I’m naturally a bit of an early riser, which is a good thing because I have a three year old and 4 month old! The first thing my three year old, Hudson, saysto me in the morning is “Make juice dada? Make juice dada?” We go out and pick a few things like kale and carrots from the garden and we make a healthy start to the day. For some reason, Hud’s fascinated with the fact that you put the fruit and veggies in the top and the juice dribbles out the bottom. He can’t quite figure out how it works, which only piques his interest even more.
Everyday is so, so different for me, which is exhilarating. Sometimes I have a later start where I’ll get into my restaurant, Maude, in the mid-morning. On those mornings, I spend hours in the kitchen at home with my little sous chef, Hud, throwing together lazyomelets, we might test out a new crumpet recipe and we’ll whip up something delicious for my wife, Lindsay. Of course, there are those mornings where I need to fly out the door and head to a meeting, the farmers market, start prep early (and so on) so I’ll eat brekky and drink a strong coffee on the run, but it’s rare that any day starts without a morning juice with my boy!
I’m lucky enough to have a test kitchen located just a street away from the restaurant where we develop recipes for home cooks and new dishes for Maude. We change the menu monthly (crazy, I know!) and we choose a seasonal hero ingredient to feature in every course of the degustation. It’s great we can break out from the heat of the restaurant kitchen and develop dishes in a really creative, inspiring environment. I’m often in the test kitchen at midday with a handful of the team before things starts to ramp up for that night’s service. In this photo, I am with the team deliberating over next month’s degustation, where parsnip reigns as our hero ingredient.
The heat is on! There’s a real sense of hustle and bustle in the afternoons in the kitchen at Maude. I think it’s comparable to a group of actors getting ready to open a live show! Stocks are bubbling on the stovetop, the finishing touches are being applied to petit fours, the front of house staff are polishing silverware and lighting candles. I thrive on that excited, nervous energy; that’s truthfully when I do my best work. Come5:30pm Tuesday–Saturday, the doors open and the show begins!
Maude is an intimate 25-seat restaurant with an open kitchen so each guest is able to enjoy a real chef’s table experience. I love it because I get to cook, interact with the guests, watch their reactions to the dishes and run a few plates out to the tables.
Oron SundayandMondaynights, it’s all about hanging out at home with these two terrors and Linds! I couldn’t resist sharing this snap. They’re a bundle of fun. Lindsay and I are loving our new roles as parents to two. We call our little guy, Emerson, ‘Easy E’ (on my right) because he always has a sweet little smile on his face. And as you can see here, Hud’s a real character!
Maude
212 S Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212