Kitchen Secrets with Chef Phillip Martin.
A beautiful contrast of colors is the first thing I notice about Chef Phillip Martin’s Cilantro Spaghetti. An example of his grandmother’s food, it’s become one of Chef Martin’s signature dishes. Designed to be an imaginative take on her Mexican dish of Calabazas, this light and lively tasting dish is made with hand-made pasta and stewed squash, and topped with Queso Fresco cheese.
Chef Phillip uses Cilantro whenever he can. His fascination with the versatile herb developed as he gathered techniques from a variety of favored cuisines. Blending together tones of the American, Mexican, Italian, and Armenian fare he loves has resulted in a custom cooking style that is purely Californian. This utterly unique style has been honed during his 10 years in the LA food scene.
Origin
Chef Phillip’s artistic expression is born of a delicious combination of musical creativity and a love of good food. While growing up in East Los Angeles, Chef Phillip played in a rock band. His love of cooking was inspired by his music, but ultimately, the food and the kitchen won him over. As his passion grew, He chose to re-focus his time, talent, and energy, into the equally creative, but different platform of cooking.
Chef Phillip studied at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles, and while based there, he interned at Drago Centro, Jojo by Jean-Georges in New York City, and Bouley, Chef David Bouley’s flagship restaurant in TriBeCa. He has, during the years that followed, turned his love of cooking into a passion, underpinning that with the influences of some of the best chefs in America.
Having been in the food industry for years, Chef Martin has focused on making delicious food as far back as he can remember, and some of his biggest lessons were learned at award-winning restaurants like Red Medicine, Bazaar, Alma, and Patina Group.
Inspiration
Like many great chefs, Chef Phillip draws on family food values as a base for his cooking. He remembers watching his dad, a French-born and raised baker as he included Chef Phillip in all-night baking extravaganza’s. Having traveled to France, himself, quite often, many of his favorite memories are of his grandmother in Normandy, making wonderful food with simple, fresh, tasty ingredients.
These memories have been the foundation for helping him serve good food to the people he loves in his career, as well as at home for his wife and 2 boys. His family is very important to him, and he is always striving to make them proud!
Growing up, Chef Phillip watched a great deal of Emeril Lagasse, an American Chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He found Lagasse’s passion for food inspirational and he drew on his amazing energy.
Which chef does Chef Phillip admire the most?
Anthony Bourdain.
“I fell in love with cooking all over again after reading Kitchen Confidential”.
Using the best ingredients he can get his hands on from the Santa Monica, and Pasadena farmers markets, he never deviates from his cooking mantras of “Make it nice”, and “Fresh is best”.
Three Ingredients Chef Phillip cannot live without?
🧂 Salt
🧈 Butter
💕 Love
Drawing on this mix of ingredients and passion, Chef Phillip creates other signature dishes like his tomato and watermelon dish, using balsamic glaze and garnishing it with a thick and tasty labneh yogurt, pomegranates, and pistachio.
Critic’s quote — “visually stunning”.
Not just cooking!
Creating dishes to savor is not all that Chef Phillip does, he also uses his culinary skill to contribute to worthy causes. One of his proudest moments came when he ran a donation for Artsakh by selling pozole. Originally planning to sell 30 pozoles, he ended up selling over 80! This enabled him to proudly donate $1 200.00.
Guilty Food Pleasure
His main food pleasures are a dead heat between tacos and ramen. Not at the same time, of course.
So, where does Chef Phillip like to eat?
Growing up in East LA, street tacos are Chef Phillip’s favorite. To satisfy his cravings he frequents a mix of amazing places off Cesar Chavez Ave or Whitter Boulevard.
The Future
“I would like to open a restaurant one day and make people happy with my food, I’m a simple man”.
👨🍳 Book Chef Phillip Martin via SRVE: https://www.srve.co/request-a-chef
The SRVE mobile app allows you to book culinary experiences in your own home, workplace, or private venue. SRVE connects private chefs with entertainers, families, businesses, and “foodies” in the Los Angeles area. Coming soon in major cities across the US.
