[EID Feature] Young Guns: James Rigato, The Root Restaurant + Bar

Oh yes, I went and saved the best for last, just like in that Vanessa Williams song from 1992.

James Rigato is the Executive Chef of The Root, and the brains behind these Young Guns dinners. He's also one of my favorite people in the world, and that's equally as important. Because it is. Read more about James's background and how The Root came to be in this feature from Metromode (fellow Guns Andy Hollyday and Nikita Santches are also featured in it); you can also read more about James and how it was total LAFS at our first meeting here.

For this Young Guns interview series, I have loved all of the answers the Guns have given me and all of them are my favorite, though some are more my favorite than others. James came through with my favoritest, as I suspected he probably would. Please enjoy. It has been a pleasure bringing these to you. You can read all of the other Young Guns interviews via the links here.

EID: What is your culinary ethos? As in, as a chef, what do you BELIEVE in? What is important to you as a chef in your cooking and, in a bigger picture, what do you think the most important values are for a chef to have?

JR: I believe in food as a source for life. Not just literally, but holistically. The act of cooking is a responsibility to the earth, the guest and everyone in between. I think it's important to cook every day thinking like that. Am I giving as much as I'm taking? Can nature handle my impact? Am I connecting with my guest? Do they understand me? It's important to me to ask those questions. Sustainability. Seasonality. These should be a given, any good chef will tell you that. But are we thinking about the future of food. Where things come from? Where will they come from?

I find that being a chef can be an isolating experience from normality. I've severed nearly every nerve to holiday enjoyment. I can't sleep. I can't handle going to the mall. But spending so much time in food servitude makes me savor the little time I do have with my loved ones. So we break bread. I think the most important thing a chef can do is dine out. Drink Barolo. Drink aperitifs and digestifs. Say yes to champagne. Pick up the tab. Get coursed out. Be the customer in someone elses restaurant that you want in yours. And when you get back to your restaurant cook like your fucking life depends on it. Because, guess what? It does.

How/where do you see Detroit's/Michigan's culinary scene fitting in on a national level? Thinking in terms not of where it is (which is still far behind most other major cities/states) but where it COULD be, how can Michigan chefs/restaurants evolve and where do you see them going?

I pretty much agree with every other chef that answered this question. My only addition would be that Michigan is a source. We make food. It grows wild. We forage, hunt, harvest and fish. Not every region can claim that. To me, that's the origin of significant food regions. I believe Michigan is the most beautiful and rewarding state in the US and I think chefs are at the front line of showing the world exactly that. I think we can go as far as we want. But I look to places like the pacific northwest, Chicago and Vermont as regions that should parallel.

What advantages does a chef have in Michigan over other states? 

Seasonality. Farm land. Space. Water. Tenacity. Fearlessness. DIY attitudes. Midwestern grit. Callouses.

Michigan makes me proud because of it's unflinching forward-moving determination. We opened The Root in White Lake in 2011. Everyone told us it was a bad idea. But I stuck with my gut and bet on Michigan wanting real food and it paid off.

I've mentioned many times that the 8 Mile soundtrack album was the soundtrack to opening The Root. And at the risk of sounding cliche, I feel like that's what makes Eminem so enigmatic here in Detroit/Michigan. He's the mascot of any underdog putting passion first. So yeah, we got Eminem.

What is your favorite cuisine and/or what are your favorite or signature dishes to make? What do you geek out over?

This is my most asked and least favorite question. But I will say I love Italian food. Real Italian food. When I need to eat, like really eat, as in my spirit hurts, my hands are cracked and bleeding and I am forgetting why I sold my soul 15 years ago, I go to Bacco. I take a friend, a coworker, my wife or a sous chef. We sit and eat Italian food and drink Italian wine. Even though I've never been to the motherland I feel at home. And I am restored. Literally.

As for cooking. I love charcuterie. I love vegetables. I love whole animal cookery. I love Jacques Pepin. Anything he does. I geek out over his style of cooking. My favorite chef in America right now is Paul Virant. I think he is wildly underrated and the new north to which I calibrate my compass.

I love olive oil. A lot.

Who have you worked with who has most influenced you, and who most inspires you as a chef?

Paul Virant. We've done a few dinners together at collaborations and charities. He is a great chef and a kind, generous man. A real poet. He is the one who inspired me to get my Michigan chef friends together for Young Guns. Chef Dan Hugelier moved me as a student. I used to tear up in class listening to lecture. I've never heard anyone speak about the industry so passionately as him. Luciano Del Signore is my industry adopted father. Chef Brian Polcyn is my industry adopted crazy uncle. Matt Prentice was a rolling stone.

Hard at work, doing his thang.

How - and maybe more accurately why - did you first come up with the idea for the Young Guns dinner? What greater goal do you hope to accomplish with this dinner aside from it just being a totally awesome event?

The Young Guns came to mind shortly after a dinner at Vie in Chicago with Bill Kim, Paul Virant, Paul Kahan, Johnny Anderes and Elissa Narrow. It was one of the best nights of my career and I thought, why don't we do this back home? So when I got home I thought about what a dinner like that would look like here. Metro Detroit has some great veteran chefs that are easy picks. But when I thought about who I was seeing at events and whose food I was eating and who was taking chances or swashbuckling I put together this group of guys. I want to keep the Young Guns evolving and doing more dinners and rotating chef's based on who's available. I think it has potential to be an entity of Michigan cuisine. A canvas.

I also wanted to showcase the talent behind a lot of these local restaurants. Few chefs can be owners, therefore, many chefs are victims of circumstance or agenda or budget. This event is to free them/us of that. This night is for us. We certainly see a value and encourage being a customer of such an event but this is our night. That's why there's no menu available. No options or modifications. It's like music. This is our debut album.

I should also mention I've heard the saying Young Gun's referred to young "hot shot" chefs 1000 times. I also hear the reference of Detroit being the wild west, especially with food. So I found it appropriate. We take food seriously. Not ourselves. Does that make me Emilio?

What made you approach the particular group that you did? Can we expect to see more of these dinners, maybe with some other local talent?

