We were lucky to catch up with Daniel Serfer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Daniel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry
Right now, it seems like the biggest trend in restaurants is the popularity of mediteranean /middle eastern type of foods. There seems to be a tremendous increase in restaurants serving cuisines from Israel, Turkey, Greece, and the like. Im a fan of this trend as I do like that style of food very much, and I think it is interesting to see how things like hummus, schwarma, or kabobs are done in these different regions. It also seems like a nice relatively healthy way to eat.
One way it is easy to see this trend in action is the explosive growth of local home grown favorite Motek, they have increased their amount of stores in the last few years as well as opened other adjacent concepts.
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 grew up in Miami eating well at good restaurants with my parents. When I was in college at Florida State, I was either too broke or there wasnt enough great restaurants at the time for me to eat well. So I started cooking for myself in order to eat well. I always thought I was gonna finish college and become an attorney. Turns out I loved cooking and was good at it. So, after graduation, instead of law school, I went to culinary school and started working in the best restaurant in miami at the time. The rest is History. I worked my way up from stage to executive chef, worked in NYC, came back here and opened Blue Collar and Mignonette.
These two restaurants have been opened a combined 25 years now which is several lifetimes in the industry. What I am most proud of is our staff retention. We have had the same GM at Blue for 13 years, Mignonette for 6 years, and executive chef at each place for at 7 years. I think we have a great work culture where we really are a family and look after each other and thats why we keep the same people for so long
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During the Pandemic peak, when take out was really the only option, we had to pivot Mignonette from Oysters and seafood to something else. Oysters and seafood were not as great delivered or take out, and to be honest; I don’t think as comforting as food needed to be at that time. So during that time we pivoted to Red Sauce which was our take on american italian classics like parmeseans, francese, and marsalas.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I think we have always been honest and authentic. We never try to be what we are not. We have always provided straight forward food that is approachable and reasonable prices. As for me personally, in media, I have always tried to be genuine and honest. FOr instance, I have always been open about me being a recovering drug addict. I do this not to brag, but to give hope and allow people perhaps struggling with addiction to reach out to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: bcrmiami.com. mignonettemiami.com
- Instagram: @bluecollarmiami @mignonettemia
- Facebook: @bluecollarmiami @mignonettemia
- Twitter: @bluecollarmiami @mignonettemia
