Symon Says

Big News Times Two!!

As some of you may have read we made the announcement today that I will be taking over as host of Dinner Impossible. I am super stoked to take over this show as it is a proven format and I love a good challenge. To make it even more exciting DI will be going to a one hour format and I will have a bunch of my close friends as sous chefs, which should make the show very entertaining and fun.
We have also announced that we will be opening a restaurant for Starwood Hotels in Detroit at the Historic Book Cadillac which will be called Roast. It will feature all that is meat. Including a wood fired rotisserie with suckling pigs, baby goats and spring lamb. We will also feature a large amount of prime dry aged steaks and a array of house made sausages and cured meats. This is a concept I have been working on for quite awhile and feel it will fit Detroit like a glove.
God I love Mondays...
Live to cook..MS

ozzy the wonderdog

been a little crazy lately..here is a picture of the new puppy ozzy...ill will have a big announcement later this week of some exciting things that are happening..live to cook ms

sadness, joy & vegas

After 15 years and too many burns and cuts to count my longtime friend/chef/pal/brother/drinking buddy/browns fan.....Frank Rogers has moved on. I can not even begin to put into words how much he has meant to Liz and I over that time period and I am quite certain that I will never again find a employee with his fierce loyalty and work ethic. In all of that time I don't think he ever called off sick or bitched about the brutal hours. He always was there for me with a smile on his face and ready to go to war... but after getting married and pumping out 3 kids in 5 years he needed a change. About 6 months ago we talked about him getting out of the biz and finding a job that was a little more family friendly. Two weeks ago was his last day and I must admit it is plain weird to walk into Lola in the morning and not see him there. There have been and will be better cooks, managers..etc..but I dont think there will ever be a better employee. Im gonna miss you buddy.

On the lighter side of things I have made it to the final 5 of the James Beard Awards for the Great Lakes Region. This is a huge honor and quite flattering. As usual the competition is very tough and loaded with Chicago chefs. No matter what happens I am happy that Ctown has gotten some much deserved recognition and can only hope that soon even more chefs from here get their due recognition.

Liz, Doug and I got out to Vegas last weekend and had some good meetings with a couple different casinos. Nothing really on the horizon in the immediate future but it is always good to see what is out there. Vegas, never ceases to amaze me. The mass of people is quite mind blowing and the amount of restaurants and chefs there just boggle my mind. We had a couple great meals with the highlights being Mesa and Carnevino.

Mesa was just flat out solid with big flavors and food that was just perfectly balanced. Bobby has a great ability to mix the heat and the sweet in a way that just makes his food pop. It blows my mind that people will sometimes bash him. His food is always consistent and packs so much flavor. Not to mention he was doing Southwest cuisine long before it was considered cool. I know this may sound weird based on his celebrity status but I think as a chef he is very underrated. Next we headed to Marios new place Carnevino. It has been open for about 2 months but you would never know it. The food and service were spot on and the place was packed and running like a fine oiled machine. I love how even if they are not there you always feel the presence of Joe and Mario in their restaurants. We had a bone in rib-eye and Porterhouse for 2 that were aged a 100 days and quite frankly I think they were the best steaks I have ever eaten. The pastas were perfect as were the sides which included some spring peas with walnuts that were off the hook.
We all agreed that it was probably our best steakhouse experience ever.

live to cook, ms

I Must be Getting Old

I have to say that nothing makes me happier/prouder than seeing young cooks and chefs who have worked with me in the past and present taking the next step.

Watching Matt Harlan who has worked for me for the past ten years and is now our chef at lolita has grown into a man and a chef right before my eyes. He helps me develop menus, runs the kitchen, keeps his new wife happy and helps raise his newborn. It is mindboggling to me considering that when we hired him 10 years ago he could barely manage himself, forget juggling all the responsabilities he has now.

Jon Sawyer is now the chef/owner of a great spot callled Bar Cento and is putting out some of the best rustic Italian food in the city and was recently nominated for a James Beard award for rising star chef. Jon could always cook but I'm amazed how fast this once pig headed little shit has learned how to run a kitchen and manage a staff.

