So I'm here with Mike and Keenan, and I'm going to be making a little antipasti today.

And I'm going to do meat and potatoes.

So I'm going to do a little filet mignon with mashed potatoes.

All right.

So we're going to get started with our mashed potatoes.

So I'm going to just peel the potatoes.

And Keenan, you said terrified to peel?

Terrified.

These things scare the hell out of me too.

So yeah it's like you just want to take off your finger right there.

I feel like.

A nice little sliver of it.

Yeah.

Of all the times the cuts I've had that are probably the worst are peeler and the Saran wrap box all.

Its hardly ever a knife.

I always wondered on the cubing strategy, here.

You do straight slices?

I just do straight slices.

They'll cook a little quicker.

Obviously, the thinner you go, the quicker they'll cook.

Yeah.

I don't know if it makes a big difference if they're like whole or not.

Yeah.

I mean I got yelled at for not doing whole potatoes at a place I worked at.

But.

I just feel like for home, make it easy and make it quick.

You know, I know it's like our family's favorite thing is mashed potatoes.

And I'm always like, oh, it's such a pain, but it's it's really not.

Yeah, right.

What's your normal total time to do mashed potatoes.

Start to finish.

Probably it's going to be about 20 minutes.

Wow.

That's good.

When you cut them small like this right.

So it's going to speed the process up.

So this is the key is all the long strokes first.

And you just do the ends.

Slice the top off.

So essentially is there what are the steps to making mashed potatoes.

Just soften the potato.

And then it's pretty much done.

Yeah.

So I'm going to boil these potatoes until they're just like falling apart.

Yeah.

And the rule is like one potato per person.

But there's.

Oh it is okay.

That's what I find that people eat is about one.

If it's like Thanksgiving or a big when you're putting a bunch of stuff out, then it's about a half a potato per person.

But if you're just making it as your one side for a dish like at home and I'm trying to show, well, I'm trying to explain to people like, you can make good food quickly at home.

I think that's part of what we're trying to get across on the show.

Because I would have thought homemade mashed potatoes would be hours.

If you can do it quicker.

And are you doing rolling boil the whole time?

Is it sort of a high boil.

I'm going to I'm going to turn this on high and rip it.

Yep.

I'm going to put, this is like the big important step.

A good pinch of salt because this is where the potatoes will absorb all the salt and get your potatoes a little more flavorful.

All right.

So I'm going to get started on your first course.

Amazing.

So I have mozzarella curd.

So I'm going to make you guys some fresh mozzarella.

And I'm just going to break this up into small pieces.

I'm making more than I need because people on the crew probably want to try some fresh mozzarella.

I love mozzarella, you know.

So that's how much comes in a bigger chunk of curd like this, you'd.

Call it.

Yeah.

So this is they they take the milk from the cow and they curdle it, like you would for yogurt or whatnot with rennet.

Okay.

The sometimes they use the enzyme from the inside of the stomach of a cow.

Or you can use vegetable rennet and then they press it.

After it's become solid all the way comes out of it.

So this is like considered this like milk jerky.

And so when you make fresh mozzarella you're just hydrating it.

Wow.

So that's all it is.

And then.

Just adding water.

I'm going to add salted water to it to give it some salt.

So I have water boiling here.

I'm going to just really get this going.

I also have some of coppa.

So capicola and it's made from the neck of the pig.

And this I make.

So I have a hassa plan that I got 15 years ago, and we were the first restaurant to be able to make salumi in Denver.

So I have a salumi program for Luca, for our restaurant, Luca, where we make Bresaola, Copa, Finochietta.

Meaning you bring in the pig, yourself and you cut it your own.

I work with a farmer.

And because like this is an off cut, there's not a lot of people asking for the the neck of the pig.

So he's happy to sell it to me.

And I just wait until he's gathered, you know, 30 or 40 of them.

And he freezes them, which also is a kill step.

And then they bring him in, and then we cure them and then hang them in a room that's at 80 degrees and 70% humidity.

And was that boiled water?

It's just yeah, this is just boiled water.

So now I'm just trying to kind of stretch this.

Is that not hot?

No, that's really hot.

Are your hands basically into pain at this point?

Yeah I mean I can that's I've just I've been making mozzarela for 30 years.

So, so and I'm just looking for this to not have any lumps in it.

I'm really trying to get it super smooth.

And it doesn't matter how much water you put in, just sort of you're bathing it in water and yeah it congeals.

So ratio.

Right.

So I knew how much curd I had in there.

I need enough water that the water will stay hot.

Like I need this water at about 180 degrees.

So 212.

Yeah.

So 212 boiling poured over cold curd.

Probably dropped it by about 30 degrees.

