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All In Good Taste is a podcast about the craft, culture, and people who make hospitality unforgettable. Hosted by Aidan Descourouez, it’s real conversation, the late nights, the early mornings, and the stories that remind us why this industry matters.
Don't wish for the neighbor's goats to die. Wish that you will be able to buy a gold. My name is Nikolaos Kapernaros. I was born and raised in Greece in the beautiful city of Piraeus. Right now, we are at the famous Ferris Wheel, one of the most famous and iconic in the whole world.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We host huge events starting from 15 people to 15,000 people. The scorpions, Aerosmith, Foo Fighters, Depeche Mode. I always have the memories of my mother and my grandma cooking. I was never the kid cooking with them. I was always the kid eating their food.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I have the luck to work with chefs like Jerome Ceres, Frank Lapard, Daniel Brucci, two of the Greek legends like Yeah. Mario Lazar and Giannis Barzavanis. Working with these people and going into this culinary vision of the Michelin star and doing all this hard work, it trains you really hard. Mister Iskaz was one of my mentors that he throw me in the fire and he said, they swim. Like, I consider my generation the last of the dinosaurs.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Hayak has this great competition. It's called the Good Taste series.
Aidan Descourouez:Love that name.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Reward.
Aidan Descourouez:Today's guest is Nikolaos Kapernaros. Born and raised in Greece, chef Nikolaos has spent more than two decades building an extraordinary culinary career, training under Michelin starred chefs, cooking for royalty and world leaders, and earning national recognition by defeating Bobby Flay on Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay. Today, he leads the culinary vision for peerless hospitality at Chicago's iconic Navy Pier, overseeing one of the city's largest hospitality operations while bringing Mediterranean tradition and world class technique to millions of guests each year. In this episode, we explore his journey from Greece to Chicago, the mentors who shaped him, the pressure of competing on national television, and why at its core, great hospitality has always been about people. I'm Aiden Descaret, and this is All In Good Taste.
Aidan Descourouez:Chef, thank you so much for joining me today.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I'm very happy I'm here, guys. Yeah. Thank you for coming to our Little Happy Kingdom.
Aidan Descourouez:Yes. Very much so. And speaking of where we are, could we talk about where we are right now?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Right now, we are at the famous Ferris Wheel, one of the most famous and iconic in the whole world. Yeah. We're at Chicago Navy Pier, a place of joy and happiness for our whole city, and we're gonna have the best interview done.
Aidan Descourouez:I'm so excited to do this best interview here with you. What makes this space specifically special to you? Because you've been at Navy Pier for two years now. Correct?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yes. What makes it very special for me is because I was born and raised in Greece and raised in Piraeus that it's the biggest port of our country, and I was always living by the sea.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So it's like working back Like, home a it's not the sea, it's the lake, but it doesn't matter. It's very special to me because we are a destination for millions of people every year. We are one of the places that everybody wants to visit in the Midwest in our city. And we give a smile to the people of our city. This is the most important thing for me.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah. I love that. For the people who might not know you, can you give me a little bit of a background where your journey started, who you are?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like we said, my name is Nikolaos Kapernaros. I was born and raised in Greece in the beautiful city of Piraeus, big city in the port, like our whole city is the port.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:A big city for our football team, big city for people working, and we are towards the middle class. We fight for what we have. We try to be very competitive and very good in what we do. Yeah. And we want to understand how, you know, life brings you good things and bad things also, unfortunately.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And then I consider myself a chef. Yeah. You can call us cook, whatever you wanna call us. And I also would like to say that I am a philanthropist. Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And I work with a lot of things that we help people around the world and in our city also. My proudest thing is my family. And
Aidan Descourouez:I know I met two of your sous chefs the last time we were spending time together. Yeah. Your your two kids all dressed up in sous the
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Proud husband and and proud member of our family. We're trying to do the best for ourselves, for our children, and, you know, culinary art is a big part of my heart.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah. And I think that's kind of where I wanna start with you. Let's roll it back. What are some of your first food memories growing up in Greece? Was there a kitchen that, you know, jumps out to you?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I always have the memories of my mother and my grandma cooking. Yes. I was never the kid cooking with them. I was always the kid eating their food. Gotcha.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So it's very important to understand that we all don't all have the same background. Like, I wasn't cooking when I was young, but I was eating all the time. Yes. And I had very very good time being in the kitchen with my mother. But cooking came out a little bit later.
