From Steven Starr to El Camino: An Operator’s Quickfire with Dan Siegelman Artwork

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Josh Sharkey (Entrepreneur, professional chef, and founder/CEO of meez, the culinaryOS for food professionals) interviews world class entrepreneurs in the food space that are shifting the paradigm of how we innovate and operate in our industry.

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The meez Podcast

From Steven Starr to El Camino: An Operator’s Quickfire with Dan Siegelman

February 24, 2026 • Josh Sharkey • Episode 120

0:00 | 40:41

#120

Josh sits down for a quickfire episode with Dan Siegelman, a New Jersey native and JWU alum who cut his teeth working for industry heavyweights like Stephen Starr, Michael Mina, and the late Michael Chiarello. Currently leading the culinary operations for El Camino, a high-volume Mexican concept in Florida, Dan shares his insights on the shifting restaurant real estate landscape in Miami and his deep dive into authentic Mexican cuisine, highlighting the complex sauce work and diverse dried chilies his team utilizes daily.

The conversation moves into the rapid-fire round where Dan reveals why he despises the word "heard" on the line, the absolute tragedy of losing his physical recipe notebooks to a late-night bag theft, and why the fat from braised short ribs is the most underutilized byproduct in professional kitchens. He also shares a hilarious (and highly embarrassing) hazing story involving "club baby seal" from his time as a young sous chef at Bottega, his unapologetic method for a cast-iron Texas Toast grilled cheese, and a crucial leadership lesson about stepping back and letting your team fail so they can ultimately grow.

Timestamps

01:48 Dan's background and working for Stephen Starr and Michael Mina

04:24 The Miami rent crisis and its impact on independent restaurants

08:18 Menu R&D, Salsa Macha, and utilizing diverse Mexican chilies

13:00 The devastating story of losing years of recipe notebooks to a theft

21:25 The best dish he ever ate: The French Laundry's suckling pig

23:25 Giving flowers to Alex Lee and John Sergi

25:27 Why kitchens waste too much root vegetable tops and braising fat

29:04 An embarrassing hazing story involving Michael Chiarello and a seafood order

32:40 The specific technique for a cast-iron Texas Toast grilled cheese

34:37 A leadership lesson on micromanagement and letting your team fail

Links and resources 📌