Josh Kabat who I referred to as Meat when he worked with me owns a great gastropub called Red Stone and is also doing a great job with some of the best pub food in the city. This is a guy who was an hour late for his first interview and once mistook powdered sugar for cornstarch when trying to cure a little chafing problem after a longs night work (talk about a sticky situation..lol) Once again it blows my mind that he is now running his own gig and doing it well

The one thing that all of these guys have in common is a amazing work ethic and a burning desire to succeed. In my heart I knew they would all be successful even though they all made me insane. It is such a great feeling to walk into their restaurants/kitchens and watching them run the show. It brings me greater joy than any award I have ever received and makes me feel like the 80 hour weeks and late night lectures are all worth it. It also makes me realize that I must be getting old...some of these guys weren't even old enough to drink when I hired them

live to cook, ms

SOBE and Restaurant Week

Had a little break in the action last weekend. Liz and I went to South Beach for the Food and Wine festival. When we left Ctown it was a balmy friggin 9 degrees and upon returning it went up to 20 but we got about 12 inches of f'n snow. It was a nice little break to be in 85 degree weather for 3 days and just what I needed to clear the head a little.

If u love food, wine and a good party, this is the event for u. There are events going on all over the place and chefs galore. I took it easy all weekend and even snuck in a little golf at Doral with Michael Schlow and Tom Collichio. It was great to hang with the boys even though I played like shit and Doral is way overated. Liz and I also snuck in a couple of dinners at Michy and Talula. Some of my favorites were incredible toro wrapped oysters, a great crispy pork belly and some wonderful kimchi beef tartar at Michy and THE most tender octopus I have ever had at Talula. We were also lucky enough to be invited to a dinner cooked by Mario Batali, Ming Tsai, Michael Schlow and Tom Collichio. These are four of my favorite chefs so needless to say the food and company were fabulous.

We got back to Cleveland on Sunday. Just in time for a foot of snow and Restaurant Week. This is downtown Clevelands first shot at this and for the most part it has been a huge success. It has driven thousands of people to downtown Cleveland to eat, drink and be merry and most of them have been very pleasent. We have gotten alot of first time diners and people who have not ventured downtown for ages. Hopefully they will see what they have been missing and get out of the burbs more often and realize what downtown and its independent restaurants have to offer.

As I said earlier, most of the people have been pleasent but it never fails there is always a jackass!!! On Monday the third table to arrive has a very pleasent gentlemen who was obviously forced to come to our fine establishment. The server lets me know that they are doing everything in their power to make him happy but are having very little luck. So I head over to help turn around Mr happy. Here is the conversation that followed

MS..How is everything?

Mr Happy....I thought this was restaurant week?

MS .... It is sir and we are very excited to be part of it.

Mr Happy ..... Your special menu only has one choice for entrees

MS .... Do you not enjoy hanger steak?

Mr Happy ... Its fine but what if I want to eat here every night?

MS ... Well, I think the idea is that you try several different places downtown not just Lola and if you did want to come back there are another 25 items on our regular menu.

Mr Happy ... Why would i ever pay full price to eat here?

At this point I decide to leave well enough alone and head back to the kitchen but not before he lets me know that we should also be offering drink specials since our cocktails are overpriced. What a lucky women this guys wife is!!! He much just be a peach to spend quality time with!!

Enough nonsense I have to get back to work.

Live to cook,
MS

Exciting Week!!!

This has been one of those exciting albeit crazy weeks....We found a new house on the east side in Shaker Heights...I verbally committed to a publisher for the book...and we are in the process of pitching a new show to the Food Network...Oh, where to start!!