Aidan Descourouez:Gotcha.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Nobody in my family is in hospitality.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Nobody has to do with restaurants. Nobody is a chef, a cook, or whatever you wanna call it. It started when? So in Greece, when we go to school, when we are 18 years old Mhmm. You go to a name that if you don't proceed on going somewhere to study like a college or a university or a technical school, you have to go to the army.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And we have to serve. I served after the culinary school. Okay. So when I was in school, I didn't know what to do, and school wasn't of my favorite
Aidan Descourouez:wasn't my favorite either.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So I To be honest with you. So we had the the opportunity with a friend of mine. We were talking. He said, hey, man. Like, there is seven schools, seven institutes in Greece that you go and you can be a cook, you can be a pastry cook, or you can be a waiter or a bar man.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. And I say, no. I don't like this, but I would be interested to see about the scope of the cook. Yeah. And then he said that you work in the islands in the summer, and you live in the same school with the girls also.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And I say, okay. That sounds interesting. That sounds interesting. Of going very young to the army.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So that's how I decided to go into the culinary world.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay. Got you.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I had nothing to do in the beginning. I didn't know what to expect. Yeah. But everything started by the letter that is accepting you that starts with you have to be shaved, you don't have to have long hair. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:You were living in the school. So that's a big thing for me, a big change. And then I went into a world that I have never imagined.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah. Which I I would love to dive into that too. When we were, you know, setting up today, you were telling me a little bit about your experience in, like, the culinary schools in Greece. Can you talk a little bit about structure?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. Yeah. The structure is back in the day now is a little bit different. Back back in the day, all the culinary institutes were in hotels
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Or they were acting and working as a hotel with the students working for the actual school. We were living in the school. Yeah. We had to be dressed with our nice uniforms when we had school, the theoretical lessons. And then when you had the kitchen lessons, you were wearing your chef coat.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We were waking up at 06:00 in the morning, saving, getting our room ready. Yeah. The guys were coming to check our rooms. It was very, very strict.
Aidan Descourouez:It sounds like you were still in military
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:school anyway. A little bit more different than the army. And then I went into a world that had hierarchy, the brigade system, then we had I started seeing things that I have never seen. Yeah. Like ingredients, new ways of cooking, international cuisine.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. And remember, guys, 1997, no Internet.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:No phones. Like, we went to the culinary school and, like, if you had to do something about international cuisine, let's say about Mexican cuisine Yeah. You had to go to the library, take the book, go with your students, teach, learn, and then you started cooking about it. Now everybody goes, you know It's
Aidan Descourouez:linked all way. It up. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Okay. Okay. No. Very different, but I went into a whole a whole new different world that went strictly in my mind. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like strictly.
Aidan Descourouez:I know also what you shared with me too is you you were telling me about like the rating in the point systems. Right? Because you were saying It's different.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It's different. It's like one to 20, not one to 100.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like we discussed, I didn't like school a lot before, so I wasn't one of the best students of the establishment at school. But then in the culinary class Yeah. I had really good grades. Yeah. My parents didn't believe it in the beginning.
Aidan Descourouez:I mean, you told me you were memorizing cookbooks. Right? Because you were talking about speaking French Because we
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:were we were having our main culinary lessons, the technique in French, And we were doing French at school, but I have never spoken French So for me, I was memorizing and writing down writing down so I can learn it easier.
