Today, I’m talking to Chef Gavin Kaysen. He’s the executive chef and owner of several Minneapolis hotspots, including Spoon and Stable, Bellecour Bakery, Demi, Socca, and Mara. Kaysen was a 2018 recipient of the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef.
You’ll hear about his early love for his grandmother’s dishes, how they inspired him to become a chef, and where to find those recipes.
He shares his experiences growing and learning in the industry, his experience wih Chef Daniel Boulud, and the lessons he has woven in to his leadership philosophy.
You’ll learn about his impressive hospitality portfolio, his perspective on the profession as a whole, the future of fine dining, and the role of the guest in their dining experience.

I’d like to share a potential educational resource, “Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door”, my new book that features dialogues with accomplished culinary leaders from various backgrounds and cultures. It delves into the future of culinary creativity and the hospitality industry, drawing from insights of a restaurant-industry-focused podcast, ‘flavors unknown”. It includes perspectives from renowned chefs and local professionals, making it a valuable resource for those interested in building a career in the culinary industry.

I want to foster people to give an opinion, and I want to hear what it is that they think. But I need for them to understand that discipline is what will get them where they want to go. Curiosity and questioning will get them there as well, but it’s just a different path.

I think that our profession is very misunderstood in that when somebody works for you for a long time, and then goes and leaves to open up their own business, people from the outside see that as a negative. And they think that something then is going to change internally in the business, or that competition is somehow going to breed frustration. It’s always the opposite.

It’s always hard to go from one role to the other because you need to take a step back and use different parts of your brain. But for me, I love it. Part of my strength is the CEO side, as well as the cooking, but it’s about leadership. It’s about leading a company and leading the business toward profitability because ultimately that profitability is dependent on people who work for you. And so you need to be able to carry that.

Chef Gavin Kaysen

Spoon and Stable

Demi Restaurant

Restaurant Spoon and Stable

Restaurant Demi