Mr. Mitchell, your Instagram bio describes you as, “the kid from Detroit.” Despite your many accolades as a chef including a James Beard award and a Michelin star, do you still feel like that kid from Detroit these days?
Yeah, of course, absolutely I do. That’s why I approach food and cooking the way I do. I’m always looking back at things that inspired me initially, thinking about the things that made me excited about food as a kid. My excitement as a kid about food is what pushed me into this career in the first place, so it’s something I’ll always remember. It’s really important to me.
Are you instilling that mindset in the food you’ll serve at Saga?
My focus is more on the seasonality, on ingredients. That’s part of the responsibility of being a chef. Once that’s done, then you can start playing with it a bit more, the flavor part of the menu is where you find your opportunities to be playful, to bring in nostalgia or to draw back to a childhood memory. For example, we just put together a new grilled fish course with ham hocks and collard greens and farro in it. To me, it was a nod to the southern food that I ate growing up. To those who know me, it’s a dish from me. That’s my personality, my little touch on a menu that was crafted originally by the late James Kent, the founder of Saga.
“My vision is the same, and I’m still approaching my menu the same way: I always start with the seasons.”
Before Saga, you’d earned a Michelin star at the restaurant you co-founded in Brooklyn called Clover Hill. How has that transition to a new space been for you?
Yeah, I didn’t plan on leaving Clover Hill, but this job came about because I had a friendship with Chef James, who passed away last summer. So it was based off our friendship and that unforeseen circumstance. When they asked the question, I just said yes. It wasn’t in my plans at all. At Saga, this group of people, his staff all went through a trauma; they all lost their boss and friend. It’s a unique situation, so I have been trying to focus more on the culture and the team, on how we can all work together. And with James, who was very respected, it’s big shoes to fill.
You first met James Kent at a Michelin event back when you got your first star, right?
That’s right, yeah, we met at this point when I was running my own restaurant, I’d gotten the star and everything was happening pretty fast. It’s a turbulent time, not knowing what was going on… And you kind of need other people who either are going through the same things, or who have already been through it. He was that person for me. He had already been through the growing pains of trying to be an executive chef, dealing with New York City business patterns, operational challenges… He was a huge support. He was a great ally for me, a constant help and support through all of that.
What kind of growing pains were you experiencing?
Oh, everything! I mean, Clover Hill was my first executive chef job, and you know, you just don't know what you're doing. I ran a really small restaurant, with a smaller team and less resources. I was having to wear multiple hats… I was so focused on the food and what you're trying to create, but you also need to learn how to build a team, how to hire, how to fix the oven, how to get the trash picked up on time…
People definitely tend to forget about the less glamorous side of being a chef — it’s not all just about food and creativity and making artful dishes.
Absolutely, there’s so many things about being a chef that you don't think about when you're just on your journey trying to learn how to cook the best food you can. My life changed a lot at Clover Hill, it was extremely hard to walk away from it, and then come to Saga where there’s 60 seats and three private dining rooms and close to 100 employees. The location is different, the access is different. The execution and the way you go about things has to change. It’s a different volume. Saga is part of a large group of restaurants, which changes my job a lot. It’s a very different experience and there are all new growing pains for me.
Has your vision as a chef changed at all since moving to a restaurant like Saga?
I wouldn't say the vision has changed. I’m still all about, you know, breaking bread with loved ones, providing that kind of hospitality, creating those moments of excitement through food. We want to curate an experience for you, we just want you to come here and let us be in charge of it. You shouldn’t have to think too hard about it, it’s just going to be a memorable, exciting meal. My vision is the same, and I'm still approaching my menu the same way: I always start with the seasons. At Clover Hill, we did four main changes a year, at Saga, we do the same, we’ll change things up every season. I cook with a lot of vegetables, a lot of seafood, then once I’ve developed that, I think about how the menu will flow. How many snacks do we need? Which dishes will be cold, which will be hot? Which techniques should we use?
It sounds like a more technical or rational approach than necessarily an emotional, storytelling one.
Sure, I mean, like I said before, the flavors are where we can input some personality and creativity, but it definitely starts with that seasonal intention. I don’t lean too far into the storytelling, for me the emotional connection is just about cooking for people and making people happy. And the amount of hard work and care and attention we put into cooking for people every day, that’s the emotional transaction. We’re putting a lot of work into this, and that’s the biggest thing. It’s a labor of love.