Aidan Descourouez:Was there a a moment or an ingredient that really inspired you when you were at school? Something that jumped out to you and really just like stuck
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Look, the first big shock that I had is when I tried the I haven't tried before lobster. Like, when I tried all these ingredients like caviar. Like, when I tried the combination of lobster with a butter sauce.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like all different ways of pasta with seafood and things that that in my mind and in where I grew up Yeah. They were not together. Like, I have never tried pork with pineapple.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like, it's not in our culture. It's not where I grew up. So this was like the most defiant decisive moment I remember that I said, wow. Was this is when I first tried lobster with a very nice barnes sauce and then the allandez sauce on the side, different sauces. That was very, very nice for me, like.
Aidan Descourouez:And also with there too, I do wanna ask just because I know you said you were eating a lot of your mother's and your grandmother's food. What was one of your favorite bites from back then?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:The most favorable moment and nice things to remember is Sunday. My mother was making always a stew. Okay. Half Sundays with rice, half Sundays with Greek fried potatoes, Greek salad, and then something else too, like a pasta. But this too that my mother was making is my first memory, and it has to do also because we could assemble as a family.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We were young. Nobody was working in the beginning. So we had our Sundays there. Okay. And it's just something that I like remembering always.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay. Going from there, obviously, you made it to The States. Can you tell me the journey from going from Greece and bringing you to The USA or what brought you here in the first place?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I consider myself a love immigrant Yeah. Because I came for the love of my life, my wife. I always tell her that, hey, you tricked me and you brought me to the lake and the snow Yeah. From the sea and the sun, but now we have a very sunny day and nice environment. But the winter, you know how Chicago is.
Aidan Descourouez:Yes. Very much so.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So we had to come as a family. I tried I kept here in Greece for ten years. Yeah. Our first child, our daughter was born in Greece. Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And then we came here and we had our son. My daughter is Chrysula and my son name is Ioannis. Different culture, different world. I have come before only for vacation, but, you know, when you come for vacation and the place you come is Greek people, you just have parties.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:They just want to feed you. They just wanna show you around. It's very different than a country. Well, than
Aidan Descourouez:actually living yeah. For sure.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like, got engaged in 2012 with my wife here in Chicago.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And we got married in Greece in 2013, but you remember the Greek, my big, fat, big wedding? Yes. So that was me meeting her whole
Aidan Descourouez:family. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:That's Like, walking in, hugging me, feeding me, drinking alcohol. Very nice moments. Yeah. And that was my transition. Like, it was a family decision.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Okay. And as a husband and a father, you have to do what you have to do.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay. Well, now moving on a little bit into your career now that you've you've moved here, or even I guess this can go back to Greece too. Can you tell me about some of your biggest mentors or people who inspired you Yeah. Either in culinary or after culinary school and what kind of pushed you forward?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like culinary school, the first two teacher, mister Nastos and mister Niaudi, especially the second year that you are more into it, like, was one of my mentors. My first executive chef in the big resorts that we were working, like, mister Iskaz, was one of my mentors that he throw me in the fire, and he said, they swim like, you know, you have to be ready before you are ready. Like Yeah. Nobody will give you something in your hand. Like, you're not gonna be a shoe chef before you work as a shoe chef.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:There were people, and then, you know, coming here to The United States, having a different aspect with all these celebrity chefs. Like, I I fully respect, like, Dominique Crenn. Mhmm. I think Gordon Ramsay is the epitome of a chef and a businessman and, like, doing all these things. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like, Thomas Keller. Like, for me, these are the top three. I have met him in the high end when I was working, like really cool person. In the beginning, I didn't know that it was him, then everybody came, man. Oh, it's not You were Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I say, guys, I just moved to United States. I'm sorry. I didn't know. But very friendly. He told me that he's a chef too.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:He never mentioned who
Aidan Descourouez:he is. Yeah. Very humble.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. It was nice. It was nice. A great experience. But, you know, my biggest mentor in my life was my father and my mother for other different reasons because I believe that everything starts with the family.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. And from the culinary world is what we just said.