First off, the house. Liz has wanted to move east for awhile now to be a little closer to her sister Mare. For me it doesnt really matter where we live..but a happy Liz is a happpy Michael..lol. That being said, alot of my close friends live east so that is a added bonus, as is being closer to some of my favorite restaurants like Fire and Red. The only drawback is the airport is a bit of a hike now and we are not so close to our parents which is a bummer. The real shitty thing about all of this is that we just got got our current house finished and know I am going to have to live through constuction again, which truly sucks ass...for lack of better terms!!! So if anyone is looking for a house with a truly pimped out kitchen, feel free to drop me a line.

Next, I am really excited about the book. The working title is Symon Says "Live to Cook" and it will be made up of recipes and stories from my life in food. Michael Ruhlman will be helping me with the writing and Donna will be doing the photography, which has me very excited. I hope the book comes out on paper as good as it is in my head.

Lastly, I had a great meeting with zero pt zero the other week. They are the production company that does Bourdains show. We are working on a show to pitch the food network. I'm hoping it can be edgy but still educational and can break from the usual format of chef behind counter cooking food. These guys are obviously great at what they do... hell, they even make Bourdain look good, which is no easy feat!!

Couple questions for you guys...What do you love and hate about cooking shows and books

One more thing..the shirts are really close and should be on the site within two weeks..and they are wicked!!

Live to cook, ms

Great Fundraiser

I was in NYC on Monday doing a fundraiser for the 911 memorial museum. What a great event. It was put on by one of my favorite chefs Jonathan Waxman of Barbutto. The other chefs were Aaron Sanchez, Bobby Flay, Joey Companaro and Jimmy Bradley.

We raised over $400,000.00 in doing the dinner. It was $25,000.00 a seat for 22 ppl (only in NYC...lol) and the food was just terriffic. Aaron did a snapper ceviche for the first course, that was garnished with crispy plantains and yucca. The second course was fire roasted oysters with a salsify puree and a truffle sauce by Jimmy Bradley. Joey did the third course which was seared halibut topped with a crab salad over wilted escarole. I was up next and did braised beef cheeks with pickled fennel, chiles, blood oranges and crispy marrow. Next was Bobby with crusted venison, bluberry sauce and a sweet potato tamale and lastly a grapefruit panna cotta by JW. The meal went off without hitch and the people were thrilled to be there. All in all a great event.

I do quite a few fundraiser type dinners a year and they are all great but this one was pretty special. First off, it is a great cause and you really get to see were the money being raised is going. Also the mayor was there for the dinner which was quite cool and very refreshing to meet someone who is so down to earth and has such a great vision for the present and future of NYC. Lastly, these are 5 of my favorite chefs in the country. Not only is there food great but they have absolutely no egos and are just great to work with. The common tie between all us is JW as he has mentored this entire group in one way or the other. Whether it be from working with him or just advice on how to deal with the daily grind of being a chef.

Being around all this great food and great chefs got me to thinking. If you could pick who could cook your final meal who would it be. Mine would probably be Jonathan, because i know it would be drop dead simple and seasonal and it would definately include fries!! Love to hear some of your picks, MS

Chef vs Celebrity

Since winning Next Iron Chef, the most common question I get asked is what does it feel like to be a celebrity chef ? I typically laugh, since to me these are two words that just don't jive.

The reason I say this is not to scoff at "celebrity" or to shrug off the responsability of being a well known chef but because being a chef to me is still a trade (and a very difficult one at that)

When I went off to culinary school in 1987, there was no food network, no internet and certainly not chef blogs. The chef world was not filled with the glamour it is today and most people in the dining room had no desire to meet the chef. Unless your name was Paul Bocuse!

It was considered one of the toughest gigs in the world. Filled with 80 hour workweeks in 100 degree kitchens and getting yelled at by a crazy person, who can barely speek english, that we respectfully called "chef". In fear that if we did not, he/she would beat us with a rolling pin! Ah...the good old days.

The craziest thing to me is that other than the "celebrity" part (and the occassional beating) nothing else has really changed. This is still one of the most physically demanding proffessions that there is. Working weekends and nights is a given and 60-80 hour weeks are common.