Andy is great. I met him as a customer and fan of his at Roast. We share distributors so we hear about each other but we finally met and just really got along. I love his food. Michael Barrera is a great customer of mine and a really great guy. I love stopping in Streetside and noshing when in Birmingham. It's the most approachable, comfortable spot in Birmingham. Brennan is electric. Not only are his taco and salsas and bar food ridiculously high class at Imperial but he's holding back immense talent. I think he's a star about to burst. His flavors are so loud and tight I'm inspired by a goddamn taco. Nikita to me is the definitive Young Gun. Blue collar. Tireless. He literally built his reputation one plate at a time and built his own restaurant one brick at a time. I'm excited about his future. Nick Janutol and I worked together at Rugby under Dave Gilbert. Nick was as intern from CIA and a relatively quiet young guy who I'd challenge to late night dance off's in the kitchen, to which he'd lose. But since then his career has flourished as did his resume. I think his attention to detail and French focused style rounds the group out. Then me. I think The Root is a great place to start the event because of it's size and freedom to create. We have a large kitchen and no culinary rules. We're free.

But really, these guys are the real deal. These are my brethren. These are the people you will hear about years from now. Michigan food will evolve at their hands.

Future events are in the works as we speak. [UPDATE: Since conducting this interview, the second Young Guns events has been announced.]

As a chef, what do you hope to achieve in your career? Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years? And how do you hope to help strengthen and bolster Michigan's culinary scene?

I want to continue supporting the local butchers and farmers that work so hard for me. My goal has always been to showcase resources. I am very blessed to be able to work this hard and see gratification. I will not let up. I feel like my generation of chefs approach martyrdom. For me, I have nothing else. I can't support myself in any other field. I'm a cook. I'm a dishwasher. A janitor. A servant. A chef.

I want to keep my focus on putting Michigan on a national stage. Cook every plate like it's my only chance. I think building the reputation of our region is extremely important but not as important as delivering on that reputation when actually called upon.

[EID Feature] Young Guns: Nick Janutol, Forest Grill

In anticipation of the first-ever Young Guns dinner at the Root - which sold out in less than 48 hours - Eat It Detroit will run a new profile every week leading up to the event featuring each of the six participating chefs. This week, it's Nick Janutol, Chef de Cuisine of Forest Grill.

Chef Nick's background: After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Chef Nick Janutol moved to New York City where he worked under Daniel Humm and was part of the team that elevated Eleven Madison Park to three Michelin stars. Looking to move closer to home, Chef Janutol moved to Chicago. In Chicago he worked under his friend and mentor Chef Matthew Kirkley. Under Chef Kirkley’s leadership, Chef Nick opened the two Michelin star RIA in the Elysian hotel. The pair then left and moved to L2O, where they took the restaurant to a two Michelin star rating. Chef Janutol finally made the move back to Michigan where he has been able to take his experience in fine dining to create an exceptional spin on the causal and comfortable atmosphere he has always enjoyed in restaurants.

EID: What is your culinary ethos? As in, as a chef, what do you BELIEVE in? What is important to you as a chef in your cooking and, in a bigger picture, what do you think the most important values are for a chef to have?

NJ: This feels a little like a loaded question. I could talk for days about the values and beliefs behind why I do what I do. The words that best describe my philosophy are quality, consistency, integrity, and hospitality. If one starts by truly believing that every guest is equally important and works as hard as they can to make them happy, then you have done your job.

How/where do you see Detroit's/Michigan's culinary scene fitting in on a national level? Thinking in terms not of where it is (which is still far behind most other major cities/states) but where it COULD be, how can Michigan chefs/restaurants evolve and where do you see them going?

I think you are right in saying Detroit is behind major cities like New York, Chicago and the San Francisco area, and it is unreasonable to say we are not. That being said I don’t think we are as far behind as far as you think. Having lived in both New York City and Chicago for a number of years, I have had the chance to see once empty neighborhoods explode with incredible restaurants. When I look at Corktown or Ferndale it feels like the West Loop or Brooklyn five years ago, you can feel this energy. It really feels like we are one or two great restaurant away from creating the competitive playground needed to propel this city.

What advantages does a chef have in Michigan over other states? 

Michigan chefs have a blank canvas and a public that wants to see it colored in; we have a clientele who wants to see more. All in all Detroit is an entrepreneurs dream.

You recently moved back to Michigan after working at some high-profile restaurants in Chicago. What really prompted you to make that decision, to leave such a high-profile market for one that is markedly less so?

Michigan especially the Detroit area is home, and there is a great future for her food scene here. Maybe I am niave in thinking that Detroit will rebound, but I will see it through. I am committed to this area and want to be a part of this great upswing that I feel is inevitable. With that said, the goal of entrepreneurship is one of the biggest reasons I moved back.

What is your favorite cuisine and/or what are your favorite or signature dishes to make? What do you geek out over?

I guess the pc answer is “seasonal products from the farmers market,” but that should be a standard in any restaurant you go to. With that said, I love French fare, not the typical American French bistro, but true French food that is produced by great chefs like Charles Barrier, Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon, Olivier Roellinger, and Yannick Alleno to name a few. For me it is truly inspiring to see what is possible with food. I strive to create dishes that are not spur of the moment, but well thought out and executed consistently.

Who have you worked with who has most influenced you, and who most inspires you as a chef?

I have learned from so many people in this industry. There are so many great chefs out there, each with their own philosophy and ideology. However, Matt Kirkley, the chef of L2O, has been one of the most influential chefs for myself as well as a great friend that I have worked for. He inspired me to have a hunger for knowledge, a drive for quality as well as reinforcing the need for integrity.

When James approached you about being a part of this Young Guns dinner, what was your reaction? Did you consider yourself one of "Michigan's most dangerous chefs" prior to this? What do you think of your fellow Young Guns?

The whole young guns name is a bit contrived, but I love the idea that we as chefs are getting the opportunity to cook together. This will be a great event, where we can share ideas and techniques with each other. That is something that is huge in Chicago and New York, the idea of meeting up after work and swapping stories and ideas. This event will only help Detroit grow as a restaurant scene.

As a chef, what do you hope to achieve in your career? Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years? And how do you hope to help strengthen and bolster Michigan's culinary scene?

Over the next 20 years, I hope that I continue to grow as a chef and businessman in the Detroit area.

[EID Feature] Young Guns: Brennan Calnin, Imperial

In anticipation of the first-ever Young Guns dinner at the Root - which sold out in less than 48 hours - Eat It Detroit will run a new profile every week leading up to the event featuring each of the six participating chefs. This week, it's Chef Brennan Calnin of Imperial in Hamtramck. 

