What were your favorite foods growing up?
I grew up in a family that was not really into food, so I loved cereals. I do however have a fond memory of my father and me making pizza from scratch as a child. I also loved anything on the grill. Growing up in Minnesota, there was not much time to grill so when you could it was the best!

What is your least favorite food?
I do not have one. I have a rule that if I do not like it, I will try it 25 times and if I still don’t like it, then I can move on and at least have the knowledge that I tried it.

What is your beverage of choice?
Water or red wine

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
This summer my wife and I were at our summer house in the middle of nowhere in Sweden. It had been three years since I vacationed. We bought some whole fish and I cooked it over an open fire. It was just the two of us and the lake, the fire, the wine. It was a perfect meal.

What do you eat when you are home?
Cheese…I love cheese!

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Eat out!!!! Taste the creations and explore to see why the chefs put those ingredients together.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
It began in Edina, Minnesota at a Subway, and then I moved next door to a restaurant called Pasta Time. It was run by a guy named George Serra, and this is where I first fell in love with food and the craft of cooking.

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
At the age of 15; I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. However, at the age of 6, I asked for an easy bake oven for Christmas, so I must have known by then.

If you didn’t become a chef, what would you be?
A storm chaser…but I am too big of a wimp to do that.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
I believe that all of my experiences have really shaped my style of cooking. I think my time spent in Europe (Switzerland and England) helped round out my foundation and taught me that cooking is not a celebrity thing, but a craft and something that we are lucky to have to do. We are in the industry of taking care of people; we do it with food, wine, and great service everyday.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
My team

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at Café Boulud?
Right now, I would have to say it is the seasons and moving to New York from San Diego; you begin to realize how important the seasonal changes are. My style is French but in a very American way, and I think that is what makes the food fun here. And to be able to work with Daniel on that is even more exciting.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Salt and butter are both my favorites.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
France

If I’m trying to watch my weight and I’m eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
The Grilled eggplant timbale with pine nuts and sourdough bread is fantastic and healthy. I would also recommend the Monkfish with tarbais beans and parsley.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant…you are eating at?
I try one place different every week…last place I went to was Dovetail on the West side with Chef John Fraser, and the meal was fantastic; he is a great chef and a great guy. It is very exciting seeing young people my age with success like that; it inspires me to push harder for my goals.

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
People are really into eating food that is humble, but yet something they could not do at home…it is a balance. I also find bar dining to be a big thing right now.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make?
Why?
I did a lunch for Daniel and Michel Bras and his entire team, that was tough, lots of pressure but exciting at the same time.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
Power outage in California…we put a grill outside and finished service that way.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
I have a list of them and they are posted throughout the kitchen, they go in this order

Modesty:
Work toward achieving greatness, but maintain humility.

Integrity:
Use your best judgment; perform your work selflessly, honestly and with care.

Respect:
Show respect for our peers, our supervisors, our industry, and our guests.

Responsibility:
Recognize and embrace the responsibility we have to our peers, our supervisors, our critics, our industry and ourselves to uphold the success we have achieved in the past and future.

Awareness:
Keep an open mind. Recognize innovation and realize inspiration, which will result in evolution and growth.

Initiative:
Have the courage to take the initiative and the conviction to follow through. Search for new ideas and means of improvement.

Collaboration:
Work together to achieve results that are greater than those you can achieve alone.

Consistency:
Maintain our highest quality of standards moment to moment, day to day and year to year.

Impact:
Make a positive impact in the experience of our guests and those around us.

Success:
Create fond memories for our guests and each other to create success in the future.

Legacy:
Establish a benefit to the guest to result in the restaurant to outlive us and create a legacy of quality.