Aidan Descourouez:Moving on to talking about some of the people you've had the opportunity to cook for. I know we mentioned, you know, world leaders, celebrities. Is there anybody who stands out to you that you feel really good?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We have a very big list of because the resort I was working in Greece Yeah. We were awarded the the best wedding destination in the world. Grand Resort Lagonesi is the name. We had so many things coming up. All the groups that were coming from all over the world.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. Rock bands like the Scorpions, Aerosmith, Foo Fighters, Depeche Mode, individual singers doing their debuts and everything like Kylie Minogue. Yeah. A lot a lot of people, and then we had a lot of actors and actresses. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And then a lot of kings, queens, VIP people. Really good experience with we are in the buffet in the resort, and the prodigy, they come to the buffet, you know, kid with his purple hair, earrings, and some Greek mamas and grandmas looking, what is this there? And I say, guys, you know, it's the prodigy.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Okay. Yeah. Aerosmith playing in the steps of the hotel music for the people.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like before the concert. Being really lucky and getting a lot of VIP tickets and like
Aidan Descourouez:It's always a plus. Right?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. From the Foo Fighters, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, like meeting the group and all these people.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Turned out stories like feeding them special things and other people being very, very simple.
Aidan Descourouez:Can you tell me a little bit about now, like, comparing contrasting where you are today and back then, what does leadership in the kitchen look like then to now?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Right. Guys, huge change. Like, huge change. We grew up culinary in a more hard environment. People yelling, throwing Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. People, like, talking to you in a really bad way. Yeah. Like, first experience. I started working before I finished the first semester of culinary school because we had with my family some economical struggles.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And my parents couldn't send me money, so I was going in the school in the morning and working in the night as a prep cooker in the casino in the in Rhode Island. So I walk in the kitchen the first day. They asked me, hey. Are you the new guy? I say, yes.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Says, hey. Do you know how to make guacamole? I say, no. And then they say, potatoes. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And, you know, cleaning potatoes. I know do. Yeah. Boom. Boom.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Boom. Boom. Very different. Very, very different. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I think COVID changed a lot. Yeah. And we changed us people and us chefs because, you know, hospitality. For me, it was also a very big change coming to United States and working in urban environments. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Big big school and big big lesson for me. But in the end of the day, I think you are who you are. You treat people as you wanna treat them. It doesn't matter how you were treated. A lot of people have the trauma, especially in the culinary world, that they were treated very bad.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And they were treating people also bad. But COVID comes and hits everything out the way that the whole industry changed. Yeah. Like, you couldn't find people to work. I'm gonna use the the world different.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:New generations are a little bit different, more media, more easy way to talk about things that that Are hesitant. Right? You and that are happening and that are negative. And you go into a balance. You know?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:As a chef now, like, I consider my generation, like, the last of the dinosaurs. A lot of people don't wanna do it in this way, and it's fully respected. Yeah. Like, I have people that they wanna grow. I have people that they wanna create a career, but I have people that they wanna come, do their job
Aidan Descourouez:And then be
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:days a week, eight hours a day, and that's it. They don't see it as something crazy Yeah. That they wanna involve into it, but they see it as their job. They fully respect it, and I fully respect this also too. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And then in all departments of life and and culture and all all the jobs in the world, I believe you have the good people and the bad people. You have the people that want to to hide and, you know, not work as the others, and then you also have the people that really wanna work.
Aidan Descourouez:What advice do you have for young chefs?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So the advice that I have for young chefs is the world changed. Things are different. I know now we have media, we have Internet, we have all these movies that they support the culinary world. But, guys, unfortunately, it's not a movie. It's not a show.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like, we take we bring money home from real work and working in really hard environments, And we don't have the luck to be cut in Zetta Zones in the movie and go out and stab the knife and the steak outside and send the customers or our guests home. Of course, we need respect. Of course, we are giving a big effort. Of course, the people that sees that they carry here, they lose a lot of time from their personal life. You have to be humble.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:You have to work a lot, and nobody's gonna give you the keys. Like, you're coming out of culinary school, you're not gonna get the keys of a restaurant over a big establishment. You have to work a lot and try to do things as much as professionally as possible.
