20 Questions with Bourbon Steak’s Michael Mina
In the Resy Questionnaire, we play a game of 20 questions with the industry folks behind some of our favorite restaurants. What’s your most memorable restaurant experience? Your favorite food movie? What restaurant would you want to time-travel for?
In this edition, we spoke to Michael Mina, chef and founder of the Mina Group, whose restaurants include Bourbon Steak in New York, Pabu Izakaya in San Francisco, and Michael Mina in Las Vegas.
The Resy Questionnaire
The Resy Questionnaire
1. Favorite thing you’ve ever cooked?
My mom’s falafel because it is the first thing I remember cooking with her.
2. Kitchen tool or equipment you couldn’t live without?
A fish spatula.
3. What five culinary items would you bring on a desert island?
Flour and yeast: You have to make bread to survive! Chile sauce, because it goes with everything. Sugar: I have a sweet tooth, so I’d have to figure out how to make something sweet. And tomato seeds: Here’s hoping I can plant and grow tomatoes wherever I am!
4. What’s your favorite place to get a slice in New York?
5. Favorite cookbook?
“Essential Cuisine” by Michel Bras. It’s a classic, and aesthetically pleasing, and the content is amazing.
6. Your drink of choice?
Japanese whiskey.
7. Favorite food movie?
“The Menu.”
8. Which industry people, living or dead, would you love to cook for or have over for a dinner party?
9. What restaurant industry person do you admire the most?
There are so many people I admire, but I have to say Dr. Tim Ryan, who has been the president of the Culinary Institute of America for more than 20 years. He has done so much for the school and has had a tremendous impact on our industry, even if not everyone knows his name.
10. If you weren’t a chef, what profession do you think you’d have instead?
A sports agent!
11. Your greatest professional achievement?
When I decided to cook for my profession, I could envision myself becoming a great chef one day. But I never could have imagined the amazing people I would have met and worked with along the way. I have had the honor of being in the company with, training with, and collaborating with truly remarkable people, and it is such a highlight of my career.
12. What single dish best describes your personality?
Caviar parfait: I have many (complicated) layers!
13. If you could go back in time, which restaurant would you dine at?
Paul Bocuse whenever chef Bocuse was there cooking. I never had the chance to dine there, and would love to go back and experience his restaurant with him in the kitchen.
14. Your favorite meal from childhood?
Koshari, Egypt’s national dish.
15. What is your wish for the restaurant industry?
It’s been amazing to watch how many people now accept their children wanting to go into the food and beverage industry and support them becoming chefs, or other roles within the hospitality field. I want this to continue because the more great minds we have in this industry, the further it will go.
16. What do you wish you did better? What do you do well?
I wish I had more patience.
Something I am proud of is that I always strive to help people that want to grow in our industry. I want to ensure that anyone interested in becoming a chef understands the whole picture of what they’re going to need in addition to the tools they’ll need so they’ll have long-term success and not fail over something that, unfortunately, had nothing to do with their talent.
17. If you could eat through a city for a day, where would you go?
Tokyo.
18. The one thing you can’t resist splurging on when you go out?
Very high-quality sushi.
19. What do you value most in restaurants?
Harmony.
20. It’s your last meal on earth, what are you eating?
My absolute favorite dish: Egg-battered abalone with brown butter fettuccine.
