On the Pursuit of Wellness podcast, restaurant owners Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee discuss their mission to serve the highest quality ingredients and the impact of earning coveted Michelin stars.
The married couple shares their passion for cooking with fresh, scratch-made components, from Lee's sourdough starter to Kallas-Lee's childhood foraging on her Latvian family farm. They recount their journeys into the restaurant industry: Kallas-Lee's unconventional path through pastry baking and Lee's early start in Michelin kitchens.
The chefs also reflect on the challenges of pivoting their Scratch Restaurants concept during COVID-19. Unexpectedly earning Michelin stars for newer locations despite their established roots proved transformative, bringing exponential success and highlighting the recognition's significance.
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When the pandemic hit, restaurant owners Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee were forced to shut down their California locations and lay off staff. Facing strict lockdowns, they relocated Scratch Restaurants to Austin, Texas, where dining could remain operational. Though initially a challenge, the local culinary community spread word of their pop-ups, leading to success.
Kallas-Lee's love of fresh ingredients stems from her childhood on her great-grandmother's Latvian farm, foraging and eating homegrown produce. Her husband, Lee, believes in using only scratch-made ingredients meticulously prepared, like his sourdough starter and whole tuna purchases.
Kallas-Lee discovered her pastry passion young through baking treats. Her unconventional savory background shapes her standout desserts. Lee began working in Michelin-starred kitchens at 18, honing precision and work ethic.
In 2021, Scratch Restaurants earned surprise Michelin stars for two newer establishments, shocking Lee who felt their originals deserved it more. This recognition exponentially boosted their success and demand, reflecting the transformative impact of Michelin stars.
1-Page Summary
The Covid-19 pandemic presented an enormous challenge for the restaurant industry. Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee, owners of Scratch Restaurants, were among those who experienced deep impacts and subsequently took decisive action to adapt.
At the start of the pandemic, Phillip and Margarita had to make the difficult decision to shut down operations and lay off their staff due to the California government's restrictions. The implications of the statements "you're not welcome here, you're not allowed to work here" were felt deeply as they navigated the lockdowns.
When indoor dining closed down yet again in California right before Christmas, Phillip and Margarita were faced with hard decisions regarding staffing. They struggled with the idea of letting workers go during a time when they knew people were most in need of income.
Seeking a more supportive environment for their business, Phillip and Margarita, along with their team, looked to relocate to continue operations during the pandemic. The team took a vote, which led them to move Scratch Restaurants to Austin, Texas, where they could remain operational even when California mandated a complete shutdown of both indoor and outdoor dining.
In Austin, they found the nature of public health restrictions to be different, with restaurants allowed to remain open amidst the pandemic. This starkly contrasted with the approach in California, which imposed strict lockdowns that prohibited restaurant operations.
Despite initial challenges, such as local media reluctance in promoting restaurants during the pandemic, Scratch Restaurants found a welcoming reception from Austin's chefs and culinary community. While the media initially did not pu ...
Covid-19's Impact on Restaurants and Scratch Restaurants' Response
Margarita Kallas-Lee and Phillip Frankland Lee share a deep love for fresh, quality ingredients and scratch-made dishes, stemming from their unique experiences and culinary philosophies.
Kallas-Lee’s love for food was nurtured during her childhood spent on her great-grandmother's farm in Latvia. Here, she developed an early appreciation for fresh, natural foods while running around the farm and eating sugar snap peas directly from the bushes. Phillip Frankland Lee comments on her strong palate, developed from a childhood of picking berries and eating peas in the woods as opposed to a diet filled with processed fast food.
This foraging habit from Kallas-Lee’s upbringing persisted in her passion for using fresh ingredients, such as those from an urban farm called House Bar Farms. She uses fresh herbs and fig leaves in her cooking, as evidenced by a dessert at the new pasta bar in Austin that features basil and mint, specifically orange mint and Thai basil, and a blackcurrant granita with passion fruit.
Phillip Frankland Lee’s culinary style is improvisational and intuitive, and he is committed to scratch-made ingredients.
Lee's cooking includes making sourdough from a starter received on Scratch Bar's opening day and sourcing fish from a trusted broker at Toyosu fish market in Japan. He emphasizes the importance of regional cooking by treating Los Angeles or Austin as if they were regions in Italy, using local ing ...
Founders' Passion For Cooking and High-Quality Ingredients
Margarita Kallas-Lee and Phillip Frankland Lee share their unique journeys into the culinary world with a focus on their early passions and experiences in high-end kitchens.
Margarita Kallas-Lee reminisces about her childhood experiences with baking, such as reading cookbooks and making treats like Rice Krispies and biscotti for her friends. Her passion for cooking and baking was evident from an early age.
Kallas-Lee shares that her approach to cooking and pastry-making comes from a background in savory cuisine rather than classical pastry training. This foundation has influenced her method of building flavors and designing dishes, allowing her to create standout desserts. Her husband, Phillip Frankland Lee, reinforces her uniqueness by noting her lack of classical training distinguishes her desserts in the culinary scene. One exquisite example of her talent is the Tonka bean custard with yuzu and passion fruit granita, Thai basil leaves, and shiso blossoms which Margarita crafted. This work eventually led her to pursue her passion professionally and to create a dessert menu that showcases her talents.
Phillip Frankland Lee embarked on his culinary path early as well, starting at the age of 18. Starting as a dishwasher, he worked his way up through various roles in the k ...
Chefs' Paths: From Founders to the Restaurant Industry
The Scratch Restaurants group has experienced a remarkable boost in success and reputation following their unexpected Michelin recognition in 2021 for two of their newer establishments: Sushi Bar Montecito and Pasta Bar.
In an unforeseen turn of events in 2021, Scratch Restaurants received Michelin stars for Sushi Bar Montecito and Pasta Bar, two of their newer dining offerings. This accolade typically signifies exceptional quality, and earning a star can be a pinnacle moment for restaurants around the world.
Phillip Frankland Lee, owner and proprietor, was caught off guard by the accolade – an emotional moment where he broke down crying upon hearing the news. Confusion arose as to why these two new establishments were honored with Michelin stars while older ones, such as Scratch Bar and the original Sushi, which had previously been recognized with Michelin plates and longstanding success, did not receive the honor. Speaking to the accolades, Lee shared his feelings of surprise and a hint of dismay, as he had not anticipated the newer entities outshining their established siblings in terms of Michelin's recognition.
The windfall of earning the coveted Michelin stars significantly amplified the demand and success for the Scratch Restaurants group. Such re ...
Process and Significance Of Earning Michelin Stars
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