Aidan Descourouez:Thank you, chef. That's awesome here. One of the things that we did talk about because you said the movies, I wanna bring up your time on TV because you've done multiple spots on TV. You've competed out Chopped. You've actually beaten Bobby Flay, but you've also I mean, I guess this one isn't on TV, but you told me that you were on competition that was called Good Taste or
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:something like that. Right? Yeah.
Aidan Descourouez:Let's start there, and then we'll talk about Chopped, and we'll talk about Bobbie Fley.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Okay. So when I come to The when I came to The United States, I was working back in Greece in a big resort, and I was like we had made things for TV, segments. Yeah. But not like how I it ended it ended up here. As a person and as a chef, I'm always competitive.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yes. And when we moved to The United States, you know, through social media and through Instagram, I started working for Hayat. So Hayat has this great competition. It's called the Good Taste series.
Aidan Descourouez:Love that name.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:The word. Yeah. Let's bless us. Yes. Exactly.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:The Good Taste series, award for culinary excellence. So this is a competition that looks almost like Chopped.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And it's only for cooks and chefs that work for Hyatt. But Hyatt, you know, is a global company. Yeah. It's a global global competition in all five continents. So I had the luck to work for the Hyatt Regency of Chicago, the biggest hotel of Hyatt in the world, 2,200 rooms.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:That's insane. So the executive chef came and he's like, Nikola, we wanna set you in a competition. I say, chef, I'm only two months in the company. Chef, it doesn't matter. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:They explained me that it was like chopped. Yeah. I have never seen chopped in my life before I came to The United States. They started saying how it is, about the secret ingredients, so I have the luck to compete as one of the 12 chefs for the Midwest. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So they choose the 12 biggest hotels of Hyderab and each hotel sends a chef. Back in the day, I was a chef, I was just starting in the company. I won the Midwest. Two days competition, and then I competed in the Americas finals in The Bahamas, in the beautiful Grand Hyatt Bahamur. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And I had a very good finishing placement, and it was one of the first experiencing competition cooking here in The United States. Yeah. This, I have started my Instagram slowly slowly trying a lot of things, and then I get this message from I don't remember her name right now, but That's alright. I get the message from this producer, and she's like, hey, we're from Food Network, blah blah blah. Do you wanna make an interview?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I say, okay, guys. Bye. Yeah. So she sends again. I say, okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Send me an email, please.
Aidan Descourouez:Yes.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So they send an email, then we started all these interviews, they started explaining how is the show and what we're gonna do. Mhmm. That's how I started the competition cooking on Food Network. Okay. So my first show was beating Bobby Flay.
Aidan Descourouez:Yes.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Great experience. And the key
Aidan Descourouez:part is you beat him. Yes. What was what was the dish? If if I remember correctly, you get to select. Right?
Aidan Descourouez:So
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:so get to select your dish if you go to the second round.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:In the first round, I competed against a very, elevated chef Yeah. Chef Monique, and we are still friends that we keep in touch now with wild cherries as the secret ingredient, dried white cherries. And then in the second round, I have chosen moussaka. Okay. So traditional Greek.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And I have the luck, you know, things went very well, and I beat Bobbie Flay.
Aidan Descourouez:And how did that feel? So it feels great.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Only bad thing is that you can't say something until right? But, like, the adrenaline, the rush, the like, that feeling when they say the winner is
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Chef Nikolaos and all these things. Like, Jet Tila and Amanda were the the two judges that helped me.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like, thank you both. Great experience, great great help. We got him drunk. We beat him. We got him dancing trophy with us.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:There you go. Great, great experience. Like, very professional environment. I was treated very well. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And it was nice. Then we have Chopped. Yeah. After my big fat Greek kitchen episode, it didn't go well. I lost.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I cut myself really bad, and I lost a lot of time. But it doesn't matter. In the end of the day, you're a professional cook. Yeah. I made a mistake.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I paid it. I was out from the first round. I cried a lot. I was very disappointed. But, you know, it is what it is.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And as they say in competitive cooking and all the other people that I've met, a lot of celebrity chefs like it's guys, you usually lose. Yeah. You can win the Yeah. Exactly. Like, usually, the number is you win one in 10 or two in 10.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It's a great experience. Meet all these people, your heart is beating. It's this rush, and for me, I love it. I love it. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Unfortunately, it doesn't bring the money home
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yet. Yeah. Soon. So guys from Food Network, we can do something more. You know, it's a great experience.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It's a great experience.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And you have to be there also, like what we're talking about. In these competitions, you go and you might be a Michelin star chef you might lose from a chef that's working in a hot dog stand. Yeah. It doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter your background, it doesn't matter your experience, you are there. You might make a mistake and you're out.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And they say to you, like, don't be sad, like, the Enjoy the experience. But of course, you are a competitive person and you're getting sad when you lose. We all want to win in the end of the course.
