Founder of Form-Function Hospitality, Chef-Partner at Bastia & Caletta

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I knew this career was right for me when I’d come home from long shifts at the bakery, physically exhausted, as though I’d played a couple soccer games that day.

Sometimes it helps to lean back creatively for intervals so that someone on the team can take the lead on creative work. It’s like a relay race, and I’m lucky to have Chef de Cuisine Mike Endres leading the kitchen because his instincts for our cuisine couldn’t be better.

For my work-life balance, I like making time to exercise and to read something other than news for at least 30 minutes every day — fiction or non-fiction (cookbooks count).

I am a big fan of the Meez recipe platform.

When Bastia was named the #1 restaurant in Philly by Philadelphia Magazine on their “Top 50” list 5 months after opening, it truly felt like a team accomplishment, and I felt so grateful for all the talented people who’d joined our team from the beginning. It is a professional and financial risk to join the opening team of a new restaurant and I count my blessings that we launched with so many talented chefs, cooks, servers, bartenders, and support staff who made that leap of faith with us.

I use the GoodNotes app on my iPad to document dish ideas and platings. It’s like a journal that I can drop recipes into and doodle composition ideas with the Apple Pencil. Notes as simple as “apple + tarragon + tomme” will become fully formed dishes in time.

When hiring, I look for kindness, organization, and comfort with a knife.

I sacrificed more favorable pay grades to work at the places I knew would help to build a strong resume, valuable relationships, and a strong skillset. It’s not the obvious way, but the long game rewards a little less in the short term.

My experience cooking at Komi was singular, and I think a lot of that restaurant’s alums feel the same way. It was a genuinely fun place to work, the food was amazing, and the service was just as good. It was an incredibly special place that shaped a lot of us who came out of there.

I keep my team involved in several ways. All chefs are encouraged to work on dishes and get things on the menu, whether it’s the specials card or fully landing on the menu. Recently, everyone on the team got a copy of "Setting the Table," and "Unreasonable Hospitality" will be next. We make time as a team to discuss important passages.

On the professional side, I’m a big fan of the podcasts "Andrew Talks to Chefs" and "Taste with Matt Rodbard," and I try to look through Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, the New York Times' Food Section, and Wall Street Journal’s Saturday “Off Duty” section when they drop. For pleasure, I read The Atlantic and The Economist.

For self-care, I exercise at least four times a week, and I make time and space for uninterrupted, creative thinking.

I find inspiration in my imagination and memory — and also in farm product guides.

There one's piece of advice from Johnny Monis that has stuck with me. My first day working at Komi was during peach and tomato season, and I remember him saying something like, “How could you know it’s good if you don’t touch it?” If there’s always a utensil between you and the food, you will plate things that shouldn’t go out.

For me, an earnest cover letter tailored to the job post and restaurant you’re applying to can unlock the door more than impressive credentials on a resume. Besides assessing stagiaires’ skill levels by producing a cup of brunoise shallot, a French omelette, and a mid-rare steak, we put a lot of stock in personality and kindness. We have a really friendly kitchen where everyone gets along and we don’t want that to change, no matter how urgent our hiring needs might be.

I think more and more that interpersonal skills are at least as important as a deep repertoire of techniques.