Is is it.

So you need to put enough water on that.

It's not going to get cold because then it won't stretch.

And then you're strain it obviously.

Yeah.

Well I'm just going to pull them out of here okay.

What are the other things that are surprisingly short cook time.

Go to meals that you do at home that a regular working dad or mom could do.

I'm a pasta person.

Like, I like a good, healthy pasta.

Yep.

And you'll make it or you'll.

Know I store bought, but I think I can get really quality ingredients.

So for us it's like a real simple pasta of just garlic, olive oil, a touch of butter.

And some vegetables, like some zucchini from our garden, or arugula or spinach in the pasta.

So you're putting this into ice water?

No.

So I'm just trying to set it because it's I mean, you can feel you guys can probably touch that.

Oh yeah.

You can eat that.

And it's probably really good.

But if I just put it on a plate, it'll sag because it's so hot.

So I'm just trying to get the shape to form.

So now after it's been in, you're going to eat this so you can touch you.

It forms like a skin.

Yeah, that is really good and then helps it set.

But the inside still warm.

And that's really the key to it.

So this is the Focaccia.

It's a sourdough starter Focaccia that we make at Luca.

This is our sourdough Ciabatta that we make at LoDo Bakery.

And it's just simple.

The sourdough, the Ciabatta I just grilled lightly.

And the Focaccia we bake every day at Luca.

So and this is what you get with your service I'm going to put and then this is where I would put the sea salt like crunchy Maldon salt because is really pretty bland.

And I think that that's when you have mozzarella and it's made if you get it.

And it's just like kind of it's good, it's chewy, but it doesn't have a lot of flavor.

It's because it doesn't have enough salt.

So you guys dig into this.

While I keep, this looks amazing.

On the prosciutto side.

Do you have 2 or 3 types that you always use?

Do you vary them?

If I'm like cooking it or putting it in a pasta, I'm probably not using a San Danielle or your palm or prosciutto.

I'm going to buy like a less expensive prosciutto that's imported from Italy.

That's half the price because it's not in this raw form.

That's what it is.

It's like if for sushi, I wouldn't buy like toro tuna and cook it all the way through because that would just be still delicious, but like a waste of money, to be dead honest with you.

I mean, it's always it all comes down to money, doesn't it?

But I mean, that's where you have to pick and choose what, what ingredient you're using.

Is the mozzarella still warm?

Right.

It it's amazing.

So good.

So I have steak prep questions now.

Yes.

Because we're gonna get on to the stage.

I noticed you've been having it sit out.

Yes.

Tell me about like, what is what are the life stages of your secrets on steak?

You always want to start fish meat.

Like all proteins, even chicken.

If you start from room temperature cooking, you end up cooking it more evenly.

So if you can, if you know your barbecuing steak or pan fried chicken, if you can just leave it, sit out on a counter for about 45 minutes.

I don't know if the health department would tell you that's okay.

But really, you know, you do have four hours by code.

But I think really, if you can get it to room temperature, it will just cook more evenly, especially if you're looking for a medium rare or medium, especially if you're looking for medium for sure.

Because what happens is you end up burning the outside of the steak.

I don't know if you've ever ordered a well done steak and you get it in the back is so charred it's because it was so cold in the middle by the time they got it to medium or medium well, they had to char the outside.

So it looks like I put a lot of salt on these steaks.

But the reality of, of it is, is more than half of this salt is going to fall off his hands.

So I was wondering how you accommodate for loss of spices once you put them in.

Yeah.

So you always just want to over season it because fish meat it's going to fall off in the pan.

And then season both sides.

And just black pepper I mean I don't know I sometimes I put a little blackening seasoning on it.

Yeah okay.

I mean you're so good at this point.

You don't use a timer on these.

You just have a sense 3 or 4 minutes, you'll know when it feels right and you'll flip them.

Yeah.

I mean, I would love to tell you.

I mean, working with cooks in the restaurant that, like, when a new person.

How long?

I'm like, I don't know.

And also in a restaurant, time is irrelevant because you're doing so many things, probably while you're in the recording studio or you're at your desk.

I mean, 15 minutes can pass as well.

You've started something when you're doing something like the Beef Wellington.

We do it.

Mizuno.

That's 100% timer, right?

It's a wrapped in puff pastry.

Goes into a 450 oven.

It's 16 minutes every time for medium rare.

If it's medium, it's it's like 19 minutes.

And so that's like the only time you can use a timer structured.

Yeah.

So really you just have to get used to it.

And so like I can see that's like nice and golden brown.

So you're really kind of doing it to feel they say that like that's on your hand.

That's like mid rare.

Yeah.

As you go in here medium center as well.