Chef Brennan's background: Chef Brennan Calnin hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Brennan developed an early love of food and began cooking at home as soon as he was tall enough to see over the range. Both sides of his family had an early influence on him; from the large holiday dinners on his mother’s side, to the rather simplistic lunches prepared with his German grandmother on his father’s side. After a stint in college as a vocal performance major and a few odd jobs, Brennan attended and graduated from Kendall College with a degree in Culinary Arts.

Brennan gained his first restaurant experience as a dishwasher at Lloyd’s Lunch. In the years leading up to culinary school he worked as a busser, server, pizza maker, and bartender. While in culinary school, Brennan worked under two of Chicago’s well-known chefs. He spent a year cooking with Chef Jackie Shen at Redlight, followed by a year and a half under Chef Takashi Yagihashi at Takashi, where he was the restaurant’s first intern. Upon finishing culinary school, Brennan was off to his hometown to work under Chef Dan Van Rite at Hinterland. Following a stint as a personal chef in Colorado at Marvine Ranch, he was picked as the Executive Chef to launch Imperial in Ferndale. When not in the kitchen, Brennan enjoys all things music, he is an avid runner, and recently started practicing yoga.

EID: What is your culinary ethos? As in, as a chef, what do you BELIEVE in? What is important to you as a chef in your cooking and, in a bigger picture, what do you think the most important values are for a chef to have?

BC: Butter. Give me butter. Always butter. No, in all seriousness though I think it’s important to have fun. In being a chef it can be monotonous, stressful, and exhausting so I think it’s really important to not lose sight of why I started cooking. It’s fun. It’s an outlet for my creativity; my ADHD (I’m forced to be attentive while being hyperactive). It’s like being a captain on a pirate ship. It rules. A chef needs to be punctual, attentive, creative, realistic, compassionate, and human. What chefs don’t need to be are assholes, which is how we get portrayed on TV.

How/where do you see Detroit's/Michigan's culinary scene fitting in on a national level? Thinking in terms not of where it is (which is still far behind most other major cities/states) but where it COULD be, how can Michigan chefs/restaurants evolve and where do you see them going?

I think the sky is the limit for Detroit and Michigan. I’ve not native to Michigan but I’m from just the other side of the pond (Milwaukee) which happens to be as blue collar as Detroit. Which made me feel at home right from the get-go. The first thing I noticed from living here is the hustle and soul that people have. I feel like Detroit can compete because it’s a city of fighters; I mean, you gotta be to live here, right? There is an incredible amount of ethnic diversity, which makes us way more than just a meat and potatoes kinda town. Lastly, there’s the incredible bounty of produce, wine and beer that is produced here.

I think what we’re showing with this dinner is how Michigan can evolve as far as restaurants go, and by that I mean working together and supporting each other. I think at times people get too wrapped up in “my place does this better than yours.” That’s stupid and counterproductive. We need to support each other and appreciate the fact that every place has its own soul and personality.

What advantages does a chef have in Michigan over other states? 

Living in the Midwest we have a change of seasons ranging from face-contortingly cold winters to holy-shit-is-it-really-this-hot summers. This gives us a bit of advantage when it comes to writing menus and being creative because you are forced to not only use what is in season but prepare dishes that reflect the change of seasons…I mean in L.A., yeah they got all that produce and wine and shit, but it’s like 80 degrees everyday with a side of smog, where’s the inspiration in that?

What is your favorite cuisine and/or what are your favorite or signature dishes to make? What do you geek out over?

This is going to sound funny seeing as I’m slinging tacos, but I LOVE old timey. Give me pates, mousselines, mousses, liver and onions, steak tartar, rillettes, terrines and lastly champagne. I geek out over champagne, that shit is delicious.

Who have you worked with who has most influenced you, and who most inspires you as a chef?

Wow, this is a tough one. I would have to go with a couple of people here. I learned a ton of technique under Derik Watson (formerly Iridescence, now opening Bistro 82 in Royal Oak) and Chef Takashi Yagihashi while at Takashi in Chicago. Dan Van Rite of Hinterland in Milwaukee gave me my wings and let me be incredibly creative, and hooked me up with amazing seasonal gig as a personal chef in Colorado. While there I met Chef Jennifer Blakeslee from The Cook‘s House who has been an incredible friend and mentor and really rounded me out as a chef and person. Lastly, I would say my parents for always believing in me and letting me use the stove as soon as I could reach knobs on our little four-burner electric stove. Oh, they also let me live in the basement after I dropped out of college. That was huge.

When James approached you about being a part of this Young Guns dinner, what was your reaction? Did you consider yourself one of "Michigan's most dangerous chefs" prior to this? What do you think of your fellow Young Guns?

It’s funny because we were having a couple of drinks after an event at the Townsend and he mentioned wanting to do this dinner and I was like, “That’s awesome, hell yeah,” and then he asked me to be a part of it, and I was like “holy shit.” These guys are all so established and to be invited to cook with them at The Root is an honor. I am extremely dangerous after a Packers' loss and one too many soda pops… I just can’t wait to get into the kitchen with these guys and tear it up. It’s like going into a dojo with five dudes who practice different kung fu and just throwing down. It’s gonna be badass.

As a chef, what do you hope to achieve in your career? Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years? And how do you hope to help strengthen and bolster Michigan's culinary scene?

What’s my five year plan huh? Well in my career I hope to stay happy, healthy and creative, really. I just love cooking and I don’t ever want to lose that. I try not to over think my “career.” I mean, I’m still that six-year-old cooking hotdogs in a frying pan, ya know? I think the great thing about Imperial is that it’s so approachable and at the same time I thinks it’s great that people are learning that you can eat tacos without sour cream and cheddar cheese. So in the future I would like to continue doing food that is approachable and served in a relaxed setting. That’s what I love about Imperial: you got hipsters and suits breaking bread at the same table. That’s kick ass; I want bring more of that to Michigan.

Read last week's interview with Chef Nikita Santches of Rock City Eatery in Hamtramck here. 

