An Interview with Michelle Bernstein from the Macy’s Culinary Council

Be prepared to say YUM. Last week I had the opportunity to interview chef Michelle Bernstein, one of the amazing chefs who make up the Macy’s Culinary Council. This group of expert chefs is dedicated to inspiring us to eat, cook and enjoy food at home – just like a chef. Chef Bernstein’s companions on the council include some of the nation’s leading culinary masters like Rick Bayless, Cat Cora, Tom Douglas, Todd English, Marc Forgione, Emeril Lagasse, Marcus Samuelsson, Tim Scott, Nancy Silverton, Ming Tsai, Wolfgang Puck and Takashi Yagihashi.

Michelle Bernstein came to Minneapolis to visit Macy’s and show us how to incorporate Nespresso Grands Crus coffee varieties into delicious recipes.  Before her demonstration, I had the chance to sit down with her and ask a few questions.

Chocolate Cremeux, Cherry-Pedro Ximenes-Nespresso Sauce, TCHO Cocoa Nib Streusel, Whipped Creme Fraiche

Did you grow up cooking?

I started at about 4 and when I was like 7 I asked my mother to teach me how to make escargot at home. When I was 6 even I could make my own osso bucco and by the time I was 9 and 10 I was already cooking dinner for the family – risotto, arroz con pollo… I have always loved cooking. I have always loved food. Mom was a great cook. But I think instictinvely I just felt good in the kitchen. I was a dancer and I couldn’t eat much so I would dream about what I could eat and I would fall asleep reading books on stews and the kind of food I never ate but looked really good in pictures and so Mom would always find me in bed snuggled up with a cookbook.

Did you naturally know you were going to be a chef?

No, I was a dancer first until I was almost 20. Then when I stopped dancing I started going to college for biochemistry and nutrition. Probably because of my love for food, but also because of my fear of gaining weight because of dance. I think it led me little by little into a kitchen eventually thinking here is where I can really hone my nutrition skills and work on foods that are healthier for people.

So I started in a professional kitchen just to sort of hang out and watch and I went crazy. I think I loved the fact that everyone there would say “You’re not really thinking you’re going to be a chef, right?”  I would say “No, No No – I’m just hear to watch and learn.” – “Oh, yeah. Because you could never be never make it.” And I think I heard that one too many times and it lit a fire beneath me and I finally said, “Well, why not? Why can’t I? I’m younger than you. I’m stronger mentally.” And so one chef came to me (I’ll never forget it) and he said, “If this is something you really want to do, you have to butch up a little bit. You’re too, not feminine, but you’re too much like a dancer. You have to gain a little bit of weight (which sadly I’ve done a little too much) and you have to be able to lift more pots and pans than the guy next to you and you have to be able to shove people when you need to shove.” And so I did. I took his advice. I stated going to the gym. My mother was freaking out because I got really buff.

I went back in the kitchen feeling stronger and he was right. When you feel a little bit more physically strong I think it builds your mental confidence as well. And so I was a force to be reckoned with for a long time. I became a really good cook and eventually, many years later, I became a chef. And I still feel like I became a chef too early in my career. I should have studied a little longer. But I did what I did and financially I needed to start really working and making enough money to support myself and help wherever I could around the family and things like that so it was great. It worked out, luckily. I’m still proving myself and I’m still trying to make food that is better than the food I made yesterday, but I love it. Thank God I fell in love with something that I can actually do. I don’t think that happens very often in one’s life.

As far as having your own restaurant, what do you feel to be the biggest challenge?

It’s not great to open a restaurant. A lot of people dream of it their whole lives and when they finally get it, it’s kind of a kick in the behind. It’s a business like any other. The second anybody opens something fresher and younger and newer a few blocks away – I love competition, don’t get me wrong, and I love the fact that more and more places are opening around my neighborhood because it brings more people to my neighborhood. However, Miami is a very see-and-be-seen kind of place and when you’re not the hot one, they move on to the next one. It’s hard. You have to keep reinventing yourself and keep it fresh. We’re in the midst of trying to figure out how to renovate and how to get fresher right now actually with our original restaurant.