My biggest fear about this is that some of kids wanting to get into this bussiness may not be ready for what is ahead of them. Watching Mario and Bobby kick the shit out of people on Iron Chef is fun but what they had to go through to get to that point was nothing short of brutal. Hell, I've had my eyebrows burnt off by exploding broilers, been sucker punched by fired cooks(big mistake) and been chased with a knife by a crazy dishwasher. The craziest thing is that I've loved the entire ride!

Don't get me wrong, that chefs have the opportunities they have now is nothing short of wonderful and being a "celebrity" has opened doors for me that I never thought possible. My only hope is that the next generation of chefs realize what they are in for and that if they ever hope to be a "celebrity" they must first be a chef.

live to cook, ms

Happy New Year

What a crazy 2007!!....I couldnt have asked for much more either professionally or personally. The year was full of so much excitement, i really dont even know where to begin.

First off, another wonderful year with my wife and soulmate Liz. She is truly a wonderful person and very understanding of my sometimes hectic life and schedule. She is what makes me whole and keeps me grounded...I just love her to death!!

This year also was my paps 90th birthday. The man never ceases to amaze me..he still golfs and bowls twice a week and makes desserts for his church on bingo night. Heres to hoping that 2008 brings him continued health and happiness. He is still the person I look up to the most and I relish the time I can spend with him.

Lola..celebrated her 1 year anniversary in her new digs in September and it was a wonderful first year!!! We are blessed with a great staff that really makes it happen everyday. Lolita turned 3 but we had our 11th anniversary in the Tremont location....it is great to see our baby still going strong and once again we have our its all due to our staff....Liz, Doug and I are very fortunate to have the staffs we do and can never thank them enough.

Oh..and of course that Iron Chef thing. What a wild ride that has been. I got to know 7 great friends during the competition and really continued to learn how manage myself. It has opened some new doors for me and hopefully will continue to.

The new year should also bring some exciting things...We are looking at some management projects in Detroit and will continue to pursue Vegas. We have also welcomed a new member to our family Ozzy the old english bulldogge (he is a absolute riot) Even though Ruby and Mabel still dont know what too make of him.

Well, thats all I got for now...time to lay around and watch season six of 24.....Happy new year to all!!!

Live to cook, ms

Happy Holidays to all!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday as much as me...friends, family AND three days off in a row, it just doesnt get any better than that!!!!

We had our big Xmas eve feast yesterday. Normally we do the seven fish and it is an all night party with family, friends and staff but this year we had a big brunch instead. Liz had the great idea to do brunch and although I was hesitant at first it worked out perfectly.

When we would do the seven fish bash it would ussually not end until about 5-6 in the morning. Between cooking fish for 60 people and cleaning up at 6 a.m. it made for a crazy long day and left us pretty wiped out for Xmas day.

Our brunch feast came out quite fabulous. Liz made her famous breakfast bread pudding with eggs, bacon, aged cheddar and scallions and some rocking coffee cake. I grilled up a whole mess of sausage including keilbasa, spicy italian, garlic bratwurst, country sausage and some chorizo. We also made some dips with pita chips and had some great cheeses from baricelli. Since I was running tight on time I made a stop at the Sausage Shoppe on Saturday and picked up some blood and tongue susage, some old style head cheese and smoked lieberwurst, all were incredible!!! Norm and company do such an amazing job. We also had a great ham some smoked salmon and a mess of pickled vegetables. What a feast!!!

The best part of this was that at 8:00 the party was winding down and Liz and I were in bed by MIDNIGHT!!
I think the pooches liked brunch better to since they definatelly prefer sausage and breakfast pudding to seafood....lol...They are still sleeping of the food coma as i type.

Next order of business is who won the contest...First off, everyone did a great job and some of your meals sounded fabulous but I had to go with Gynene..smoked pork fat drippings and toast!!!!! You know the way to my heart. I also loved how you were keeping up the traditions of your childhood (I've been thinking about my moms lasagna all week!!....lol)

Everyone have a great and safe Holiday season.....MS

G...please send me a email to lola@lolabistro.com with all your info, so I can send out you gift cards for the cooking classes!!!