Culinary
Nico Russell
Chef / Owner | Redwood Hospitality
Experience
2015 - 2016
Chef de Partie
Restaurant MirazurMenton, FRANCE
Education
2006 - 2007
California Culinary AcademySan Francisco, CA
Advice from Nico Russell
Quotes about career path, skills, and teamwork from an industry leader.
Be flexible.
There are many things that we wish are more concrete in this profession but the truth is like the seasons, things change and if you do not create space for flexibility and adjustment you are in for a tough time.
Oxalis receiving a Michelin star in our first 10 months, truly was the work of so many
supporting us.
As a team, we play kickball.
We do a huge game on Memorial Day in Prospect Park that gets very competitive. It is just the best energy for everyone to let loose and have fun.
The people, our staff are the reason the hunger for both community and knowledge
mixed with pride in their workspace is really invigorating to see.
Our company is built to
empower people to grow themselves both individually and professionally and seeing that happen is just the greatest thing to me.
I have this wide spatula that is short and stubby and I use it for everything.
My staff
knows how dear and necessary it is for my brain to work. I know it sounds dumb, but
what can I say... I can't do my job without it.
When you are somewhere for quite some time, spaces change so being able to
see you take that in stride and implement change is inspiring for us.
Integrity and respect are essential.
I understand that if people are looking for a job that maybe the current one is not a fit, but I do not love when they bad mouth the last job consistently. “It was time to move on,” works just as well in my eyes.
Attendance and showing up consistently are critical.
I really enjoy the team aspect of this industry, everyone working together, problem solving and persevering through challenges.
I think that has really helped position myself into a place of trust not only from management above me but from my peers which is a great place to live.
I was very young when I knew this profession was for me.
I just wanted to work with my hands and be active, I thought cooking could fulfill those wants for me and I was right. I have been doing it since I was 18 and I really feel like I made the right choice.
My first Michelin starred kitchen was Chez TJ in Mountain View and I had staged a few
places before that but really being responsible for the day-to-day changed my whole view of kitchens.
We were a very small team of three that had two menus ( one 4-course and one 8-course) and a garden with the menu changing quite frequently, just very demanding work at a very high quality. Spaces like that really create an “unspoken push” which is overwhelming yes, but ultimately make you better and that happened to me.
Diversity is key for us.
For team motivation, we do quite a bit of classes and office hours internally to keep pushing a huge education baseline which we are very passionate about in our company.
We also do visits to farms or producers a few times a year to hear their perspective and techniques. Market runs during the high season do very well, bringing cooks early in the morning and meeting the farmers. It is great to help revitalize some energy.
I find inspiration everywhere.
I am always reading and researching.
To be honest I need to get better at self-care, I run myself down quite a bit but this is a huge focus for me moving forward.
Last year I started taking a few consecutive weeks off in the summer with my family and it really helped me recharge.
I do not listen to much hospitality / food based things when I am away from work.
Music is my thing. My anthems include "Every Girl" by Aretha Franklin and "On Melancholy Hill" by Gorillaz.
When hiring, I watch people process things as they arrive.
Normally we do a tour of the space or the stations and I just look to see if they are beginning to envision themselves working in it.
Important skills to possess for a culinary career are (1) Fortitude - things will get tough and having the ability to work through that is extremely important.
(2) Discipline - not everyone needs to be a perfectionist, but discipline comes in many forms (i.e., do you put the mop bucket back in the same place? do you label the same way?)
Those little victories pieced together create a lot of momentum in those early days.
I heavily rely on Google Drive as an important tech solution for business.
Roles in Culinary
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