[EID Feature] Young Guns: Nikita Santches, Rock City Eatery

In anticipation of the first-ever Young Guns dinner at the Root - which sold out in less than 48 hours - Eat It Detroit will run a new profile every week leading up to the event featuring each of the six participating chefs. This week, it's Chef Nikita Santches of Rock City Eatery in Hamtramck. 

Chef Nik's background:
Born in Moscow, Nikita Santches moved to the USA at the age of 12. He has been on all sides of the food service industry since the age of 15. Dish washing and a 10-year stint in corporate food service led him to the owning and operating of his own business "Nikita Santches Catering." From there he cultivated his notorious identity as "The Pie Guy" when he began his "Rock City Pies" business venture. With the help of Ferndale's Rust Belt Market and a finalist spot in Comerica’s Hatch Detroit 2012 competition, Rock City Pies’ popularity started taking on a surprising identity of its own. He has recently expanded his brand into a full scale restaurant in Hamtramck. Rock City Eatery brings high-quality, unique, locally-sourced modern American (with an old world twist) cuisine to the city of Hamtramck. You can find him Monday-Saturday in the kitchen of 11411 Joseph Campau. Head in if you’re looking for food...booze...or a damn good slice of pie.

EID: What is your culinary ethos? As in, as a chef, what do you BELIEVE in? What is important to you as a chef in your cooking and, in a bigger picture, what do you think the most important values are for a chef to have?
NS: I believe that food should be tasty, unique, and affordable. Now that I run a restaurant my goal is to try and expose people to new ingredients, new dishes, and to introduce new and more adventurous ways to approach dinning. I feel like eating at a restaurant should be a fun event. Have a drink or two, have good conversation..and don't spend the entire time taking pictures of your food. Stop overanalyzing and critiquing. Just relax and have a good time. You're not a Top Chef judge whose job it is to over analyze. Enjoy your food. I feel like each chef has their own set of values, but I think that all of us are trying to serve something that tastes delicious.

How/where do you see Detroit's/Michigan's culinary scene fitting in on a national level? Thinking in terms not of where it is (which is still far behind most other major cities/states) but where it COULD be, how can Michigan chefs/restaurants evolve and where do you see them going?
I feel like the culinary scene in Michigan is getting better, but it's not on the level of other major cities. I feel like there are a couple of reasons why we are behind in the culinary world. I think there's a lot of talented, creative chefs in Michigan, but they are locked into making food that the restaurant owners tell them to make..which is dictated by an average Michigan diner. Or, there are chefs that are too hesitant to get out of their comfort zone and try to make something that they are not familiar with. I understand where restaurant owners are coming from with trying to please the majority of diners. Unfortunately, average consumers evaluate the quality of a dish by the size of the portion, cost, and how familiar they are with the ingredients. For instance how much bacon is in it...the Guy Fierri Syndrome. So the problem lies in the fact that we don't have a large enough customer base willing to try new things. People are too afraid to get out of their comfort zone. I have experienced this first hand in the past few weeks, as people go for what they are familiar with and hardly order anything that has 'cool' ingredients like: tongue, duck eggs, ox tail, etc. I've gotten complains that my beef burgers taste too much like beef because I use 30-day dry-aged beef. I think as our generation moves back to Michigan from cities with better dining culture this will change.

What advantages does a chef have in Michigan over other states?
I think some of the biggest advantages we have is our accessibility and variety of vegetables and fruits that are grown here, and the fact that the clientele in Michigan is very loyal to their restaurants and the area. Michigan is home. I grew up here, I love it here, and I will never leave this area.

What is your favorite cuisine and/or what are your favorite or signature dishes to make? What do you geek out over?
I feel like I approach cooking differently compared to some of my fellow chefs. I did not go to culinary school, so I taught myself how to cook by experimenting with different ingredients and styles of cooking. That's how I approach cooking to this day. I like playing around with traditional dishes and putting creative spins on them. If I see an ingredient that I'm not familiar with, that's what gets me going. I love cooking with ingredients that need a lot of TLC to make them taste good. Like taking a tough cut of meat, braising it until it's tender, and seeing it develop better flavor than any steak. I geek out over being able to overcome obstacles. For example, my restaurant kitchen consists of a 10-burner stove and two regular ovens underneath. There is no other cooking equipment. I think my home kitchen is bigger! So, I'm very proud of how much food we put out of that tiny space.

Who have you worked with who has most influenced you, and who most inspires you as a chef? 
The person that I learned most from is a lady named Mary that I worked with for several years. She was a Southern lady from Alabama that taught me how to develop flavors and showed me the ropes. As far as chefs go, I look up to David Chang. I feel like he is the best chef in the U.S. But, the number one chef/food writer that I look up to is Anthony Bourdain. I admire his views and philosophy when it comes to food. He travels all over the world and eats in all of the best restaurants in the world, but he would always prefer simple food that has well-developed flavor. That's how I like to approach my food.

When James approached your about being a part of this Young Guns dinner, what was your reaction? Did you consider yourself one of "Michigan's most dangerous chefs" prior to this? What do you think of your fellow Young Guns?
I was very pleasantly surprised. I feel like I'm a new kid on the block, and I do not have as much of experience as the other guys. So, I felt very honored to be included in this event. I think all of the guys that are a part of this event are very talented and each one brings something unique to the table (pun intended).

As a chef, what do you hope to achieve in your career? Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years? And how do you hope to help strengthen and bolster Michigan's culinary scene?
At this point in my life I feel like I'm living the dream because I have my own restaurant and I have all of the creative control. I feel like that's every chef's dream. As far as the future goes, I hope that my restaurant does well and I keep making unique and interesting food. I hope I can get Michiganders to think about food a little bit outside of the box, to try new things, and stop thinking about food so seriously. Realize that food is subjective, it's supposed to be fun...and drinks should always be involved.

Read last week's interview with Chef Michael Barrera of Streetside Seafood in Birmingham here. 

[EID Feature] Young Guns: Michael Barrera, Streetside Seafood

In anticipation of the first-ever Young Guns dinner at the Root - which sold out in less than 48 hours - Eat It Detroit will run a new profile every week leading up to the event featuring each of the six participating chefs. This week, it's Chef Michael Barrera of Streetside Seafood in Birmingham.

EID: Where do you work and how long have you worked there? 
MB: I am the Executive Chef of Streetside Seafood in Birmingham and have been there since June of 2010. So 3.5 years.

