Last month, Kaysen's Gallic cuisine—which he says has “a little more American touch"—earned him even more props: a nomination for the much-sought-after James Beard "Rising Star" award. Here, the chef weighs in on being “discovered” at a Subway, his frustration with cooking in winter, and following in the footsteps of other Boulud hot shots.
You arrived in town in November 2007 after cooking in southern California for five years. How’s the transition going?
The best part of New York City is that you can get anything you want any time you want it, and it’s like there. [Snaps his fingers] The hardest part is the transition between winter and spring. Like now—the weather feels spring. Everybody wants to feel spring. People don’t want to see any more squash, no more root veg, no nothing. We don’t want to see it, either. Trust us.
Was it difficult to start out with a winter menu?
Absolutely, ‘cause it’s so different. Plus, I haven’t felt winter in five years. I don’t know what it felt like to eat something hearty and then go outside and be cold.
Where are you from originally?
Minnesota. So I have no excuse to say I don’t know cold weather. However, I did leave there 10 years ago.
Is that where you worked in a Subway?
Yeah, when I was 16.
And you were “discovered” when the owner of a nearby Italian restaurant came by to check out your sandwich-making skills?
Isn’t that awful? Isn’t that terrible?
Any Subway sandwiches you still like?
That’s the thing: I’ve eaten there maybe 15 times since I worked there, and I think it’s not the same.
Which New York restaurants have you liked?
I haven’t eaten at a lot of places. I had dinner at Soto, that was fantastic. Parea—that was very good. Bar Masa, Per Se, Daniel—eaten there many times. I’ve never eaten at Bar Boulud; I can’t get in. [Laughs] Every time I call they’re like, “Yeah, we’re packed.” One time I called to make a reservation for two of our regulars, and they were like, “We can do 6:30 or 9:45.” I said, “I’m the chef at Café Boulud.” They were like, “Sure, we can do 7:15, that’s perfect.”
How does it feel to be nominated for the Beard Award?
It’s great—it’s a great honor; it’s a great feeling. It’s exciting to have guests come in and know about it. That’s taken me the most by surprise. When you’re in another city, you don’t get the same fan appeal, or the craze, or the buzz. It’s more intense here. Everybody knows, and it’s like—voomp.
Whose French fare is best in New York?
Daniel. I think it’s phenomenal. I’ve eaten at Per Se and Jean Georges, but I haven’t eaten at Le Bernardin. [Eric Ripert] does live in my complex, so I should eat there. I see him in the elevator. He said, “Ah, I voted for you for the Beard.” He’s such a nice man. He got off at the ninth floor and said, “Oh, you’re the 31st floor. Daniel must pay you very good, you live higher than me!” [Laughs] But I was like, “My apartment is probably a quarter of the size of yours. You probably own the floor.”
What are your plans for the future?
Right now the most important thing for me is to be able to put a mark into the Café Boulud regime. It’s obviously housed two very good chefs before me. I mean, I go out to the dining room and they’re still talking about a dish that Andrew [Carmellini] did or Bertrand [Chemel] did or whatever. So that’s cool.
Is it tricky living under that legacy?
No, I don’t think so. It’s not comparing apples to apples. We’re all such different people.
Whose opinions do you value more: fellow chefs or critics?
I think you’ll always take your peers’ flavors over a critic’s flavors, just because you know your peers think differently about it. I feel like they go through the steps with you.
The winners of the 2008 James Beard chef and restaurant awards will be announced on June 8 at Avery Fisher Hall.
Photo: E. Laignel