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Aidan Descourouez:Now I wanna jump a little bit over to Navy Pier itself and also one of the big things that you mentioned to me, philanthropy and the projects and all those sorts of things that happen I know you host some amazing events here at Navy Pier as well. Can we talk about some of the different Of course.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. We host huge events. We host, like, events for starting from 15 people to 15,000 people.
Aidan Descourouez:Which is insane. I cannot imagine prepping food for 15,000 people.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It's crazy. It's a very different process. Yeah. Like, we even have to go more than what we do here. Like, we rent big trucks for restoring the food.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We rent equipment. We rent tools. We have a lot of support coming up from Levy and from other agencies that we work because we need a lot of help Yeah. Absolutely. But I'm very happy because Navy Pier, like, we represent Peerless Hospitality.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. The the hospitality brand that Navy Pier has. They support also a lot of other things. Like, I am a part of the Chicago Chef's Cook. Yes.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I am a part of the chef's corpse for the World Central Kitchen. I'm also the one of the leaders in the kitchen for the American Cancer Society and the Taste of Hope. And, of course, we do all this from the bottom of our heart, and we have the support of our company and where I work, and, like, we're not getting paid for this. Yeah. Because a lot of people think that we're getting paid for all these things.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like, none of the chefs in the city that we do all these philanthropy events is getting paid. Yeah. And especially the guys, the restaurateurs, they're putting money from their pockets.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Navy Pier is covering my expenses for going and doing all these beautiful things. And I'm very thankful about it because we help people. We give hope to people. We give a smile to children. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And it's very important for all of us. So big events we do, make a wish, taste of hope. Mhmm. With the Chicago Sesquo, we have cooked for the war in Ukraine, for the hurricane in Puerto Rico, for the floods in Italy, for the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. And this is something that I have organized, and I'm very proud about it.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Very proud about it. I have met Jose Andres came to the event. Like, it was a milestone for me also as a chef and a person. Taste of hope, a big thing.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:This year, 46 restaurants, Taste of Hope at the Grand Ballroom. We are all expecting you here. We're all expecting your support.
Aidan Descourouez:We'll be here.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:He's gonna be one of my VIP guests. Oh, I will gonna have a very nice video after for this also. We have built a good relationship from the Chicago chef's cook. And guys, this is something that satisfies my show.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah. It fills your cup. Right? So that's Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. It fills my cup. It's very important. Alright.
Aidan Descourouez:Well, thank you for talking about that. I I wanna talk now I mean, you mentioned literally the amount of people who are coming here every single year, and we're talking guests.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:9,000,000 guests.
Aidan Descourouez:That is unfathomable. How does it feel to
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We're not feeding all of them.
