Also this week:
- Watch: Elizabeth Tilton on New Orleans, health care for restaurants, and finding your zone of genius
- Cook: Nuoc Cham - the sauce everyone should have in their repertoire
- Chef Feedback: Chef Gavin Kaysen on Curiosity
- Hot Take: Gifting the kitchen team when dining out
Recipe:
Nước Chấm
I first learned about this sauce from Chef Rick Moonen at Oceana over 2 decades ago. It's spicy, sweet, acidic, with a umami flavor from the nước mắm (Vietnamese fish sauce), and a bite from the raw garlic and onion.
It works with basically any meat, fish, shellfish, or veggie, and the components make an incredible marinade. And it's a great vessel for more flavor. Add crunchy peanut butter or diced peaches when they are in season. Definitely finish with some fresh herbs like mint, cilantro, Thai basil, or, if you can get it, some rau ram (Vietnamese cilantro)
There are obviously many ways to reach the top of this nước mắm tree; different types of chili, citrus, or vinegar, varying degrees of heat, and some add water (not me).
👉 Check out my recipe for Nước Chấm while reading about "What is a recipe".
The meez Podcast 🎙️
Finding Your Zone of Genius, and Solving Healthcare for Restaurants with Elizabeth Tilton
Elizabeth Tilton went from chocolatier to building two companies solving massive gaps in the restaurant industry (sprinkled with a stint as Interim CMO for Noma Restaurant along the way).
She runs Oyster Sunday (corporate office for independent restaurants) and OS Benefits (affordable health insurance for hospitality workers). She believes operators are smarter than ever, but still under-investing in certain places. We get into Ai per usual, and end with her New Orleans restaurant picks, and why leaning into your weaknesses instead of letting them define you is the real unlock.
What we cover:
- Where restaurants are under-investing
- Smaller, better-paid teams over large part-time staffs
- The real problem with small business health insurance
- Why Elizabeth turned down massive growth to keep Oyster Sunday tight
- 'Zone of genius' and the conductor mindset
- Dyslexia as a strength for pattern matching
- New Orleans restaurant picks you need to know
👉 Listen now: Elizabeth Tilton of Oyster Sunday and OS Health
Chef Feedback 🔥:
Chef Gavin Kaysen on Curiosity and Discipline
By far the most common thread I've seen, especially in the 120+ interviews on the meez podcast, is that curiosity is a a pre-requisite to excellence in any craft.
Chef Gavin confirms this, along with the need for discipline to pair with curiosity. I couldn't agree more.
👉 Watch or listen to the entire episode here.
Hot Take🤔🌶️:
Gifting the kitchen staff when dining out
When I go out to a restaurant, I typically bring a bottle of bourbon for the kitchen. Nowadays, I'll also bring a few meez pocket digital scales too.
The tradition, as I've viewed it, is this: chefs rarely get nights off. And when it happens, oftentimes it involves going to another restaurant. Bringing a gift for the kitchen crew is an act of respect and appreciation for the crew hard at work making your meal possible.
This is a bit of a 'back-of-house' skewed view, given it doesn't involve the service team. Maybe it's because the kitchen does not get tips. I recognize the servers are also crushing away at it, too.
Per usual, Matt and I argue about this. Not only because Matt doesn't think we should gift the kitchen crew, but also the premise of bringing booze to the kitchen, and if that's ok.
👉 Watch the clip and chime in with your thoughts on LinkedIn or Instagram
💬 Want to Be a Guest on The meez Podcast?
If you’re building at scale or wrestling with hard zero-to-one problems worth talking about, I’d love to hear from you.
Apply to be a guest or nominate someone we should talk to.
meez is the recipe software that helps chefs create, organize, and execute profitable recipes with precision.
