We were lucky to catch up with Daniel Serfer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Daniel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents were great. They showed me tons of love and support, while allowing me to be very independent from a young age. Both of them were buissness owners and allowed me to work for them at a young age ( 10 years old). These were retirement homes for older people. I was a housekeeper, bus boy, and dishwasher. This was 1990 and they paid me $5 a hour in cash and I thought it was all the money in the world. To be that age and work close to 40 hours a week( during the summers) , and my biggest wants were some warheads and a pack of football cards was the epitome of living large. Luckily, even though I was the owner’s son, they put me to work, and let the rest of their staff to do the same. On any given day in could be elbows deep in a pile of dishes taller than me, or cleaning out an apartment of someone who may not have been able to control themselves when it came to the bathroom. Funny story, they both fired me on separate occasions. One day when I was a know it all 14 year old, I went to work with my dad at 6AM as usual. He went to his office and I told him I was going to work. What I really did though was go to the billiard room on the property and take a nap. Well he was giving a tour of the property to a potential client and they get into the room I was snoozing in. He turns on the lights and there I am on a couch sleeping. He was all ” this is our beautiful billiard room and tv lounge, thats my son, he used to work here but no longer”. Then he made me take the bus home and figure out how to do that which was challenging because the hotel was in broward county and we lived in Miami.
Pretty much the same story when my mom fired me. We get to work, this time though im 15, and its noon when we get there. Shes goes into her office and I sneak into a bathroom that had a tub. I pass out in the tub, and one of her employees finds me and snitches. Then for the second time in 2 years I was unemployed. Thats when it was time to find a job not working for them. I found it in a restaurant and have been in them ever since (25 plus years).

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I stumbled into restaurants after my parents fired me from their work. I really liked it because it seemed cool and edgy, and as a busboy I made cash every day which for a young teenager was amazing. I did not think I would do it forever as I always wanted to be an attorney. Well one night in college while studying for the LSATs, I was also cooking dinner and decided I liked that better. So I gave up on law school and went to culinary school and started work as a stage at a James Beard award winning restaurant. I worked my way up at that place from stage to executive chef. It was tons of work and lots of hours. I missed all kinds of friends’ weddings and family functions. I ended up with a huge drug and alcochol addiction too, but I just kept working. Eventually I went to rehab and cleaned up my act and really started focusing and getting good at my craft. So good that I eventually was the executive chef of some restaurants and a hotel in NYC, and finally able to open my own place, Blue Collar. I got very lucky and it was a success and lead to my second restaurant Mignonette. Missing all those weddings and functions sucked. That being said, I always wanted my place to be different. For the people that worked with me to not have to be like that. I wanted a place where people cold have a flexible schedule even though it is a restaurant. Luckily that happened and I think its one of the reasons we have had the same people with us for many years.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My biz partner , Ryan is also my best friend. It was not always like that though. Once upon a time he had a blog that I followed and I thought it was really interesting and important. I did not realize it was just one guy. To me , it seemed like scientific or people voting on rankings. Sometimes he could be very sarcastic on twitter and I would take offense. Because of that I didnt think I would like him. One night I was gonna tweet something mean to him, but I didnt. instead I asked him out for dinner. Well we hit it off and became besties, biz partners, and he is the godfather to one of my kids.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think being authentic and honest and knowing my limits and what we do and stick to that. I dont have the most fancy and intricate plating skills. We cook and serve honest authentic food and plate it accordingly. Whenever I am interviewed , speak with a guest, or engage on social media, I try and tell people what is really going on with me and the restaurants. I dont lie. Further, I always try and be helpful and of as. much service to our teams, and I think about and try to maintain a good reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: bcrmiami.com mignonettemiami.com
• Instagram: @bluecollarmiami @mignonettemia
• Facebook: @bluecollarmiami @mignonettemia
• Twitter: @bluecollarmiami @mignonettemia

Image Credits
me