So that's how you're trying to when you're touching it.

So like as I push in I know that's rare because it's going right in.

So you do butter after you've already started the serum.

Yeah.

Because I don't want the butter to get too brown and burnt.

But I kind of know that this is starting to get color on it.

Yeah.

What did you put down first?

Did you put oil in there when you started?

Yeah.

Just a little oil.

Okay.

And you intentionally shift between oil and butter.

Yeah.

Well butter is to kind of help finish it to, to just give it a little flavor as it bakes.

But butter will burn quicker than oil, right?

Yes.

That's why I'm putting it in right at the end before I put it in the oven.

Okay.

So you use it to top it.

Yeah.

Just to based it a little bit to help it start to cook from the top down.

Butter also gives it a ton of flavor.

Now I know why the steak tastes so good at his restaurants.

Use a lot of butter.

So I'm just going to go in my toaster oven.

Oh there it is.

The magical toaster oven.

Wow.

That's another reason I love a cast iron pan, because I can go right into an oven with it, right?

Like if you have some of the, like, lesser coated pans, you know, with the plastic handle.

We've all made that mistake.

I'm sure.

So it's nice to have something that's versatile that will go in the oven.

And a cast iron is perfect for cornbread.

But this would be the same as a traditional conventional oven.

In terms of impact, you could still do eight minutes at whatever this.

Yeah, that's going to get to about 350 to 400 degrees.

Potatoes still have, Are the potatoes getting softer?

They are there.

They're probably like 4 or 5 more minutes out.

This is a great example.

You can just let that sit winding everything else.

And yeah.

Assuming its business.

Efficiency, right.

So I'm going to have this ready.

Hopefully this is going to take about 9 to 12 minutes there.

So it's about six minutes on the stove.

Those were I think they're like eight ounce filets.

Yep.

Which is big.

It is.

Big.

I'm looking at that looks amazing.

If you eat it all I would be very.

Impressed.

Because I don't even think I could put that down.

I was always wondering this around the division of labor.

So on a night you're still cooking, you're at the restaurant, you're the founder, CEO, head chef.

How would you apportion roles between you and the rest of your team?

Are you overseeing a certain stage of every meal that comes through?

Do you just take a certain set of the most complicated meals that you're directly leading?

Like, how would you run your team if it were a night at the restaurant and you're there cooking yourself?

That's a great question, and I don't think anyone's ever phrased it to me like that.

So thank you.

So I work predominantly at Mizuna.

I mean, I will jump on the line and work the pasta station at Luca, or the pizza station at Osteria.

Yeah, I'm really good at pizza.

So Osteria is very big.

Yes, I can, I can really keep up on pizza there.

And I love making pizza.

Luca is a smaller restaurant.

I prefer to just put myself on pasta and I am just the line cook.

As in all the restaurants, it's divided into stations, right?

There's like garde manger or cold appetizers, salads, whatnot.

Then at Mizuna, we have a fish person.

That's their only job is they have five, 4 or 5 dishes.

That is all they cook the whole night long.

They're prepping and cooking fish.

They're responsible for every aspect of every dish on their station.

Then there's the chef, Michael, who's our executive chef, and he's responsible for a few appetizers, sauces, picking up the pasta course for the tasting menu.

And then we have a meat person and their job is really Wellington tasting menu, meat, protein, whatever that might be.

And two other dishes.

So usually about four dishes per person.

If you're moving more than four feet you're not being efficient.

So we try and never stand like if I have to go this far, that that would be a long way for me to go.

So that would be me saying, yo, Gavin, why do you have this all the way over here?

If I'm having to walk all the way over there, that means you're having to walk over there to get it.

Efficiency.

Try and limit.

You're almost trying to just like basketball.

You're just trying to pivot.

So that's interesting.

I wouldn't have known that.

So even if you have a if you're in charge of a fish dish, but it's got risotto as a base or it has vegetables on the side that one chef is doing that entire plate is doing the risotto, the vegetables, the fish.

All of it.

In Mizuna.

In Mizuna, Yep.

At like Luca or bigger restaurants I've worked at, there might be like I've worked at some like three star Michelin restaurants where, yeah, if there's risotto on a menu, there's one guy and that one person, and that is their job is to have risotto for that fish guy when he says his fish is ready.

Yeah.

I'm going to drain our potatoes.

So we're just we're about their.

Oh man.

So you can see they're like now they're.

Like.

Very soft.

And then you just test them with a fork to know that they're soft enough.

Yeah.

I mean or a knife, I'm just my finger or your finger.

And so I'm just going to let the heat go for a few minutes to get dry it out, to dry them out so that there's not a lot of moisture on the bottom.

