I hear you're working two jobs now -- Oak and Belly & Trumpet. How's that working out for you? It's working out well. Most of the time is spent at Belly & Trumpet. Then, I help out at Oak when I can. But my focus is primarily on the new place.
You and Jason Maddy (of Oak) both worked Davillion at The Mansion. What did you learn from him? Bruno is amazing. I had been cooking for about eight years when I joined The Mansion, and I was there about 15 months. The most influential aspect was the use of flavors. He's an amazing chef and taught me a ton about putting flavors on plates.
What did he teach you about running a kitchen? Bruno is definitely very soft spoken, but when he does speak, it counts, which is something I'm still working on. I wish I was a little more like him in that regard. He's a great leader in the kitchen. He has very high expectations for everyone in the kitchen and expects people to work independently and to be accountable for their work. He's about training chefs, not just working with cooks.
You opened a restaurant in Portland, Oregon. What did you learn from that experience? I learned a ton about the business side -- getting contacts, pulling everything together. This was actually the second restaurant I helped open [Belly & Trumpet would be the third] and as far as opening places, it's a lot of fun.
It seems to me that opening restaurants is a rather arduous process. It's also very fulfilling though. That first night or week, when you watch it all come together, it's worth it.
How important is it for a chef to be connected to the dining room, not just in terms of plates of food, but in terms of what customers are saying and the overall experience? It's important and it depends on your front-of-the-house management and staff. You can be really hands-on, but it's really about the general managers. Our GM always give a lot of feedback, both good and bad. We don't always agree with it, but we definitely always listen and take it into account with every decision we make.
But, in terms of spending a lot of time on the floor in the front of the house, we do it some, but I mainly depend on the front of the house to let us know what's going on.
