INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

JL: What was it that jumped out at you about Chef Kuniko?

I knew of her before because I used to dine at a restaurant she was working at. She was a server, and I would come in. She was very nice. She would bring extra edamame or something out. When she came in, she had boundless energy and curiosity and she was looking for a job. I knew I would hire her in a heartbeat because I knew how she worked in her previous job. I think her curiosity and fearlessness is what fit in really well at Sona.

JL: Where was it that she was a server?

DM: She worked at Ubon, which was Nobu’s late meal house.

JL: At the Beverly Center?

DM: Yeah. It was incredible. I’d go frequently to eat there.

JL: What would you like to be known for as a chef?

DM: I don’t know that I’m looking to be known for anything. I’m excited about what I do, and the style of cooking that I do. For me, it’s about travel and bringing inspiration from those travels into the style of food that we do, whether it’s the Italian restaurant with Pizzeria Ortica and traveling throughout Italy and bringing that inspiration back. Whether it’s in the former of different sauces, different pastas, different preparations of those pastas. Pizza preparation, how to get it more dialed in. To France, going to some of the cool little bistros that are pushing the envelope, whether it’s Frenchie or l’ami Jean or Comptoir, la verre volé, and seeing that energy that these young chefs are putting in and putting out, and bringing that into our cuisine, or traveling along the Silk Road – certain parts of it, not all of it – and bringing that to Hinoki & the Bird. That is very exciting, and that is what I love, and that’s what I gravitated towards when I got into this business.

I also really love to bring up talent. Look at Chef Kuniko, who started at scratch, all the way to now, not only being chef de cuisine at Sona at one point, but being executive chef of our new restaurant, Hinoki & the Bird. Or chef Brian Howard, who came on board at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas and is leading an incredible team and developing some great people. Or chef Lauren Cartmel. Or Chef Justin [Miller] out of Pizzeria Ortica. In my eyes, all of these chefs are the next mavericks. They have incredible talent and drive. They’re amazing leaders. They’re great with their team. As I can’t be at every single restaurant, every single day, cooking every single dish, you’ve got to build up people and give them a shot. One of the more satisfying aspects of my role is to see this talent come up, grow, be successful, and make a contribution.

JL: Did you always know that you have an entrepreneurial streak?

DM: Yeah. From Day One. I was interested in creating businesses and ideas. I like ideas. I like putting fun things into play, and it’s great to partner up with expert businesspeople who are experts at running businesses. The key, entrepreneurially, is just to find your talent, what you’re good at, and focus like hell on that. Hire for all the other areas, or partner for all the other areas.

JL: Did you always plan to be a chef, or did you consider other careers?

DM: Being a chef was never on my radar. It just happened. I fell into it in an odd way, but fell in love with it instantly. What captured me initially was the cooking and the discipline and the focus and the art to it. I completely immersed myself in it, fell head over heels, and didn’t look back ever. I didn’t look up, ever. Eight years later, I had my own restaurant. Since then, you evolve. I think you always have to evolve in life. Opening a restaurant was Goal #1. Opening restaurant number two was Goal #2. Building a great team of leaders was Goal #3. Getting international was Goal #4. You have to keep building challenges for yourself to keep inspired and invigorated.

JL: What’s Goal #5?

DM: I think we’re past #5. For me, I’m very, very keen on exploring and opening more in other countries, outside of the U.S. The U.S. is great and has always been inspiring. I absolutely love being in the U.S., being based here, but I’d love to get out and explore other cultures and create cool concepts in those cultures.

JL: Is that bringing what you’ve learned here, in the U.S., and applying it to other cultures, or learning internationally and opening versions of what you find there?

DM: I think it’s a combination of both. You do what you know, #1. You’re used to it, but having the ability to learn again, new – because you can’t just go into a culture and apply absolutely the same model you have in the U.S. in say Tokyo, for example, and expect it to work. Because it won’t. You have to be a little bit open to understanding and working with a partner there to get how that culture works, how people think. That’s another fun challenge.