Welcome to the Beast...

Welcome to Butcher & Beast: Mastering the Art of Cookery & Hospitality

I’ve always loved to entertain. When I was young, hosting little tea parties, for my friends, eventually as I grew older and learned more, it evolved into dinner parties. Then, one day, when I had enough of the office life, I booked a one way ticket to Europe, that forever changed the course of my life. When I returned, I moved to New York, and enrolled in culinary school. Now, almost twenty years later, I have one of eleven restaurants in New York to hold Four Stars from Forbes.

Cookery and Hospitality is not just my business, but it is my passion, it’s what gets me up in the morning, and keeps me dreaming every evening.

My first book was entitled Butcher & Beast: Mastering the Art of Meat. When we named it that, I had a chophouse, and it was under the assumption that the “Beast” were the animals we were cooking. As the book evolved, I came to realize that “Beast” became my reference to the restaurant business itself, and perhaps to the city of New York as well.

I thought these writings would be a wonderful extension to the beautiful Beast that is the art of hospitality. Cookery is a skill learned, one that takes passion, and perseverance, and if cooking on the professional side of things, is a beast in it of itself, in need of discipline, and a dedication to excellence. So to is the art of hospitality. We have a saying in our restaurant, and that is that we want to take you to. place that you never knew you needed to go.

Here, I will share my recipes, my notes, my stories and my philosophies and techniques over a wonderful career in the kitchens of New York.

Welcome, and looking forward to the journey.

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