Taylor Kearney Of Harwood Hospitality Group: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Chef

An Interview With Martita Mestey

Grow some thick skin. The names I have been called and the way I have been talked to in a kitchen would make most grown men cry. You’ll have to learn how to dish it back and not let the BS get under your skin.

As a part of our series about the lessons from influential ‘TasteMakers’, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Taylor Kearney.

Kearney has worked in some of the finest kitchens, both locally and abroad. Spending time with some of the world’s most notable chefs including Thomas Keller, Charlie Palmer and Anne Sophie Pic. He has overseen some of Dallas’ finest establishments including Charlie Palmer’s Joule Hotel, Restaurant AVA, Nick and Sam’s Steakhouse, Front Room Tavern, Cedar Grove, Dakota’s, Jalisco Norte and Dish. In 2018, Kearney moved to Boston to open the $2.6B Wynn Resort, running the property’s premier fine dining restaurant, Rare, earning a five-star rating from Forbes Travel Guide. He was then called back home to Dallas to work for the Harwood District, where he now oversees all culinary operations for the company’s ever-expanding portfolio of restaurants and hotels. Since joining Harwood Hospitality Group, Kearney has overseen the opening of nine new concepts and launched HWD Premium Beef, raising high-end cattle solely for the company’s concepts.

Kearney has been featured in multiple media outlets including Eater NY, Eater Chicago, Forbes Travel Guide, Wynn Magazine, EatThis.com, Paper City Magazine, Escape Hatch Dallas, Dallas Morning News, Culture Map, Dallas Observer, NBC and Fox, among others. He has also been featured in several books and is active among many local Dallas Charities.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know’ you a bit. Can you share with our readers a story about what inspired you to become a restauranteur or chef?

My love for cooking stems directly from my grandmother. I grew up in a small town in northeast Texas and was raised growing and picking gardens, raising livestock and cooking alongside my grandparents. Some of my fondest memories came from watching her tend a garden, can and pickle vegetables, and cook for our massive family.

Do you have a specific type of food that you focus on? What was it that first drew you to cooking that type of food? Can you share a story about that with us?

My cooking style leans toward classical French. When I was in culinary school, they made it clear to us that going back to the roots of modern gastronomy and improving on the classics was a surefire way to become better. Questioning why things are done a certain way, etc. Much like not letting history repeat itself, you cannot improve if you don’t know how it started. I wouldn’t say that there was any specific story that led me to cook classical French. It was just something that I was drawn towards.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that has happened to you since you became a chef? What was the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?

I have tons of stories from my 20-plus years in a kitchen, most of which I cannot share publicly. I will say that this career has awarded me opportunities that I think I would have never experienced in other fields. I have built relationships with several famous and influential people, many of whom I still keep in contact with to this day. It just goes to show that food goes beyond social status, wealth, or any of that. I have seen dining room tables bring together the strangest of groups.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? How did you overcome this obstacle?

When you first start, plan to be broke. There is no other way around it. You must pay your dues and that requires a huge time and monetary sacrifice. It’s fascinating to me that most modern cooking shows depict chefs in a glorified light when, in reality, it’s from that. In the beginning, you are a servant in the purest form. People pay you for a service and you have to live up to their expectations. I don’t care if it’s a sandwich from Subway or a tasting menu at The French Laundry, guests are spending their hard-earned money and there are levels of expectations that come along with that. Those looking to be chefs need to accept the fact that you will be working brutally long hours for little to no pay when you start. You don’t walk out of culinary school with anything but a piece of paper, so be prepared to work to hone your craft to be successful in this industry.

In your experience, what is the key to creating a dish that customers are crazy about?

Several factors play a role in creating a dish that people are crazy about. It all depends on the concept, the type of dish, and what you want the dish to do. Is it there for revenue generation, a loss leader, or to be a showpiece? Every menu should have all of those types of dishes, so it just depends. Showpiece dishes are generally my favorite. I love having the guest leave the venue blown away by a presentation or tableside execution like our team happytizers at Happiest Hour. We have a variety of over-the-top, oversized appetizers made for large groups to share while they watch the game. We serve a legitimate wheel barrel full of fried pickles, chicken wings served in a spinning Ferris wheel, and a foot-long mozzarella log.

