Product Labels Should Tell Your Brand Story with Matt Dees, Mail Road Wines

Of course.

Welcome. Super excited to learn about you and what you've been up to, and how you went here.

Yeah. I'm originally from Chicago, and went to school, college. I was one of those people that when I started school, I didn't know what I wanted to do, and I kind of fell into cooking. It wasn't like a crazy, awesome upbringing, and like kitchens and all that, and my mom cooked. We moved to Chicago and I started culinary school, did that whole role,and kind of worked from prep cook to line cook and all that.

What was your first job?

My first job, I've worked in a little bakery in Chicago and I was hired on. So it may sound strange, but that never happened. And it kind of cash register. I've kind of started working at a small place, it's called sullage (inaudible). But yeah, same thing like a Garmo cook. Not really knowing what I was doing, like running into the cooler scared-- what was going on.

So, what brought you to Etta?

LA, I always knew about Etta and the group, it was great. Seeing them grow in Chicago. And fortunately for me, when I came out to LA, my really good friends in the group was like, you need to join.

What about it was that made you need to join?

I think I just had a really good conversation with Danny Grant. He was just, we wanted to do super fun food and like an awesome environment to push the food and the experience, and like using farmers and stuff like that. So I was just like yeah 100%. He was super competent, cool, but also very approachable.

The culture seems really fantastic from all the Etta’s and Maple & Ash and Celestina, and Monarch. And here we are, might not be -- everyone that I've seen just loves working for the company seems really nice--

Yeah. They like the experience and the ambiance, not just a party for the desk. But also, you can feel the energy in the dining room, we feel it in the kitchen. So I've eaten in Chicago, I’ve eaten here, anywhere you go, you kind of feel like you're in the same spot even though you're on the opposite side of the country. They do that really well. Everyone, the servers, the cooks, the dishwashers, like the management, everyone kind of owns that mentality, but they're also super professional, and really great to work with.

So how does that tie into what you want to do in the kitchen?

I think for me, my big focus in the kitchen was always food, obviously. But also, we're getting it from in Chicago of 15 to 20 years of relationships with farmers and purveyors, which is great. And then when I jumped over to LA, I just wanted to carry that with me. And then here, it's like we work with the same style of people here. So I can go to the market -- and get like pork or whatever we need. So it's cool to be able to do all that.

What do you say, when we were talking about this today that people eat with their eyes, we were saying that when you go to a restaurant, you see someone next to you, what are they eating? We have to have that! What would you say in this particular right there is sort of the wow dish that people want to ask for?

I think a lot of it is, or the one major thing is the lobster pignigs that we do. We get king crabs, lobsters, and the bubbling shrimp and there’s like tower of all these –. So we get that a lot. And then also, you just see that created in the dining room, and they’re like “we want to order that.” It's kind of one of those experiences.

My question for you, you designed so many things, right? I would wonder how you design that dish? Like that would be what's in my head because that's what you thoughtfully put together. How are you doing that?

I think being in LA is one thing. You just walk to the Farmers Market -- so it's kind of easy in that sense. But then you think like, how would I want to share this experience to people? You just think like, yeah, I want to have hard bread and like the blades and herbs, and like all these little accouterments, and they're just a big, beautiful plate of shrimp. And so it kind of all just kind of falls in line. You're kind of just like, oh, yeah, this all makes sense. And it's all delicious. And it was beautiful in this.

(inaudible)Do you find that through Etta, you found great connections, or did you have those already?

Like a combination of both. I think, being close to Farmers Market and being able to go on Wednesdays, and that's what we get any and everyone kind of pushes up, go see those things, those connections. And then when you see something you have to work with before seeing something that you want to see closer, you start talking to somebody for that relationship, it's great. A little bit of relationships that I had, (inaudible).

What are you hoping to bring to this kitchen here?

