944

Fratelli Lyon in Miami, Fla.

Beaming with personality, 944 recently spoke with Kenneth A. Lyon of Fratelli Lyon in Miami. The chef opens up about Julia Child, murder in the kitchen and what dish (literally) he would be.

944: What made you want to be a chef?

KENNETH LYON: Working in a commercial kitchen at a very young age got me hooked. The early exposure of being thrown into to a kitchen with hardworking, highly skilled, enormously creative people was very inspirational to me and I instantly loved it.  At the time [late 1970s], it was not the glam job some that people think it is today. Julia Child was about the only cooking shows on the air, there wasn’t one American chef that was a household name [nor, any chef, for that matter] and everyone thought I was completely nuts. But I was enthralled with the work, with the learning, with the pressure, with the satisfaction of feeding people. Kind of weird, but I still love it today. 

 
Do you have a culinary philosophy?

Work with truly great ingredients, keep methods simple, don’t be overly creative, don’t mask flavors, stay off the industrial grid, be approachable.

If you could “feed the economy” with one dish, what would it be?

Mesc’iua, Umbrian dialect for our pasta, fagioli e faro soup. The perfect protein [beans and pasta) is very nutritious, very cost effective and when combined with greens — either raw or lightly cooked — makes for a great meal.

What do you think reality television à la Top Chef, Iron Chef, etc. has done to promote/hinder your profession?

Ultimately, I think it will end up hurting the profession since it will over-stimulate young people into pursuing a career path that most likely will not be successful — in a similar way that young people are attracted to being professional athletes or actors, etc. The odds of hitting it big time are few and far between. It has been documented that defaults on college-level culinary loans are among the highest in the nation. Entry-level compensation in this industry cannot sustain a living wage and repay student loans. Very little is ever discussed on the feasibility of running restaurants. The shows focus on the celebrity and the glamour, which is fine for educating the home cook, but information is never offered on the trials and tribulations of working in the industry.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

Eggs — scrambled, fried, poached, over easy, shirred; for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I love to eat them, I love to cook them for myself and I love to cook them for other people.

Do you have a fast-food or premade food guilty pleasure?

The fastest food I know of are oysters. Open them up and eat them. No cooking, no preparing, no marinating and no waiting. I’m never guilty when eating oysters because I open my own.

In your opinion, what’s the most played out recent food fad?

Fusion of anything. Let the great cuisines of the world remain as they are.

What ingredient could you absolutely not live without? 

Olive oil. Really, really, really good olive oil.

What’s the most disastrous thing that’s ever happened in your kitchen or one you’ve worked in?

Murder would definitely be the answer to that question. Fortunately for me I was neither the victim nor the perpetrator.

What’s your worst kitchen-related injury?

Other than the gashes, bruises, burns, blisters, backaches and numerous stitches? Let me see. As a young, 19-year-old sous chef at the famous Chillingsworth Restaurant in Brewster [Cape Cod], Massachusetts, I had a horrible facial burn after being bumped on the line [by the owner’s wife] while rendering the fat out of a dozen lamb loins in a giant sauté pan. Fortunately I was wearing glasses as the smoking hot fat was thrown across my face. Also, I was fortunate to have had a waiter instantly reach into their bag and pull out an entire bottle of encapsulated vitamin E, which was spread onto my face. The repeated application of vitamin E prevented any permanent scarring. Lucky me!

Do you have a favorite reality TV chef or cooking show?

Two Fat Ladies, starring Clarissa Dickson Wright and the late Jennifer Paterson.

If you had a TV cooking show, what would it be called?

A Lyon in the Kitchen. Or does that already exist?

What inspires you?

Strolling through a farmers’ market [not in Florida]. When I lived in New York or visited the Berkshires, to be able to walk through a seasonal farmers’ market and plan a menu based on the cornucopia of what lies in front of you, this is inspiring and delicious.

If you were a dish, what dish would you be and why?

A classic, ovenproof, white, eight-inch round, eared gratin; preferably manufactured by Pillivuyt, because it’s so utilitarian and useful with such classic good looks and never goes out of style. Or were you inquiring about a food item?

If you weren’t a chef, what career would you have pursued?

Photographer. Actually, I’m trying to figure out a way to have a duel career — that of a chef-restaurateur-caterer, as well as an ultra-large format, platinum printing photographer. Pretty tricky, but I’m working on it.

Fratelli Lyon

4141 NE Second Avenue, Miami, Fla.

305.572.2901 

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