What is your ideal office?
My kitchen, at Vespertine.
Where and with whom did you eat your last great meal?
My last great meal was in a place called Viñales in Cuba. About 4 hours outside of Havana, we had an incredible lunch cooked from local ingredients, including a suckling pig which they cooked on chicken wire over a pit of buried coals covered in burlap and banana leaves. Extraordinary.
When is the last time you got in trouble?
Today.
Who has been an unexpected source of inspiration for you?
Eric Owen Moss. He is the architect who designed the Vespertine tower. Working with Moss and his team was an eye-opening experience. Their immeasurable depth of creativity was incredibly inspiring, and continues to be each day.
What grosses you out?
Extreme social media narcissism. Also beef liver.
What is your spirit vegetable?
Probably fennel.
Do you have any rituals?
Sketching while listening to records.
What is your favorite tool in the kitchen?
OLFA razor blade.
When was the last time you were star struck?
Alejandro González Iñárritu came into Destroyer one afternoon. I wanted to invite him for dinner at Vespertine, but was too nervous. After he left, one of my cooks chased him down the street and invited him in. He came the following week.
What is the most interesting thing in your trash can?
I just looked and it’s 8 empty bags of Welch’s Fruit Snacks and an empty pint of Ben & Jerry’s Oat of this Swirled.
Who was your celebrity crush as a teenager?
Probably Cameron Diaz in The Mask. Or Catherine Zeta-Jones.
What technology excites you the most?
Self-driving cars. I will literally buy one the day they are available.
What is the most useful advice you ever received?
“Whatever it takes.”
Who have you been most proud to serve one of your dishes?
Grant Achatz. I worked for him during the first year of Alinea. He is one of my greatest mentors and I was super excited and nervous to cook for him.
What is the last piece of art that affected you emotionally?
Here are a few: Sigur Rós soundbath in DTLA, The Visitors by Ragnar Kjartansson at The Broad, The Matter Of Time by Richard Serra, There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s final performance before he died at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Also Sigur Rós’ performance the following week at the Disney Hall, but I mean, that’s kind of a given.