I really just want to push the fact that we're in a beautiful space like LA, we're able to use these awesome ingredients and have those relationships. And for me, just seeing the cooks underneath me grows to be Sou Chefs. Because it's the chefs within our group or on their own thing. So I like the teaching aspect of it, I think I'd like to--

What are some of the values that you're hoping to impart to these chefs that we're working with?

I mean, a lot of it is just like, we all make mistakes. So one thing I like to push with people is like Fun Food Fast. Like we want to have fun making food, we want to do it fast, we want our guests not to wait, not to feel like we're being rushed. Like systematic or like always thinking of things and recovering fast, working fast, and then also cleaning up. Yes, it's the scramble beforehand and everything's used to calm and cool. But in your head, you're just very focused.

What do you do? I've always wanted those, do you know ahead of time if you've got a critic coming? Food critic, or when they do these best of LA and stuff, are you aware of that ahead of time, or is that just, they come in and you don’t know?

It's like a mixture of both. Sometimes it's like a several run up to get them involved. There's actually this person, oh. And then sometimes, you have a little bit of warning. It's also nice to open up the magazines. Oh, this is where I work. Like we're front and center. This is amazing. So this surprise is really nice.

Wow, that's amazing. So now, as you grow in the kitchen and you develop all these other chefs, are there any core values that you're hoping to add to add up in the kitchen that are signature to you?

I feel like a TV or something? Like a really, really good job of building that like core values that they do. Just like your touches on all things like--

Can you share a couple with us maybe?

Like on the spot? I mean for me, I always like making sure that the cooks and everyone knows what it's like, this isn't just me on the menu. Might be on there, but everyone's value and like everyone's approach to food, and how maybe they're like grandmother, dad or anyone, like vegan add those to the play. I just like to use the kitchen, kind of like all of us working together. Because a lot of the time, it's just sitting there over a venue with a pencil, what it's like there's a bunch of beautiful minds that go into it.

And on a personal level, is there anything you want to do with food outside of Etta? Whether it's regarding waste or with farmers? Or are you working on a cookbook?

Yes.

Tell us about that.

Okay so one of my good friends and I, we worked in Chicago, she works here now. We're like kind of designing or writing and pitching. It's more of like -- pastry cookbook like 80-20 pastry to savory, and it's kind of like we want to build a pastry cookbook that it's the at-home cook like the mom and dad cook, the person who's like maybe semi pro that like does like small catering stuff. But then also people that are in restaurants can open it up and be like, oh, this is gonna like, I see this in a different way on my menu this way. So we're trying to build that, and then also kind of not just like a cookbook but more of a lifestyle.

What kind of artists would you look at?

I'm just gonna ask for all of it, right? I think for me, I know a handful, like really cool not just graffiti but like mural artists somebody that’s from Chicago, and like LA's got an awesome want to take these people that are like creative in their own ways, it's spray bottle, or stencils, play, or whatever, and like kind of figure out how we can get food, music and everything all.

We want to connect dining and designing?

In a very like, slewed is the word that I want to use a lot. How we can get everyone together and just be like I'm not using you to make money, like want to use our connections so that maybe we can get more people out there and then expand our networks.

Create a platform. People can use this platform to expand their networks.

Exactly. So it's like everything from just like, that's like a main thing for me. It's something I want to push forward and just enjoy outside of (inaudible).

I want a copy of the book..

It is going to be called Re-Cooked? (inaudible). When can we expect this book?

I don't know.

Publishing, or do you have a publisher?

Literary agent we're talking to, we're gonna push all this to, I don't know.

Okay, keep us posted.

We're looking for like Dickies, and Sharpie. We had no sponsors last time.

Are you looking for any kind of artists, or other kinds of chefs, or musicians? What are you looking for?

Really, for everyone. Anyone that wants to have a bunch of fun and have a party while we're doing it, and doesn't care about what little bullshit that--

How would they get a hold of you?

Instagram, siegerbayer.

We'll put that in shownotes.

Yeah, that's it. Come to Culver City or all the other ones that are popping up all over the United States.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.