Where did you work prior to this? How long have you been with Roberts Restaurant Group?
Beverly Hills Grill from 2005 -2010.

What is your culinary background and who has most influenced you?
I studied at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia. I worked for the Starr Restaurant Group while in school and after. I was a line cook at the Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar and promoted to Sous Chef shortly after while still in school. I worked under Chef William Murphy while there. He was a huge influence on me. He helped teach me that in this profession you need to have balance. Balance with family, career, etc.... He taught me that what we do for a living is not how we are defined as a person. What defines you is who you are as a father, brother, friend, and leader. Awesome chef. Miss him. The Starr Restaurant Group was and is loaded with a ton of talented chefs. Chefs like Chris Painter, Masaharu Morimoto, Michael Schulson. I was fortunate enough to do parties and dinners with these guys at the James Beard House.

Describe your personal cooking style.
This is a loaded question. My style is free. I try not to limit what style of food I cook. I love it all. Vague but true. Flavor is universal. I feel strongly about my palate. I feel I can go to any restaurant and get the point or idea that chef is trying to convey through his food. This is no matter the style, price, area, etc. As for the restaurant we have a no-frills approach to our standard menu. We do however get to "play" everday with our specials and features that change daily. This is where we can be as creative as our skill level will allow us. 40% of our daily sales come off our chalk boards. There has been some sort of media backlash recently about why restaurants run specials. Either to use up old product or to use the guest as a test subject for your own ego boost. That is not what we do. It's calculated the risks with food we make. Understanding your cliental and what they are looking for helps but also recognizing what is in season and using that ingredient in the proper way goes a long way. My style is that of my staff: ever evolving, learning, changing. That won't change. To simply pick a style of food and specialize in that would limit what you can do and teach your staff and what they can teach you.

What is important to you as a chef in your cooking and, in a bigger picture, what do you think the most important values are for a chef to have? What do you believe in as a chef?
Humility. That value cannot be understated. I understand that I don't know everything about food or this business. I know that I can learn something from anybody on my staff or elsewhere every day. That is the true beauty of what we do. People often wonder how a chef can work long hours, miss time with family, have high stress, and still carry a sense of passion for what they do. To me it is easy. I have two families. My blood and my restaurant. Obviously, my priorities are always going to side with my blood, but my restaurant family is 1A. As for what I believe in? Having fun in what we do. It is business, yes, but a business predicated on service and pleasure. Very few professions give you a sense of instant gratification; this is one of them.

How/where do you see Detroit's/Michigan's culinary scene fitting in on a national level? And PLEASE don't bother with the "Detroit is the bestest thing ever" mindless cheerleading. It's not. At this point Michigan is barely even competing with Ohio, at least on the food side (our beer is a different story). So, thinking in terms not of where it is but where it COULD be, how can Michigan chefs/restaurants evolve and where do you see them going?
Love this question. I agree that our scene is not on par with many other metropolitan areas in the U.S. That being said, it is different on many levels. We are territorial. Each suburb has a different vibe. Corktown and Midtown are not the same, same with Royal Oak and Ferndale and Birmingham. First the problems: this town has a chip on its shoulder. [We're] always trying to prove we aren't what they say we are instead of loving who we are and celebrating what the greater Detroit area and Michigan have to offer. Great agriculture, beer, wine, spirits. Those are things to celebrate and I think the attitude is changing. We are also very territorial in nature as well. People from Ferndale tend to not dine in Birmingham because of the attitude or haughtiness of its citizens and the same is true of people from Birmingham going to Ferndale. They don't go because it's younger or it's hipsters or God forgive there are gay people there. That's all bullshit. Here is where I preach: stop thinking you know unless you have experienced. I have eaten in every neighborhood in this city and area. I don't give two shits about the people sitting next to me or what their income is or isn't. I don't care what they are wearing or what they are not. It is irrelevant. I care about the core ingredients of what make a good dining experience. 1. I am welcomed warmly into an establishment. 2. I am waited on by somebody who cares about their job and is educated to do so. 3. I am given a meal that has obviously been give some thought and care by the cooks or chef. It is actually pretty simple if you think about it. I think we can evolve by focusing on these core values in food and service. We can evolve by taking ownership of who we are and celebrating it through our food. In Philly, also a gritty no-nonsense kind of town, they don't care where your money comes from, as long as it comes. I also think some of the responsibility is with our guests. We have been so long a "steak and potatoes" kind of town. Understand that there is more to offer. Don't limit your palate with the same thing over and over. Take chances, try new things, go to a different neighborhood, leave your comfort zone. You will be suprised by what you find.

What advantages does a chef have in Michigan over other states?
Tough one. I love it here. Michigan is my home. I LOVED the east coast and Philly. I miss it for the reasons you mentioned in your last question. That being said, I love that I can go to Eastern Market on Saturdays. I love driving 30 miles to go to the Root and have a great dining experience. I love going to Ferndale for the relaxed vibe and drinks [and] to Empire for wine and the beach with friends. I guess that is why I am here. To prove that we are a good area. Hoping one day that it is recognized. Working to change the perceptions.

What is your favorite cuisine and/or what are your favorite or signature dishes to make? What do you geek out over?
I hate this question! I seriously love to eat anything. I do not discriminate. I do love Spain and its flavors. But I equally love the Southern U.S. Argentina has amazing food. Signature dish? I don't have one. I am sure I have made 1,000 specials in the last 8.5 years, maybe a few of those were signature I hope. I geek out over preserved foods. Pickled, cured, rillettes. Yum. The way that a food is manipulated to have such impactful flavor is something that cannot go unnoticed.

When James [Rigato of the Root] approached your about being a part of this Young Guns dinner, what was your reaction? Did you consider yourself one of "Michigan's most dangerous chefs" prior to this? What do you think of your fellow Young Guns?
I was sitting at the bar at the Root and James came to greet me. We talked briefly and I had mentioned that we should get together and throw down sometime or get a group together. He said that he was thinking of the same thing. He took it and ran with it. I only know James through my visits to his restaurant and vice-versa. I know he is as passionate about this profession as I am. I know he has a network of friends and chefs alike that would be a great fit for this dinner. What is so amazing about this dinner is its covered area of chefs with Nikita opening Rock City eatery in Hamtramck, Andy soon at Seldon Standard in Midtown, Brennan in Ferndale [at Imperial], Nick [Janutol of Forest Grill] and I in Birmingham, and of course James, the mastermind, in White Lake. I don't consider myself dangerous per se, but do consider myself to be a leader in this industry. Sure, I have made mistakes in the past but you can do two things from that, grow from them or let them bury you. I am honored and humbled to be a part of this event with these guys. They are all so talented. I hope to come correct with whatever dish I decide to do. No pressure!

