#TTGSparked with Chef Luca Manfé
#TTGSparked is back and with your favorite MasterChef, Luca Manfé! Luca has gone from traditional Italian beginnings to our TV screens as winner of MasterChef, to Houston food-scene supreme, Singapore and beyond.
We talked up a storm with the lovely Luca about everything from first jobs to life lessons and his incredible personal catering service, Dinner with Luca.
My last 2 years working as a restaurant manager, I was spending more time in the kitchen talking to the chefs and admiring what they were doing than actually spending time in the dining room with the customers. I was done with the front of house. It was time to move on and do something that would excite me but also make me learn more about the business.
What was your first job in the restaurant business? What did you learn from it?
I was 16 years old when the owner of a pub where my friends and I used to hang out - drinking age is not really a thing in Italy - asked me if I wanted to work some extra shifts in his place. He said I had a great personality and thought I was going to be great with customers. I have learned a lot there especially it being my first job. I learned how to properly handle a tray full of drinks while walking between a large crowd, I have learned how you can do things in the kitchen even if you are working in the dining room like doing a portion of french fries if the only cook in the kitchen was busy. I learned about beers, scotch and rums and how well they pair with cigars and chocolate. I have learned how you can be married but your wife can still sleep with everyone else in town while you are running a business! I have also learned to not be blindly loyal to your boss because eventually, if it's for his own benefit, he'll turn on you even if you have been nothing but good to him.
Wow! So you've learned a LOT. How did you come up with the idea for your 'Dinner with Luca' service?
'Dinner with Luca' started because a family from California was coming on vacation to NYC and since the kids were fans of the show, their father decided to contact me asking me if I could cook for them. "Of course! We just need to find a kitchen," I said - so we did. We found an apartment with a nice kitchen and spent the day cooking up a storm together! To top it off, Bri from MasterChef Season 4 made a surprise appearance to cook dessert for them. Funnily enough she burnt it but it was definitely a great experience!
That's so funny! We love how you came up with the idea. What do you love the most about DWL?
I love the fact that the people who ask for a Dinner with Luca are not people that want to have a Chef over to cook for their friends - they want Luca because they know Luca from the show and they have gathered every week for an entire summer with their friends and family to watch MasterChef on TV. They rooted for me, they followed my journey, they follow my social media adventure and it's like they know me. So far I have cooked in 278 different homes, met 278 different families and many many of their friends. I have kept in touch with most of them!
That's great, Dinner with Luca sounds amazing! What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Hands down the experience that just ended in Singapore! I was part of the first ever Masterchef Dining and Bar Singapore. I never thought in a million years that one day I was going to cook alongside a legend like Chef Marco Pierre White. I cooked and met with talents from Masterchef Asia and Australia but most of all I had the opportunity to experience the beauty of a city like Singapore for three weeks. I met so many wonderful people, ate some of the best foods of my life and learned so much!
Sounds like such an incredible experience. You're back home in Houston now - what is unique about the Houston food scene?
Houston is a very unique city because it has so many different cultures all in one place. It's about to become the third largest city in the country and it was never known for its food scene before. It is still hard for me to make people understand that it is not just the city of BBQ and Tex-Mex anymore. There are many successful restaurants that serve mediocre food but I believe that slowly people are starting to appreciate more and more what great food means. For sure there are a lot of talented chefs around, many James Beard award winners and finalists. I think it sums up what the real American food scene is right now - there is room for the average guy that doesn't want to spend a lot of money and gets lots of food without caring where the food comes from and how it was prepared. However, you can also find many people that know what good food is and appreciate the hard work and resources that all these talented professionals are putting into their craft.
Speaking of talented professionals, if you could collaborate with another Chef(s), who would it be and why?
My dream would be to work with David Chang. I think he is a genius and his food drives me crazy. But I understand my limits - I am a guy that loves to cook and is very passionate about his job but I am not really a Chef. I don't have the talent or knowledge to sit at a table to discuss food with somebody like David Chang or Graham Elliot. I could sit at the same table with them while they talk to their team and I would listen and learn. It would not be a collaboration, it would be further training for me. Too many times people come out from reality shows and call themselves Chefs out of the gate. It's like going to a reality show about working in a hospital, finishing the show and calling yourself a doctor. Real life is different than TV.
You seem very humble about your success. What advice do you have for any young Chefs who want to get their foot in the door and make a mark with their talent?
Practice, practice, practice. Understand that it is a hard job with long hours and that you'll work late at night and holidays but there is nothing better than the pleasure you'll receive from feeding people! The learning process is what makes this job exciting. Developing flavors, learning new techniques, plating beautiful food - it's is all a learning process.
It's all about constant learning! But what do you like to get up to when you aren't cooking?
Spend time at home with my wife and play with my kids!
Do you have exciting plans or projects in the works that you can fill us in on?
Many projects are in our thoughts, but nothing official yet. Stay tuned!
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You can follow Luca Manfé on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or check out his website www.LucaManfe.com
#TTGSparked is a once a month feature on The Tesla Group blog profiling lifestyle, fitness, sports, and health influencers. We ask the questions that matter and talk about what’s important - Success, Career, Brands, Growth, Influence. Contact lucy.c@theteslagroup.com.
