What were your favorite foods growing up?
Eggs Benedict, Roasted Sirloin Basted in Butter and Herbs, anything my Bubby Selma made (Matzo Ball Soup, Brisket, Strudel)

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
I've been interested in cooking for as long as I can remember, but it took until I was 17 until I realized I could become a chef and it was a possible profession.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
In high school, I did a senior-year internship at Cucina's Restaurant in Park Slope. At the time, it was the only The New York Times three-star restaurant in Brooklyn. I was just a gopher for the chef; I didn't even wear a chef coat. But, that's when the real love affair began for me and the culinary industry.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
I'd own an art gallery, be a restaurant interior designer or maybe a florist.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
The first chef I ever worked for, Chef Mark Spangenthal, my sous chefs, my friends and peers, travel and my heritage.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
It all depends on what technique, style or cuisine I am interested in at that particular time, what I've been snacking on or craving at the time and what my guests want.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Saucing spoons and paintbrushes.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Young celery leaves and a good acid.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
"It's all in the details."

What qualities to you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
Passion, high energy, efficiency and cleanliness.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
Scarlet Borscht with smokes sable, beets, baby potatoes, pickled red onion, sour cream and dill.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Any James Beard dinner is always challenging with the space limitations and plating logistics.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
A test run for friends and family before I opened my last restaurant, OM in Harvard Square, Cambridge MA. The food took so long to get out of the kitchen that we renamed the evening "fools & foes."

What is your least favorite food?
Canned tuna fish

What is your beverage of choice?
Tanquery Ten & Tonic or a great glass of red wine.

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
-Working more with whole animals
-Charcuterie seems to be back as well
-Small plates have been everywhere for the last couple of years
-Of course molecular gastronomy, but that seems to fading out a bit
-Buying as local as possible
-Returning to less intricate cuisine

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
The Metropolitan Club in Chestnut Hill is one of my favorites. I have also been really digging Mexican food lately and anyplace with a kickass cheese plate. I have a two year old, so finding the time to eat out is a luxury these days.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
It changes all the time. I really pull from a global repertoire.

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
Old Bouley NYC, I liked Blackbird in Chicago, I really liked Butterfield 81 when Tom Valenti was there.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
It's not as hard as it looks. Take your time, have sharp knives and good heavy bottom stainless steel pots and pans. Remember food is subjective.

What do you eat when you are home?
A lot of salad with proteins, aged balsamic, Indian sauces and brown rice. I try to watch what I eat at home because I work with so many rich foods.