#084: At Home - Chef Gavin Kaysen

Do you cook At Home? What do you cook at home? How do you cook at home? Why do you cook at home? These are the questions Chef Gavin Kaysen gets asked. Chef Kaysen is the recipient of 2x James Beard Awards. He was named the Rising Star Chef of the Year 2008 and Best Chef in the Midwest 2018. He is the executive Culinary Producer for the reboot of Iron Chef on Netflix and the owner of Spoon and Stable & Demi - two award winning restaurants in Minneapolis; as well as Bellecour Bakery, Mara and Soca Cafe. 

For this episode Fran Racioppi sat down with Chef in one of the most iconic, and delicious, restaurants in NYC; Boulud Sud; owned and operated by legendary Chef Daniel Boulud. 

Chef Kaysen and Fran answered these questions in a conversation about his new book At Home. Chef talks about creating majestic moments in hospitality and in business; why we need recipes that are simple, yet authentic; why it’s important not to talk down to home chefs; and what essentials make an impact on your daily meals - or holiday feasts. 

Pick up a copy of At Home and learn more about Chef Kaysen at gavinkaysen.com and on social media @gavinkaysen. 

Special thanks to Chef Daniel Boulud and the entire Boulud Sud staff for hosting Chef Kaysen and our Jedburgh Team. 

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. 

Highlights:

-0:00 Welcome to Boulud Sud

-6:39 Why do you cook at home?

-11:25 From Subway to a chef

-14:50 What do you cook at home: selecting the recipes for At Home

-21:19 How do you cook at home: the essentials

-28:08 Majestic Moments, Clean Slates, First & Last Impressions

-33:34 Why do you cook at home?

-36:20 Gavin’s Commandments for Shopping Lightning Round

-45:59 Three Foundations to Success

Quotes: 

-”I realized seven ingredients is what brought everyone together at a table.” (7:05)

-”Food’s food. It’s to bring people together. If we burn something, throw it away and do it again.” (10:29)

-”This business is not a business where you’re gonna work 30 or 40 hours a week and you’re gonna have nights and weekends off.” (14:03)

-”I genuinely want people to use this book. I want to see it dirty. I want to see the pages ripped open.” (16:01)

-”Why should I trust you, or anybody, with a $50 piece of steak if you can’t take care of arugula salad.” (27:26)

-”If we tell you what the menu is ahead of time you will judge it prior to getting there and you will already create an expectation of what you will like and what you will dislike before you even see the food.” (30:19)

-”When anybody critiques what you’re doing it feels very personal.” (32:35)

Chef Kaysen’s Three Daily Foundations to Success:

-Create a routine

-Keep an open and curious mind

-Spend some time in nature

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s, Compass Workforce Solutions, 18A Fitness, and Analytix Solutions