Michael Lewis has spent most of his career working in one kitchen at a time. The native of Baltimore got his start in some of the finest New York City kitchens, including Le Bernardin, Bouley Bakery and Jean Georges, but he also has worked at larger concepts such as the London-based big-box Japanese chain Zuma.
He gained foodies’ attention as the executive chef of Kyu in Miami, where he combined the barbecue traditions of central Texas and East Asia.
He recently parted ways with that particular Kyu, but he’s still involved with the one in Mexico City which is part of his new company, Scotch and Bacon, which also operates a fried-chicken concept called Chicken, a fast-casual breakfast concept called Laid Fresh and a ramen bar and izakaya called Buya.
He and business partner Steven Haigh are working on developing all of those concepts, exploring options for them both as delivery-only operations and traditional brick-and-mortar spaces.
“Restaurants are 100% coming back. You can’t get away from people’s craving for social interaction, and sharing a meal together — there’s something very special about that,” he said.
In this podcast, Lewis walks us through each of those concepts and explains why, as far as he’s concerned, his job hasn’t really changed.”
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