The meez Podcast
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.
The meez Podcast
Greg Baxtrom on his first cookbook, sobriety, the reality of chef driven restaurants, and the babysitter math of dining out decisions
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#133
Josh sits down with chef Greg Baxtrom fora a conversation about his newly released book, Nothing Matters but Delicious: A Radically Honest Cookbook released this week. Greg dives into his thoughts on ambition, addiction, mental health, and what success actually looks like after the accolades arrive. Greg reflects on his rise through some of the world’s most influential kitchens including Alinea, Per Se, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and his breakout success with Olmsted in Brooklyn. He opens up about how achieving the dream of critical acclaim and industry recognition did not bring the fulfillment he expected, and how sobriety, therapy, and years of self-work forced him to reevaluate his relationship with restaurants, creativity, and himself. Along the way, the two discuss restaurant economics, burnout, ego, jealousy, friendship in the industry, and why so many chefs quietly wonder how they’ll ever afford to grow old in this business.
Greg shares some deeply personal experiences that shaped the cookbook, including cooking through rehab and recovery, navigating bipolar diagnoses, and rediscovering joy through simpler food. Greg explains why he wanted the book to feel practical rather than precious, shares stories from his days working for Grant Achatz and Dan Barber, and reflects on the pressure of opening acclaimed restaurants in Brooklyn.
Links and resources 📌
Visit meez: https://www.getmeez.com
Follow meez on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getmeez
Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshlsharkey/?hl=en
Follow Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-sharkey-406965b/
Follow Greg on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregbaxtrom/
Follow Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-baxtrom-8a897814/
Visit Five Acres: https://www.fiveacresnyc.com/
Visit Olmsted: https://www.olmstednyc.com/
Get Greg’s cookbook: Nothing Matters But Delicious
Timestamps
00:00 Greg Baxtrom on retirement anxiety in the restaurant industry
01:16 Greg’s plans for a cookbook, Chicago, and international projects
05:52 Why success and accolades did not bring fulfillment
13:47 Sobriety, therapy, and learning to rebuild life outside of restaurants
17:17 The realities of running restaurants in Brooklyn and losing Olmsted
23:36 Why Greg wants to open restaurants outside the United States
27:02 The economics of chef-driven restaurants and burnout
41:49 Greg’s new cookbook and cooking through recovery
51:24 The pressure of recognition, success, and finding balance
01:05:28 Wild Bouley and Danube kitchen stories involving pigs, knives, and chaos