In today’s episode, I talk to chef Andy Doubrava from Rustic Canyon Restaurant in Los Angeles, California. His unique style doesn’t depend on rules, but is more focused on flavor and what local farmers have on offer at the weekly markets.
You’ll hear about the most iconic dishes on the menu at Rustic Canyon, and why he values working with local farmers and building those relationships. He talks about culinary inspiration and collaboration in his kitchen, the importance of treating one another with respect, and he shares an important word of advice for young cooks. What you'll learn with chef Andy Doubrava
The menu structure at Rustic Canyon (4:42) How frequently the menu changes (6:31) Unique sustainable farming relationships (7:43) Chef Andy Doubrava focus on preservation (8:47) The pandemic-era dinner series he hopes to bring back (10:33) How Andy Doubrava describes his cooking style (12:23) Finding the balance between being creating and running a business (13:41) Why MSG might not be so bad (14:20) On working with chef Jeremy Fox (15:16) Defining simplicity (16:31) Chef Andy Doubrava colorful sources of inspiration (18:44) The collaborative process in the kitchen (20:37) How his cooks get to flex their creativity (22:51) The scientific roots of Andy Doubrava's cooking (23:30) Why he transitioned from a musician to a chef (24:33) The connection between playing music and cooking (25:51) Andy Doubrava's poignant advice for young chef’s (27:21) His recipe for the perfect pork chops (30:25) The “curveball” in his recipe for chops (34:12) A little known fact about Andy Doubrava's food phobias (35:03) Where to eat in Santa Barbara (37:18) His guilty pleasure food (39:14) Cookbooks to inspire you (40:25) Kitchen pet peeves (42:13) His favorite spice that he puts on everything (43:27) Series of rapid-fire questions. Link to the podcast episode on Apple Podcast
Links to other episodes in Los Angeles Interview with chef Suzanne Goin
Conversation with Chef Elizabeth Falkner
Conversation with Coffee Roaster Zayde Naquib
Interview with Chef Tim Hollingsworth
Conversation with Chef Brad Miller – Food Truck Nation
Interview with Chef Alison Trent Links to most downloaded episodes (click on any picture to listen to the episode)
Jeremy Umansky in Cleveland
Chef Sheldon Simeon
Chef Chris Kajioka
Alan Bergo
#gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 25%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } / see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php /
Rustic Canyon Restaurant in LA
Beets & Berries from Rustic Canyon
@weiserfamilyfarms Melon Dish from chef Andy Doubrava
Coal-grilled Maitake Mushroom & smoked strawberry hollandaise
Click to tweet
Everything can be a luxury ingredient if you sell it the right way. Click To Tweet
If you don't like working somewhere, there's no reason to work there. There are kitchens out there that will not treat you like shit. And I think that's really important for people to know. Click To Tweet
Flavor is the most important thing and how we get there doesn't matter. Click To Tweet
We do what we do at Rustic without yelling, without throwing things. We’re respectful and friendly. And we have fun and we still make Michelin star food. I don't think anyone needs to put themselves through terrible work experiences. Click To Tweet
My dad is a chemist by trade. So, I think that scientific curiosity and the analytical approach are important to me. It's very important to me that I know why and how somet...