We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ryan Brazeal a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ryan, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
When I opened up my own restaurant, I found myself with an unusual dilemma. Throughout my culinary career I had worked for chefs and owners that had always pushed me, sometimes too far, but without that motivation I don’t think I could have ever achieved my full potential. I have been fortunate to have loving, supportive parents that also instilled in me the pride associated with hard work and following through with what you say you will do. Sometimes when I feel that maybe I am cutting corners or not working as hard as I could I play a little mental game. I imagine that a world famous chef, could be any of them, walks through my back door into my kitchen. I look around and think to myself, would aforementioned chef think that I run a tight ship? That is what keeps me looking in corners for little spots of dirt to clean. I try to always push myself to work a little bit harder than I need to to impress the chefs that I look up to, even if they won’t ever see it. I don’t lead my staff the way that some of the old school chefs do with yelling and intimidation, but I try to instill a sense of work ethic in my entire staff by being there with them, showing that I wouldn’t ask them to do anything that I wouldn’t do and constantly pressuring them to look around and take responsibility for the overall well being of the establishment.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am the leader of a top tier fine dining restaurant in Kansas City. It is a unique restaurant that my wife Jessica Armstrong and I, with the help of many talented individuals have built into a mainstay in the Kansas City dining scene. Everything we do here is especially considered, from the farm to table scratch menu, to the artwork built into the dining room to the plates and serving utensils. It is an excellent place to celebrate special occasions or just grab a delicious bite and craft cocktail at the seventeen seat granite bar. We are constantly growing the brand and adding to the overall ambiance. We recently introduced our signature hot sauce to the market, built a beautiful outdoor pergola, planted some new trees and coming soon we are working on opening a walk up coffee window on the front patio to enjoy the lovely space. Every first Friday of the month in conjunction with the historic Crossroads Art district we offer a four course prix fixe lunch with discounted wine.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
There is no substitute for putting in work. There is no shortcut to culinary prowess. You have to spend the hours and days doing repetitive tasks to really hone your craft. Working in a kitchen provides a lot of satisfaction for the right person. It can give you a lot of flexibility and creative freedom as well as building structure and constraints to make you a smarter more efficient person in the kitchen and outside in your personal life. The people that really excel tend to have a combination of artist and craftsman skills. You have to have the technical knowledge and ability passed down from your mentors and experience as well as the artistic flair to create over and over again as you put composed dishes out into the dining room for guests to enjoy.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Lately I have had to take things one day at a time. If I can get through tonight’s service I feel like I can build for the future tomorrow. It is so important that every guest that walks through my door leaves satisfied at the very minimum. I am so lucky to have an understanding wife to work with as well as three beautiful daughters to remind me why I do this and also put things in perspective when I feel that life is weighing heavy on my shoulders. It is important to have a sense of humor and a sense of purpose. To understand your goals and priorities and set goals and follow through with them. You have to be flexible and not let the little stuff get you down. Everything matters in this business but when things are out of your control you have to accept that and use your flexibility to open up new opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.novelkc.com
- Instagram: novel_kc
- Facebook: Novel Restaurant
- Twitter: @novelkc
- Yelp: Novel Restaurant
Image Credits
Jenny Wheat Photography