Personally, what is the ‘perfect meal for you’?

This could vary depending on the day, but my go-to for years has been roasted chicken with sweet potato and cauliflower. It’s simple, yet elegant in its own way.

Where does your inspiration for creating come from? Is there something that you turn to for a daily creativity boost?

I get bored easily. I feel a need to constantly question the “norm.” I would think every successful chef has ADHD to some extent because we’re constantly balancing so many things at once. I work on several projects, both inside and outside of the kitchen, that feed my creativity so I have a constant outlet. Music tends to be my biggest inspiration. It affects my moods, how I envision menus, and sets the pace for whatever I’m working on at that moment.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? What impact do you think this will have?

With being involved with a hospitality group of our size, we are always working on something new. Whether it is how to make our current concepts better or building out a brand new concept. Currently, we are working on a huge new concept and I think it will take our 19-city block Harwood District to another level of notoriety.

What advice would you give to other chefs or restaurateurs to thrive and avoid burnout?

In this industry, burnout is pretty normal, especially if you are dedicated to the craft. I know it’s not healthy, but it’s the truth. It’s important to feel pressure throughout your career. It keeps you on your toes and sharp and, frankly, it separates the strong from the weak. I know my work ethic so, on those days I feel like giving up, I remind myself this is what I dedicated my entire life to, and it would be a massive failure on my part to turn my back on it and walk away now. Taking a moment to stop, take a deep breath, and think about the why of how you got to where you are, helps alleviate the overwhelming feeling of burnout and helps redirect you back to the right path.

Thank you for all that. Now we are ready for the main question of the interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started as a Chef” and why?

1. Be prepared to have everything you do and make be criticized. You work for the guests, so swallow your pride and get ready to have a critical eye on you 24/7.
2. Grow some thick skin. The names I have been called and the way I have been talked to in a kitchen would make most grown men cry. You’ll have to learn how to dish it back and not let the BS get under your skin.
3. Come in with an open mind. Just because you see something one way, doesn’t mean that it is right or wrong. Other factors play a role so, at the end of the day, if a guest isn’t responding well to your “amazing dish” or recipe, then it needs to be changed. It doesn’t mean the dish is terrible or that you did a bad job. It’s a matter of demographics, location, concept, etc.
4. Get used to being lonely. This one is probably the most personal and hardest reality to accept working in this industry. You will often work when everyone else is off. You might struggle to maintain relationships and have friends outside of your work. Often your schedule will be opposite from most and you will be sleeping while most of the world is awake and getting ready to start their workdays. While it’s challenging, the silver lining is that you know who your real friends are. The ones you stick around through all of the hard stuff are the real ones.
5. Work harder than you ever thought was possible. Show up early, stay late, and ask to take on more work. This determination and ambition will set you apart from your competition and ultimately help push you further with your career and goals.

What’s the one dish people have to try if they visit your establishment?

I currently oversee 20+ concepts through the Harwood District in Dallas, which is continuing to grow so picking just one dish is nearly impossible. One of the highlights that I think all guests should try at our concepts is any of our HWD Beef Program dishes. During the pandemic, I was struggling to find consistent cuts of meat. The pandemic hurt supply lines and inflation impacted prices, and I was constantly disappointed with the consistency of prime beef, even from high-profile supplies. So I worked with a Texas/Oklahoma rancher to develop an ultra-high end breed of prime-graded cattle from a pure Akaushi bloodline. Akaushi cattle originally hail from Japan, and are considered a wagyu breed. They’re known for their intense marbling and rich flavor. This particular bloodline is reserved for our Harwood restaurants so guests won’t find this meat anywhere else. It’s definitely worth a try when you visit any of our restaurants. If you’re not sure what to order, let our knowledgeable staff guide you through the menu at any of our concepts and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Don’t be a dick. We’re all humans who yearn for positive connections and genuine niceness. The world could use a little more of that. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone you meet, but approaching every new person you meet with a negative mentality, believing that people are inherently bad, is a horrible way to navigate life. Instead, go in with an open mind, spend a few minutes talking to someone you don’t know that well, be present and genuinely interested in what they have to say, and you may be pleasantly surprised. And most importantly, just be yourself and a real, honest person and you’ll get that in return.

Thank you so much for these insights. This was very inspirational!