatever. We eat crabs. Melissa: Nice. Okay. My birthday's coming up and I, that is exactly what I'm wanting is some crab legs for my birthday. We crave them. Okay. Favorite breakfast or lunch for you to have before you head out to the restaurant for a dinner shift? Scott Crawford: So is this at home or does it matter? Melissa: Doesn't matter. Scott Crawford: So I go to bolted bread. Melissa: Okay. In Raleigh. Okay. That could be, I have never been there. Scott Crawford: Oh, you need to drive. I drive Melissa: by it all the time. That can Scott Crawford: be breakfast or lunch. They have sweet pastries, breakfast type pastries, but also savory pastries, amazing bread, and it's just a cool vibe okay. That's good answer. I, Melissa: I just, I feel like I never drive by there when I'm hungry, which is rare. So Scott Crawford: You need to go. Melissa: Okay. You touched on the, the farm to table. But do you have a favorite month or season to create your ideal menu? Scott Crawford: I love October. I love fall. But probably it's a tough, it's a tough choice between spring or fall because they're both just so exciting. And [00:29:00] colorful and everything. Yeah. And it Melissa: really touches on the flavors and the visuals. Now, the product in Scott Crawford: summer here is amazing also, but the change in the weather I think also inspires us. So I think fall. Melissa: Do you have any hidden talents? Scott Crawford: Oh, I can play guitar. Melissa: Okay. Alright. So that would fit you being in a band if you, if the whole chef thing doesn't work out? Yeah, if Scott Crawford: it doesn't work out, I'll start a band. Melissa: Okay. And last question, do you have any pets? Scott Crawford: Yeah, we have a lot of pets. Actually we have four cats. I don't know how that happened, but we have four cats and and that's Melissa: easy to have. I've got three. You see a cute kitten. Yeah. You cannot deny that face. Scott Crawford: We rescued two of 'em. And then we have two dogs and my wife. Now has a horse. Melissa: Oh, okay. So she, she rides I'm assuming? Yeah, she does. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Nice. Scott Crawford: So yeah, we love animals and and we probably will continue to get more animals. I foresee more cats in your future. They just bring us so much joy. The whole family. They do. Melissa: Yeah, [00:30:00] they do. Okay. With that, I'd like to thank you so much for being here, for being our first ever guest of What's Up Wake. I really appreciate it. Scott Crawford: Thank you very much for having me. I've enjoyed it. ,