Chef Life LIVE

Please welcome my next guest to Chef Life LIVE...Stephen Cusato, host of the YouTube Channel Not Another Cooking Show!!!  

Stephen believes cooking should be a basic human skill, like reading, writing, or driving a car. He claims he doesn't have a way with words as he does with a camera, so he lets the late, great Anthony Bourdain explain his purpose.   "But I do think the idea that basic cooking skills are a virtue, that the ability to feed yourself and a few others with proficiency should be taught to every young man and woman as a fundamental skill, should become as vital to growing up as learning to wipe one’s own ass, cross the street by oneself, or be trusted with money.”  

Stephen is here to teach you how to make cooking as fun for you as it is for him. (Quote from Anthony Bourdain book “Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook” )

Welcome to Chef Life LIVE... I am your host Chef Alex Ottusch 

Trying to give everyone in the foodservice industry a platform to tell their story  

Please welcome my next guest...Charlie Smith.  

Charlie Smith is a 27-year-old Sous chef at Trinity hospital. Some of Charlie's goals are to one day own his own business and leave a mark on the sustainable world and continue to grow as a chef and entrepreneur. Three of Charlie's greatest professional achievements are becoming a sous chef at the age of 24 for Stephanie Izard, graduating with his bachelor's degree with honors, and working for Charlie Trotter. Charlie has his bachelor's degree in food service management with a passion for wellness and sustainability. Charlie is also a huge movie and music fan with star wars being his favorite series!  

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Questions of the Day: What is your favorite Puerto Rican Dish? Let me know in the comments below!!!  

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I sit down and chat with Chef Amadeus from Jacksonville Florida. Chef Amadeus, winner of the Food Networks Extreme Chef “Mexican Showdown, Founding Member of American Culinary Federation Mid Florida East Coast Chapter,  past President of  American Culinary Federation First Coast Chapter, recurring Guest Chef on The Low Down with James Yon, and creator of Southern Passion Spices, a salt-free line of spices. The chef was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. He grew up cooking with his grandmother who was from Puerto Rico and mother from Philadelphia. It was at the apron strings of his grandmother and mother that his love for cooking was ignited.

QOD: What is your favorite Mexican restaurant? Let me know in the comments below!!  Please welcome my next guest to Chef Life LIVE... Chef Diana Dávila!!!  Chef Diana Dávila Boldin is the Executive Chef and Owner of Mi Tocaya Antojeria in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. A native of the Chicago suburbs, Davila grew up in kitchens and began working in her parent’s taqueria at the age of 10. She began her professional career at her family’s upscale dining concept, Hacienda Jalapeños, where she received high praise in the form of a 2-star review from Phil Vettel at the Chicago Tribune and was called a “Mexican marvel” by the Chicago Sun-Times.

I sit down with Chicago Chef Carlos Gaytan and we talk about his humble beginnings helping his mother cook back in Mexico to his journey to the United States. Chef Carlos talks about what it was like to learn french cooking and starting his first restaurant while becoming the first every Hispanic Chef to earn a coveted Michelin Star rating. Currently running his newest restaurant, Tzuco, Chef Carlos has his sights on new projects and wants to keep building on his American Dream.

I sit down with my good friend, Addison Fleming, and chat about his time in the foodservice industry and his move to Jackson Hole Wyoming next week. Addison got his start in the industry working as a pizza delivery driver in Sanford, Florida. From there, he learned to make pizza, then working his way through the rest of the kitchen to eventually manage the restaurant. He went to culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando, and from there, moved to Colorado. There, he worked at Beaver Creek and Breckenridge. He also spent 3 summers in Grand Teton National Park, working for Jenny Lake Lodge. He then moved to Chicago to pursue his career more seriously and ended up working at Alinea. After that, he worked his way up to sous chef at Entente and left the Michelin world to work for Stephanie Izard at Cabra and Girl and the Goat. He is returning to Jackson Hole but plans to come back to Chicago soon.

I sit down and chat with chef Jeremy Pyrzynski about his time in the foodservice industry and what keeps him going. Jeremy grew up in Chicago and has been cooking in it for over 15 years. His first job before culinary school was at a small fusion place on Southport called Coobah’s and that lit the flame for his career. Having spent time at De La Costa until it closed down over a decade ago, the Peruvian & South American flavors were impacted into his brain. After the restaurant closed down, he took a few years off to fulfill his music dreams in touring the country in his band Encrust. Once the itch was scratched, it was time to get back to it. He worked at various places throughout the city until he landed with the Boka group working with Stephanie Izard. He’s currently the chef de cuisine of Cabra, Stephanie Izard’s Peruvian-inspired restaurant in the Hoxton hotel. When he’s not at work, he’s traveling(when it’s ok), or playing World of Warcraft.

I sit and talk with Chef Julio Morales and talk about his time in the foodservice industry and what keeps him going.

Chef Julio started working in restaurants when he was 15 as a dishwasher for a summer job. He was immediately enamored with the buzz, the push, and the kind of late-night life that came with it. He bounced around between 3 restaurants doing part-time cooking before he fell into an actual chef-driven kitchen job at Medure, and it flipped his perspective on things. He wanted to be a chef and he pushed for it.

That’s about the time Chef Julio came across Marco Pierre White’s book, Sex Drugs and The Making of A Great Chef. After reading it, he knew he had to be in a Michelin star kitchen to actually push himself to achieve the goal he set out for. He eventually ended up in Chicago, staging at any star restaurant that would take him with his amateurish Florida resume with a fish fry and flatbread concepts, but he ended up at TRU for about 2 years.... then he felt he needed a break so he took a cook job at the Ritz Carlton hotel Chicago but felt he overstayed. Hotels weren’t for him. Chef Julio got the opportunity to join Smyth and the Loyalist’s opening team quickly put in his notice and started there as the opening garde manger cook. With dedication and hard work, he ended up as the Chef de Cuisine for John Shields for just shy of four years. Covid hit. At that point, he had to part ways and now is on his way to open a new restaurant for a new restaurant group in Tampa Florida with some really great people. He credits his cooking style and career specifically to Chicago’s food scene and the life he’s lived here. Without it, he probably wouldn’t have the opportunities that came and has now. It’s been a good 10 years.

I sit down and chat with Chef Nick Vollono, the sous chef at Atelier Crenn, and talk about his time going from a philosophy student to a professional chef, the BLM movement, the pandemic, and everything in between. You won't want to miss this episode!!  Nick Vollono was born and raised in Pasadena, CA. He studied philosophy and world literature at UC Santa Cruz before discovering his love for cooking. His drive for excellence fueled his career as a chef, taking him to the infamous kitchen of Alinea in Chicago, IL and back to sunny California, to work at 3 Michelin starred Quince in San Francisco, before his current position as Sous Chef at Atelier Crenn. In his free time, Nick enjoys trying beers from the Bay's many breweries, re-reading his cookbook collection, and relaxing with his wife at home.

Live interview with Chef Alex Emilio Enright to learn a deeper understanding of the world of foodservice.