And then I'm old school, so I'm going to go heavy cream.

I'm going to go sour cream.

And I like sour cream.

I mean, because I like that little sour flavor and mashed potatoes and then butter and then old school.

I love the smasher.

So they're not going to be as creamy.

I mean, I'm going to have a few lumps in these.

But it's interesting.

Even on these you were just eyeing the butter and the cream.

I'd probably make more mashed potatoes more.

More than you should have them, but I know these are going to need salt and they do.

So you went kosher on that one, not sea salt because it's seasoning.

So on the steak you would you after the baking stopped you then let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes.

Yeah.

That's just what is the theory you're letting it rest.

So if I, if I took it right out of the oven and cut it, all the blood would bleed out of it.

Yeah.

And so the more at rest, the more tender it'll be.

Let's get this plated for you.

Keenan, I have a question for you.

What?

The DJ thing.

All right.

I don't get it.

What is it?

Like being a whole electronic dance music thing?

Like The Chainsmokers?

Like some of these guys that can get, like, $1 million for, like, two hours of work in a club.

How is that?

Is that just what's happening?

That's just where it's at right now.

I don't really know.

I'm not too keen on like that world.

I'm slowly making my way.

I've done like a couple dance records with some DJ's and stuff, but I'm honestly just as blown away by as you are.

Like, it's it's amazing to watch somebody have such a following and they just like go and just like piece together music on stage in front of you.

Like literally a guy with a laptop in the middle of Red rocks.

And that's the stage.

I mean, I know how, like, how much and talent you need to do it.

It's just.

But as someone who grew up with the Rolling Stones and like, it's so it's a little weird.

And yes, I have gone to Vegas and seen a bunch of these of Marshmallow or Buckethead or whatever, and it was very crazy to me and a good time.

Like, I'm not going to say a little old to be having the guy come on at 2:00 in the morning.

So I just put a little of that butter in the juice from the steak over it and fantastic.

One of the things I've noticed about the EDM because my, my kids enjoy to it also seems like it's the ambiance of the party.

It's essentially it's just a social gathering like we did at one in downtown on 16th Street.

Fisher came and we had 15,000 people who came because they love to just I mean, you're not waiting for the lyrics, so you're sitting, you're talking to people.

It's almost like a background club and.

The most positive community that I've ever experienced, like, everybody is so much like making sure that everybody's okay.

Do you have enough water?

Like, it's.

I think it's just such a loving community and it's such a non-judgmental community.

You can go to these concerts just however you want to, doing whatever you want to, and everybody loves you.

Can we jump in?

Yeah, please.

So excited.

I'm so excited.

And I can give you a splash of a little red wine.

Thank you.

Are you a concert, Joe or Frank?

What are your.

I, I love going to I do like Jacqueline.

And I go to concerts and I like music and the best concert I've ever seen in my life.

And this is and I, I saw this is too old for you for sure.

I saw The Clash open for The Who when I was in, like fourth grade at Chase Stadium.

I mean, that was pretty cool.

I was pretty young, but the best concert I've ever seen is Childish Gambino at the Pepsi Center.

Wow.

And I didn't know.

Maybe two songs.

And I will to this day say it was the best concert I had ever been to.

Wow.

And I would still hold true to that, that he just put on a show that was so electric and so different from the music I had seen.

I mean, I love Paul Simon, I love old school rock and roll, and that was just really refreshing to me, I guess.

So I don't know what's the venue that you will feel like if you play.

Yeah.

What would be your favorite venue to play?

Oh, it's got to be Red Rocks.

I was, I didn't want to have it in your mouth.

Its gotta be Red Rocks.

No brainer there.

That's like like even every show that I go to, it's so fast.

And like, I often walk down the stairs and I'll stand next to the stage and just, like, look up at this crowd of people with, like, it's just it's just one of those things.

It's like, if I do Red rocks, my life is complete.

Even the most famous of artists are overwhelmed in that moment.

You can.

See I'm insane.

It's insane.

I really good friends with the promoter out here who did a Wiz Khalifa's show over I think it was on 4/20 and he took me down stage and I'm like standing on the stage.

And I just never forget, like looking up at 10,000 people like that.

And it's on the hill.

Right.

So it's so it's so intimidating.

But it's so beautiful.

It's like and when you, when you experience those type of concert like that, it makes everything seems so possible.

It's an incredible place to see a show.

Yeah, it really is.

Any show.

I mean I've gone to see comedy up there too.

Yes.

It's just so intimate.

But yet.

I mean, it's ten years in a row.

Best concert venue in the world.

Thank you both for joining me today.

I really appreciate it for having your time.

Thank you so much.

Such a pleasure.