Kitchen Tool: A sous chef, a good right hand—or left if you’re left-handed. My knife is what I reach for the most. When choosing a chef’s knife, you want to find hard steel, something that holds an edge well and balance, how it feels in your hand.
Meal: It’s best if lunch is the biggest meal of the day so I can power through a busy dinner service. I like to eat different textures and temperatures together, such as a warm salmon we serve with a cold farro salad.
Kitchen Companions: It’s going to be messy, and there will be inconsistencies—two things that have no place in a professional kitchen—but I love cooking with my kids. It’s 100 percent one-on-one time. My girlfriend has a 5-year-old, and on the weekends we make pancakes. It’s magical. As they get older, they can learn to clean as they go, but embrace the messiness.
Respite: The view from either the dining room or on the fifth floor, our Skyline Room. You can just see downtown, the Sculpture Garden, the Basilica, and one of the busiest intersections in Minneapolis.
Spring Tradition: I know it’s spring when I get to till my garden. Mostly I plant seeds, but some plants like peppers and tomatoes I’ll pick up from a little greenhouse by my home or the 101 Farmers’ Market in the Rogers/Elk River area. Every morning I let out my dog and go check. It’s just so exciting! “Oh, is that a weed? No! It’s a beet top! Yay!”