As a chef, what do you hope to achieve in your career? Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years? How do you hope to help strengthen and bolster Michigan's culinary scene?
I work for Bill Roberts. He is fantastic restauranteur and operater of some of the area's best establishments. I don't have any aspirations on leaving this area or his company in general. I have invested a lot of time and effort with this company and plan on continuing with them until they get tired of me. I hope that this area continues to grow in its culinary endeavors. I hope that we don't give in to outsiders perceptions of who we are and what we are. I hope that we become a place that has great dining options and are destinations for both locals and tourists. I hope this event will show that we are more than what people expected and that other events follow with more chefs. I hope that 20 years from now we all look back at this and see it as a beginning of something special. That is what I feel it is. No ego, no bullshit, just good food, good comraderie, and most of all, a great experience for our guests that night.

[EID Feature] Chef Paul Grosz takes a Stand

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

The Stand in Birmingham officially opens for business today. The hotly-anticipated restaurant taking over the former Zazio's space - a concept that rather majestically flamed out for any number of reasons up to and including a cumbersome, poorly-planned space draped in seizure-inducing swirls of neon and food that quite simply wasn't that good (even by Birmingham's notoriously mediocre standards) - is a partnership between Chef Paul Grosz of Cuisine and fine dining industry vet John Kelly with Greenleaf Trust/Catalyst Development, owners of the building, as the investors.

Chef Paul is the Executive Chef of this new concept, and he'll also continue overseeing Cuisine in New Center, running back and forth between both. I've know Chef Paul for a few years - he was one of the first chefs I really established a personal rapport with back during my early days as a scrappy blogger - and, knowing him as well as knowing the difficulty of taking on such a massive space and making enough money on it for the business to stay open, my first question to him was: are you insane?

The answer is yes but in a way that makes sense in the long term. Paul has a 10-year plan. Part of that 10-year plan includes positioning himself for retirement and being able to put his mark on something other than Cuisine - a restaurant he is very proud of and happy with, but one that is also very much events-driven given its somewhat isolated location in New Center across from the Fisher Building.

Paul is also considering the natural trajectory of the chef's career. As he is currently filling in for Mr. Charcuterie Chef Brian Polcyn at Schoolcraft, teaching Polcyn's charcuterie class while Polcyn is busy working on his latest endeavors, Paul is thinking more and more of following in Polcyn's footsteps and transitioning into the role of instructor. He'd like to teach more at Schoolcraft - not Polcyn's class, but possibly a new class on seafood, which receives little attention as part of the school's culinary instruction, and maybe even vegetarian and vegan cuisine. (Paul is big on seafood, and also on veggies, as you'll find on the menu at the Stand). He'd also like to mentor up-and-coming chefs and eventually get out of the kitchen entirely.

Chef Paul in the kitchen. 

But that's all part of the 10-year plan. For now, Paul is going to be in BOTH kitchens, overseeing all operations and doing the cooking himself along with the help of his culinary team.

The menu at the Stand is decidedly small and carefully-managed. Items include a lobster fried egg - a brioche-breaded soft-boiled egg with lobster and asparagus - duck confit cassoulet, rabbit, and waygu beef, with a purposeful emphasis on sea food. (Again, this is Paul's thing.) There is a charcuterie room in which they will cure and dry their own meats (which will also be supplied to Cuisine) that should be fully operational in the next month. And while that all sounds like a very protein-centric menu, vegetarians and vegans can take heart: YOU HAVE YOUR OWN MENU. Eight entirely-vegan items are highlighted on their own menu, so you don't just have to order whatever lame-o salad or soup made vegan as an afterthought.

The bar area comes with its own menu and includes things like veal sweetbreads, foie gras burgers, duck sliders, and daily oysters. And desserts will be just as special as the rest of the menu: Pastry Chef Kevin Kearney, who has worked with Paul at Cuisine for years, is now at the Stand making his unique creations like goat cheese cheesecake and funky ice cream flavors (he did it before it was cool). He is one of the finest pastry chefs in the area, so do be sure not to skip dessert.

The beverage program is just as thoughtful, with a small but solid selection of Michigan craft beers and an entire craft cocktail program designed by none other than Travis Fourmont.

The Hall of Culinary Fun.

Those of you who remember Zazio's Wizard of Oz-on-acid color scheme (an image surely burned into your brain if you ever stepped foot in the place), all I can say is...wow. The space is transformed. And by that I mean they COMPLETELY gutted it - like, everything. Like, they kept nothing. They scrapped everything short of actually bulldozing the building. The entrance is now on Peabody and diners will be greeting in the "lobby" before heading down what Paul calls the Hall of Culinary Fun. To the right, you will see the open kitchen with a 10-seat bar where they will host two degustation menu seatings per night (in lieu of actually having a "chef's table" in the kitchen). To the left is the separate bar area with comfy booths and a community table. Further down is the main dining room and three private dining rooms.

Hand-blown glass gourds from Epiphany Glass.

As you walk around the massive space, take note to pay attention to the design details. Wood for the bars, ceilings, the communal tables and booth backsplashes is all reclaimed wood sourced through the WARM Training Center in Detroit, much of it from deconstructed homes in Detroit and Hamtramck. Eric Gorges of Voodoo Choppers made custom metal art pieces, including a copper "replica" of the Mackinaw Bridge over the communal table in the bar. In the main dining room, a series of four hand-blown glass sculptures made by April Wagner of Epiphany Glass represent the four seasons of food - leeks in the spring, shellfish in the summer, squash in the fall, and ice wine in the winter. Janelle Songer made the ceramic pieces throughout the restaurant. It was very important to both Paul and John to make this a space that is a reflection of the community, using local artists and salvaged materials with roots in metro Detroit. They want this to be a place that appeals to everyone, to have construction workers sitting next to bankers and everyone be comfortable. Like at a lemonade stand, where everyone has the same experience regardless of who and what they are - hence the name.