My husband and I are partners in the restaurant too. He runs the front. I run the back. It’s tough. The price of food is going up every day. No one wants to see the prices increase on a menu. Everything is about consistency and when you have 30-40 items on a menu, if one vinaigrette might be off that day, but everything else in the salad is beautiful, the salad tastes terrible because the vinaigrette had the lemon squeezed the day before instead of that day, it can turn someone off and that person tells 10 other people that they had a really bad salad at Michy’s. It can happen, but it better NOT happen – I’ll kill them if they don’t squeeze the lemon that day! But you know what I’m saying – it’s so much to be responsible for. From the way the dishwasher washes the glasses to just everything – all of it. It’s a lot of responsibility.

Photo Courtesy of Adam Bettcher for Macy’s (and that’s me on the right with the camera over my face!)

Switching to cooking at home – if you have unexpected guests and you have to cook something in a hurry what do you make?

In the freezer I have literally half a steer. I always buy a steer from a friend of mine who has a farm in Iowa and I share it with friends of mine. They are beautifully fed cows and I always have a half a steer or quarter steer in the freezer so there is always something defrosting. And I have a 2 1/2-year-old so there are always a lot of vegetables in my fridge. So, there is always a salad to be made. My salads lately have been instead of like a lettuce salad, it’s more vegetables shaved on a mandolin, which I can pull out and do really quickly. Everybody should have a mandolin, but use a hand guard, which I don’t use and is why I am missing the tips of most of my fingers. I shave apples, shave brussels sprouts, zucchini – whatever I have. I throw it into a bowl and squeeze a little lemon, which I always have, a little olive oil and salt. Beautiful beginning. Then, luckily 15 minutes away from where I live I can get a whole piece of fish anytime. That’s kind of my go-to because fish is so quick and easy to cook. Again the half steer is back there so I can always pull out some steaks and throw them on the grill.

I kind of like the idea of making whole meals out of some grains and some vegetables lately. I always have soup. I always have stock made in my freezer. I cook a lot of vegetables in chicken and vegetable stocks to make them a little more protein-rich for my son. Quinoa is always cooked so I can throw that in and make a quick quinoa risotto with whatever veggies I have in the fridge. I’m a fast cook, as you can imagine, really fast. So I throw things together really quickly. You can make a meatloaf out of anything. You gotta do what you gotta do. I can make a lasagne out of anything. I can make risotto out of anything. Those are like my three go-to quickest dishes.

On a recent trip to Italy I fell in love with this beautiful pasta made out of Jerusalem artichokes. We’re not gluten-free people at all, but we’re trying to lessen our use. So a lot of pasta is made with the Jerusalem artichoke pasta. And I love faro, it’s just beautiful, which is like a green wheat, so we cook a lot with that too at home. I have a lot of things kind of par-cooked and ready for those moments. When you have a two year old and you have 8 jobs – I have to throw things together. So, I keep grains partially cooked for about 3-4 days. I have a lot of veggies that I go through raw and cooked. And, again, the stocks are sitting ready and waiting for me. I make stock about twice a week at home.

Photo Courtesy of Adam Bettcher for Macy’s

Can you tell me a little bit about working with Macy’s Culinary Council?

I was asked about four years ago if I wanted to join and I couldn’t believe I got the phone call. You know, you watch them on TV and I have seen them on ads and things. I never thought I would ever be asked to join such a group of culinary individuals. Whenever we get together, what I can learn form someone like Nancy Silverton or Ricky Bayless is so priceless. Just to be elbow and elbow with them, cooking next to them sometimes, and even just talking to them – being able to lift the phone up if I need advice, which I always do, and to be able to use them as mentors is pretty amazing. Marcus Samuelsson and I did an event together in Kentucky and I went out to dinner with him, just he and I. I got to listen to him talk. I have known him for years, but we have never had dinner together. This enables me to really learn. And I love Macy’s. I have loved Macy’s since I was a kid. It’s America’s store. To be able to come in here and feel like home and to be able to teach and also learn every time I walk in – and of course fall in love with another piece of equipment or house ware is not bad! I need to actually ask for a discount. It’s great to be a part of something that is so middle-america, well known, household name. I love it. It makes me feel kind of secure in what I do. Don’t get me wrong – they want me to do what I’m good at. So they use me for a lot of the more South American dishes and latin style foods (not Mexican – although today I’m making mole) but not usually Mexican because Rick {Bayless} is the king. It’s amazing to be part of such a great group of people.

Nespresso Espresso Cocoa Mole