With four cookbooks and 20 restaurants under his belt, chef and co-host of ABC’s The Chew,
Michael Symon is always moving. USA TODAY College caught up with the iron chef, TV host and
restaurant owner to talk everything from caffeine habits and roast chicken to navigating his way from
What’s your coffee order?
My first coffee is usually a macchiato — whole milk. The rest of the day, it’s just red-eyes.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done?
Our son opened up his first business, a gourmet coffee and donut shop. Doing that with him has been
the coolest experience of my life. We’ve been in the restaurant business for our whole lives, but to
see Kyle do it and to do it with him and just help him through the process, to me that’s the most
exciting thing that’s happened in my life.
Who’s your role model?
My grandfather. He’s 99, loves to cook, loves his family and loves golf. I try to be more and more like
him every day.
Best piece of advice someone’s ever given you:
It’s harder to cut your own path than to walk down someone else’s.
What’s one recipe that every college student should know how to cook?
Everyone — culinary student or not — should know how to roast the perfect chicken.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
I get to work with my family. I really, I really feel like I’m lucky. Liz and I started the company
together, and continue to grow the company together. Doug, my business partner, he’s been one of
the best friends for the majority of my life. My father’s retired, he does the books. My mom and my
wife’s mom used to answer the phones. We have 20 restaurants, a $60 million a year business, and
there’s still a mom-and-pop feel to it.
What does your career path look like, from culinary school to The Chew?
I graduated from culinary school in 1990, and shortly after that I met my wife, also in the restaurant
business. We opened our first restaurant together in March of 1997, Lola. Since that time myself, Liz,
and Doug have owned or operated 19 additional restaurants. It’s crazy. We’ve opened 21, and still
have 20. I’ve been very fortunate.
In 1998 I was named one of America’s best new chefs, which brought me beyond the Cleveland
scope. That same year, I started co-hosting The Melting Pot on the Food Network, which was my first
national TV gig. I did Food Network on and off until Iron Chef, which was over 10 years ago. Now,
on The Chew, we’re on our sixth season.
I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I’ve been able to open these businesses with my wife and my
best friends, so essentially I get to work with my two best friends every day. In the TV world, I also
get to work with great people every day. The five of us on The Chew are very close, and I’ve always
been very lucky to work with the people I love.
What advice would you give the person who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Σ Be humble.
Σ Make sure that you always outwork the person standing next to you.
Σ There are going to be a lot of naysayers. At the end of the day, you have to believe in yourself
Σ When I won Food & Wine in ’98, I was walking through Aspen with Drew (Nieporent) when he asked me if I
wanted to have lunch. He told me, “Now that you’re in the national spotlight, you’re gonna get reviews. Some
great, some awful. Some love, some hate. I would recommend that when someone writes something, read it,
learn something from it if you can, crumple it up, and throw it away.”
Σ You’re never as great as some people think you are, and you’re never as bad.
Σ Stay your path and and believe in yourself.
What’s been the hardest part of your career?
Finding that balance between work and family. I’ve been in the restaurant or TV business essentially
since I was 19. There have been a lot of 80-90 hour work weeks in those 30 years. To be a good
husband to Liz, to be a good role model and father to Kyle, finding that balance. … You are working
and building something and building your dreams, but you also have to focus on what’s important —
and that’s family.
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