In regards to my question of how they were going to break up this 10,000-square-foot space to maximize marketability and monetization (something else Zazio's struggled with), the three private dining rooms are the answer. The 14-seat communal table inside the wine cellar is one, perfect for private celebrations. The 10-seat Paul W. Smith room is intended for celebrities and high-ranking executives, and even has its own private entrance. The third is a 40-seat conference room wired for all AV equipment with a large TV for teleconferences, and this is the space with the most potential to bring in a steady stream of business business.

Part of Paul's 10-year plan includes possibly opening more Stands in other areas in metro Detroit, or working with John on another concept in Birmingham - seafood, perhaps? But he's got 10 years to figure that out. For now, he's focused on getting the Stand open, which quite possibly stands to be the best restaurant in Birmingham.

The Stand has already been operating for a few weeks, hosting private events and seminars. It opens to the public officially at 5 p.m. today and will be open 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5-11 Fridays and Saturdays (closed Sundays). Eventually they will also be open for lunch.

Want to see more? View the Flickr set here. 

[EID Feature] Schramm's Mead: Mead from the Guy Who Wrote the Book on It

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

Starting today, Schramm's Mead in Ferndale is now open for business! After months of planning, Ken Schramm, owner and internationally-respected mead maker, is finally opening his much-anticipated meadery and tasting room in downtown Ferndale. (Read the EID mead primer here.)

The tasting room has six meads on tap - four signature and two rotating - as well as a selection of "mead cocktails," along with a small menu of sweet and savory small plates made to pair with their meads. (Cheese plate, anyone? Anyone besides me?) The tasting room can accommodate 28 inside and another 20 on the spacious patio overlooking 9 Mile when the weather is gracious enough to permit it. On the walls are works by local artists that are available for purchase; Schramm charges less commission than galleries and hopes to be able to get a lot of quality artwork in. As Schramm was looking for a location somewhere along the Woodward Corridor he looked at many buildings and spoke to many city council members and planning officials. He found Ferndale to be the most enthusiastic and supportive of what he wanted to do. Now, between Schramm's Meadery, from one of the most respected mead makers in the world, and B. Nektar, possibly the highest-producing meadery in the country right now, Ferndale might as well be called Meaddale. 

All meads will be available for purchase in the tasting as well as select stores - they are self-distributing for now until their production requires something more substantial. Schramm has a goal of producing 300 gallons per month, or somewhere north of 130 cases (by comparison, neighboring Ferndale meadery B. Nektar has been steadily producing over 2,000 cases per month, so Schramm's is a tiny operation by comparison). 

I had the chance to sit down with Schramm last month to discuss his new meadery and his history with the burgeoning craft mead industry - something he has been instrumental in growing. "Okay, I have a bit of a reputation," he said bashfully to me as I attempted to make him take credit for his work. Schramm is an exceedingly kind and humble person, and more than one industry friend has referred to him as a genius - a label I have absolutely no doubt he deserves after hearing him rattle off the numerical designations of yeast strains he has used, the ethical conundrum of organic versus local, and the importance of having "fidelity to your product." Quality in, quality out, he says - which means while he will be using Michigan fruit and honey in his products, he is also very mindful of seasonality and will use what he needs to from where he needs to as the items are in season and available. 

The following is an excerpt from this conversation that appears in this month's issue of Hour Detroit, now on stands. 

*****

Just as craft brewing started in the basements of home brewers before it broke into the mainstream, so too did mead – and the home brewer and home meadmaker were often one and the same.

That's how Ken Schramm started in 1987. His brother bought him a home brewing kit one year for Christmas, which came with a copy of Charlie Pappazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, long held as the definitive guide on the subject. In the back there was an appendix on mead.

"In it he spoke in superlatives, [like] there's really nothing better [than mead] in the whole wide world," Schramm says. "So I decided to give it a shot."

At the time craft brewing wasn't even yet in its infancy; it was still a zygote. Mead had even less prominence. Schramm started making meads and contacted fellow Michigander Bill Pfeiffer, one of the first five national beer judges in the country who was also meadmaker of the year. Pfieffer directed Schramm to the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild, where he met Dr. Dan McConnell, a PhD in microbiology research from the University of Michigan. "We both had the mead bug at the time, and I suggested we start a mead-only competition. Then people would send us their meads from all over and we could learn which ones were best and how they made them." And so, in partnership with a third friend Mike O'Brien, the Mazer Cup was born, America's first and largest mead-only competition. (The event is now held annually in March in Boulder, Colorado.)

Schramm and his mead buddies continued to build their reputations with experimental meads, and were guest speakers at the American Homebrewers Association national conference in Denver in 1994. "At that point our reputations were sealed," Schramm says. "People knew we were serious. We were asked to write articles. Eventually I got asked to write a book." McConnell was busy with a research grant from Harvard so Schramm took the lead on the mead-making manual.

The Compleat Meadmaker was released in 2003. It is still considered the current book of reference for meadmaking, and Schramm plans on a second edition soon. That's right: Ken Schramm is, quite literally, the man who wrote the book on mead.

Now he is opening his own meadery in downtown Ferndale, which he has wanted to do, he says, "Since before I wrote the book." Now in his 50s, he decided that if he was ever going to do it, now is the time. "I really wanted to open the meadery when mead was starting to gain currency and was not so obscure, when it was beginning to be part of the craft alcohol movement in the United States. I had to do something to support that first."

Want to see more? Check out the Flickr set here.

[Fox News] The return of café culture and the retaliation against coffee squatters

LAMILL Coffee Boutique, Los Angeles. 

This is the original version of a story that ran in Fox News with the much more dramatic headline, "Cafes declare war on Wi-Fi squatters." You can read the published version here. 

In the '90s (remember them? weren't they nice?), it was not uncommon to see hordes of teenagers and college students at your local Friends-style second-wave coffeehouse chain-smoking cigarettes and sucking down $1 cups of coffee. They would spend hours on end doing this, every single day. And they weren't sitting in silence staring mindlessly at their iPhones uploading "selfies" (now in the Oxford Dictionary!) on Instagram. They talked. To each other. As in, engaged in meaningful dialogue with other humans.

