Why Burdell’s Debut Is So Special and Inspiring — Especially For Chefs

I met Geoff when I started to formulate the Dock in Oakland, about a decade ago. He had fine dining experience — a CIA grad who worked at Cyrus, and did couple of stints in New York — but he’s from Modesto so he was familiar with California. I hired him as a sous chef and we opened the restaurant together.

While we worked alongside each other, I got to know him a little more. Especially with our mutual fine dining backgrounds, we talked a lot about school, Michelin, and wine. But it was also the other things we had in common — hip hop, records, automobiles, golf — that really got us to hit it off right away. With his talent and experience, I was comfortable handing him the food program over and letting him shine, do his own thing and find himself as a cook.

I would give him guidance during this time, but I also learned a lot from him. A lot of his cooking dives back to his personal history, so I gleaned new techniques, like frying chicken when bacon is in the fryer — that’s kind of a little cheat code. Even things like the way he braised collard greens taught me a lot about little nuances. That was fun to see, and it’s one area where his cooking is so special: He’s cooking from a regional, personal cuisine where it’s all heirloom recipes passed down through generations. He has an innate ability to morph these recipes into something new — or to not change them at all. The thing about Geoff’s cooking is that nothing is dogmatic in tradition.

In the years after the Dock, we stayed friends and I went to have his food at Kronnerburger, which was down the block from Commis, and then to True Laurel, where his patty melt and fried maitake mushrooms are still etched in my mind.

What’s exciting to me about Burdell is that now Geoff has carte blanche to create something. It’s not just what is on the plate. He gets to create an experience like nothing else in the country. He’s always had a really good eye for culture, design, furniture, and obviously, his food is delicious. As a chef and restaurateur, my mindset has always been to look backwards to move forward. Geoff has a similar approach, and one look around Burdell will prove that the restaurant is absolutely an embodiment of that.

Now, he can tell a story. His story.

That’s why Burdell is so important — to Oakland, to the restaurant industry, to the community. Commis is now 14 years old, and it’s incredibly inspiring to see a younger generation have the same knack for creating something new and exciting, to go through the rigors of starting a business, to even having the courage to start a business, particularly in the economic climate we’re in.

I opened Commis during the height of a recession. I remember what’s it like to go all in and go for broke. There’s nothing like it. The other day, I called Geoff to check in, and I asked him if he was excited about the opening. He said yes … but also that he was stressed out. I told him that’s adrenaline.

James Syhabout is an Oakland native who is also the chef-owner of Commis, which holds two Michelin stars.