David Varley, the Corporate Chef of the Michael Mina Group, exudes an amazing energy and passion inside and outside of the kitchen.  Varley boasts an extensive resume in many different food capitals of the U.S., including New York, Las Vegas, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Boston. Currently, Varley is intimately involved in shaping the vision of Pabu, an intimate Izakaya-style restaurant opening soon in Baltimore.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Varley worked in Boston at Clio and in Santa Clara at Parcel 104.  In 2005, Varley accepted the position of Chef de Cuisine at Bradley Ogden in Las Vegas, where they received their first Michelin star, making him the youngest recipient of this prestigious award.  In addition, he was also the 2010 recipient of the Cochon 555 Award, crowned as the “King of Pork.”  Since then, Varley has gone on to oversee the Michael Mina Group as their Corporate Chef, responsible for implementing new ideas for the future generation of this renowned restaurant group.  I had the opportunity to sit down with Varley at Michael Mina’s RN74 in San Francisco to chat about his culinary adventures around the world.

Q: What do you do as corporate chef of the Michael Mina Group?
A: In short, I am responsible for the total culinary operations for a leading restaurant group that has 19 restaurants, several more in the pipeline as well as other public and private projects. It’s a dynamic job that sees me doing everything from cooking for sitting presidents to designing kitchens, hiring and training the next generation of chefs and traveling the country supporting and opening some amazing restaurants…. sometimes all in the same day!

What do you look for in a dish?
A: Balance, Harmony of flavor, Interesting, Appealing.  Never serve a dish you wouldn’t serve your mother on Mother’s Day.

Q: What would you say is the most adventurous dish you’ve placed in any Michael Mina restaurant?
A: This uni dish in front of us.

Mendocino Uni with Potato Mousseline, Trumpet Mushrooms, Pine Nuts, and Douglas Fir

Q: What is your favorite gadget in the kitchen?
A: My new favorite is the Josper Wood Fired Grill which acts like a kitchen broiler.

Q: How do you maintain the quality over so many restaurants across the nation?
A: Systems and consistency.  Great systems help achieve greatness.  You have to think about it in the context, “Was your dish better or worse than yesterday?”  You have to set yourself up for success whether it’s one restaurant or twenty restaurants.

Q: How does the debate differ between cities like San Francisco and New York for restaurants?
A: New York is edgier and has a lot of grit and energy. Chefs across the country are always paying attention to the scene in New York City because it is affected more by the European trends.  On the other hand, San Francisco chefs have superior variety and quality of local product over a longer season and the food tends to be product #1 technique #2 where NYC is technique #1 and product #2. That said I try and travel to New York to eat at least every other month!

Q: How is the fine dining scene in San Francisco changing?
A: I see two trends in fine dining in San Francisco based on two business models. The first are the powerhouse restaurants in high rent areas doing larger numbers like Michael Mina or Fifth Floor that offer one experience yet need a larger number of guests to keep the business balanced. The second trend is the smaller operation like Saison or Sons and Daughters that rely on less expensive real estate and lower operating costs to serve similar quality to a smaller crowd. That creates a diversity of experiences at the upper level that has allowed chefs in the city and suburbs to push limits

Q: How do you keep a menu from becoming stale?
A: The most important thing about planning a menu is passion and intensity.  It also depends on the seasonality of ingredients available.  There is a rhythm and heartbeat that goes along with the planning.  A great relationship with local vendors and merchants will inspire you.  If the chef is motivated, they will want to change their menu everyday.

Q: What do you forsee in the future for the Michael Mina restaurant group?
A: A definitive brand and thinking outside of the box and exploring different types of cuisine.  We will be opening up two restaurants in Baltimore.  At one of the restaurants, we are exploring the concept of cooking with a methodology from 150 years ago by using a wood fired grill.

Q: What are some of your favorite restaurants in San Francisco that is not a Michael Mina restaurant?
A: Some of my favorite restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area include: Sichuan Home in the Richmond, Burma Superstar, Hong Kong Flower Lounge, and Hapuku in Berkeley.

Q: If you could eat one item of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Tough question, but for diversity and to find something I could cook every day for the rest of my life and never fall out of love with cooking it would have to be: vegetables. There are so many different techniques and products that for the A.D.D. chef in me will keep me busy for a while!

Q: If you weren’t a chef, what occupation do you think you would have chosen?
A: I would be a musician.  I played every single brass instrument except the french horn.

Q: What advice can you give aspiring chefs?
A: Never lose your childlike curiosity for food and cooking. If you look at every aspect of your food and product with that intensity of curiosity and eagerness to learn and develop you cannot help but succeed in food. To succeed in business you need to ignore the “experts” and latch onto a seasoned mentor and learn everything they have to teach.

For more information on David Varley here, or follow @dwvarley.