But a lot has changed in the last two decades. Now, we're all wired. Endlessly wired. Phillip K. Dick post-apocalyptic-cyberpunk-novel wired. We have our laptops and our smartphones and our iPads and we are on them ALL THE TIME checking Facebook and Twitter and Instagram or on Snapchat or playing Candy Crush. (Some people even do work.) Bars and restaurants are regularly filled with people blatantly ignoring each other, so much so that "phone-stacking" is a thing that now exists.

And cafes, the standard-bearers of quality social interaction amongst strangers and thinkers and activists and eager young adults since 14^th century Turkey, are now full of "coffee squatters" – those who set up shop with their laptops and spend interminable hours gobbling up the café's bandwidth and available seating, making it so that other customers can't find a place to sit and negatively impacting the shop's business, all so they can do important things like update their Facebook status and download new albums from iTunes.

It wasn't always like this. Cafés offering free Wi-Fi did so with the best of intentions, trying to provide their customers with an additional value in the hopes of bringing more business. It started innocently enough – college students researching essays; business people checking emails (bear in mind, smartphones with email access are still a relatively new thing on the timeline of human existence). But the service is now being broadly abused, and café owners are fighting back.

In San Francisco, Luigi Di Ruocco, owner of Coffee Bar, recently made headlines after restricting access to laptop users during peak times and creating "laptop-free" seating so customers simply trying to have lunch will have somewhere to sit. Fellow café owners all over the country have chosen to place time limits on Wi-Fi use, require an access code to the wireless network (available only with purchase), cover their electrical outlets, or eliminate Wi-Fi altogether. Ben Popken of NBC News writes, "While the measures may seem a bit gruff for coffee shops that have long promoted themselves as a friendly and counter-cultural alternative to the mainstream coffee joints, they're an economic necessity. Coffee shops rely on a high volume of low-price items. Stores can't afford to provide temporary real estate to people looking for a remote office for which they only pay $1.85 in daily rent."

Forbes also warns of the financial threat of squatting. "A coffee shop will never make enough money to pay the bills from coffee sales alone," says Peter Baskerville in answer to the question, "What's the secret to a successful coffee shop?" He instructs café owners to worry less about offering things like Wi-Fi and more about increasing turnover and takeaways. "Takeaway customers pay the same price as the sit-down customer, but without any of the occupancy costs, and you will serve ten of them by the time your sit down customer has finished sipping on their first cup of coffee as they enjoy a chat with their friends on Facebook using your free Wi-Fi."

Jane Shihadeh previously owned Shoe's Cup and Cork in Leesburg, Virginia, a café by day and full fine dining restaurant and wine bar by night. "It's difficult to generate profit from coffee sales alone," she says. "Ultimately it's more about your average check in general. You really need people coming in to eat." She wanted to balance the restaurant with a relaxed coffeehouse vibe, and offered free Wi-Fi to encourage that. "What we found was that there were lots of people that would come in – if you were lucky they would maybe order a large coffee but sometimes they would just demand water – and would sit there for hours." She found that these customers were also the most demanding, and some would even use her café to solicit business from her other customers, engaging them in conversation about their web design needs. Eventually she sold the café (it is now operating under new ownership) and opened a much more straightforward Wi-Fi-free sandwich shop, Philly Rabe's.

In the hipsterific Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake, LAMILL Coffee Boutique, referred to by USA Today as "the white-tablecloth restaurant of coffee shops," has a two-hour time limit on their wireless access because, as manager Dave Alfaro states, "It frees up space. We don't want people sitting there all day long while we have people who want to come in, get a coffee and eat their food." The Boutique also serves a thoughtful selection of wine, beer, and sake, as well as a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. Coffee squatters aren't just taking up space and bandwidth (Alfaro has noticed many use the café's free Wi-Fi for large file downloads) from other would-be squatters looking to do the same, but are actually turning away other customers who have nowhere to sit. At Abraco in New York, which also serves a selection of house-made small plates and baked goods, it's standing-room-only – ensuring squatting isn't an issue.

Coffee shops that don't serve food or have only a limited menu of pastries available, like Verve in Santa Cruz, seem to fare better than those that are also restaurants. Ashley Epia, shift lead at the 41^st Avenue location, says the Wi-Fi network is password-protected but the password is given out freely and there is no time limit for usage. The café has a small selection of pastries and does not offer table service. She says that "squatting" isn't really a problem and that people cycle out pretty well. But Verve is also a roaster with a strong wholesale business to support its cafés. Additionally, cafés like this that rely almost predominantly on coffee sales tend to be significantly smaller, thus offering significantly less seating – perhaps making the squatter a bit more self-conscious about taking up one of only a handful of seats.

But the hostility towards "squatters" isn't just about people taking up seats – though the lost revenue for businesses that rely on dine-in food sales is definitely a primary concern. For many it's also about the atmosphere they wish to create. New York's Café Grumpy doesn't offer Wi-Fi or allow laptops in four of their five locations. "For us, yes, it's a space issue, but it's also about the atmosphere it creates," says Café Grumpy owner Caroline Bell. Though the cafés only serve their own house-made pastries and don't face the same challenges as full sit-down restaurants, Bell wanted to create an atmosphere that was "more inviting," allowing for actual conversation to occur rather than the pitter-patter of laptop typing being the dominant sound. "It's less about turnover and more about the experience. People appreciate it." 

Walking into a café and seeing table after table of laptop zombies, faces bathed in blue from the glow of their screens, is a much different experience than walking into a café buzzing with excited conversation, whether it be about politics or the latest episode of Breaking Bad. In recent decades coffeehouses have evolved as much as technology. The ubiquity of smartphones has made the original intent of free Wi-Fi (as an additional service for customers to use sparingly as needed) obsolete, and third-wave coffeehouses are increasingly mindful of encouraging a sense of community – that centuries-old café culture in which cafés served as primary community gathering places.

While you could easily make a case that the squatters of decades past – the Beat writers of 1950s San Francisco, the postmodern philosophers of 1960s Paris, the goth and grunge kids of 1990s America – probably weren't producing high ticket averages, they were producing the kind of human interaction missing from the modern laptop mafia (and let's not get started on "co-working," i.e., ignoring each other in groups while taking up multiple seats). In an age of endless connectivity, sometimes people just want to feel connected; the retaliation against coffee squatting is just one manifestation of a growing social movement.