Aidan Descourouez:Well, know, but how does it feel to be impacting or feeding potentially up to 9,000,000 people a year. If your food is touching, it's potentially 9,000,000 plus people a year.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It's something very important for all of us. The biggest and most difficult part is keeping the consistency and keeping track of what we do. Yeah. I'm very happy that we do things that have to do with different cuisines, with different people from all over around the world. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We promote our city, like, you know, things that we do here, like pizza Yeah. Pizza puffs, the famous Chicago style hot dog, and being able to add Mediterranean flavors, global flavors from my journeys around the world, and making people having a good experience here. Like, my motto as a chef, you know, is like, feel our feel our love in every bite of your food.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So this is something very important because we really believe in hospitality.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:That's why, like, they call it the the peer of the people. Like, except the people that are coming from our city, we are a destination for people around the world. Yeah. Like, really big companies like L'Oreal, McDonald's, other companies that they want to keep their name VIP. They're coming and they're traveling to Chicago from all over the all To be here.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Around the world to be here, to do a plated dinner at the Aeon Grand Boulevard, like one of the most iconic places in Chicago. It's crazy. And then we have all these concerts that we make also, like DJs, groups, coming, like all these things that Navy Pier is organizing, and I'm very happy that we can we can put a little brick of our culinary vision in there, and we keep people happy about it.
Aidan Descourouez:I love that. Speaking about those events that you're talking about, what is the first thing that your mind goes to, like, operationally for these large events? Are we looking logistics?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Are we Yeah. We have
Aidan Descourouez:What is what is the start of the
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Everything starts about bringing the event Okay. Doing a tasting usually, and being very realistic. You know, especially when you do food for thousands of people, you have to be realistic. You have to be very straightforward with the guests. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We have a very helpful team of managers, sales directors, front of the house managers. We work as a team. Yeah. And we're trying to do it, and then you go to the actual part. Ordering, managing the people, bringing the people in, getting it ready, and of course, being in corporation with front of the house Mhmm.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:About everything. About everything, everything, everything. And that's how we roll.
Aidan Descourouez:And if for a hospitality professional who might be listening to this, what advice would you give them? I mean, obviously, we're talking these massive events that you do, but I also know you do like 200 person events. What what advice would you give somebody who is in the space of putting and building out these large scale events? Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I'm gonna give the advice that I say to my cooks and everybody that work together. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you cook for five or 5,000 people. You have to be very precise. You have to be on top of what you're doing.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:You have to know all the aspect of your project and look into it. Always be open minded and organize it as much as possible. And when the things go, how you call it in The United States, go south Yes. Be always positive because things are gonna go south. There's no way you're gonna have the perfect event.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:There is no no way. And usually, we made more mistakes and it's more challenging, the smaller events that you see all details. Yes. Because, you know, when the event is huge, you know, if a little bit thing goes on the side, it's not. But Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We try not to make shortcuts. We try to be very, very on top of what we're doing.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay. I kinda wanna switch a little bit now to your leadership style and like your legacy and what you're looking for like going forward. What is the difference between managing people and inspiring people?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I think the biggest difference is you have to be true with your colleagues. You have to respect them. You have to be you have to keep consistency on your relationships with everybody.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:You can't treat people differently. I know we are all unique. I know we all have our problems, but work is work. We try to leave them outside because we are the people giving hospitality.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:We are the people that you don't care if I had a fight with my wife, that I never fight with my wife, and she's always right.
Aidan Descourouez:And she's always right.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:She's always right.
Aidan Descourouez:My girlfriend is also always right. Just gotta make sure that's clear.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:But we leave everything outside. We come here, and we give people experience. So that's something. Me as a manager or a leader of my culinary team, because I really believe it's a culinary family. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I see them more than my family. This is the truth. I spend with them more time than my actual family. I respect them. And, like, we can do it all together.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:This is what I'm saying. Even if I am the best cook in the world, I can cook for 5,000 people. Yeah. I can cook for 2,000 people. And I need them to cook with me, like, and it's something that, you know, in our company and in my mind also, we try to, of course, lead by example.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. We teach them and we show them all of all of the positive things that we have for culinary, so they take some and they can take it out. Because you have to have trust. Yeah. Like, I can't be in five different places in the same time.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Of course. I have to trust my senior chef. I have to trust my lead cooks. And when I'm plating down the first the first plate in the ballroom, the people that are cooking in our main kitchen, the filet mignon's Yeah. I have to trust them.
Aidan Descourouez:That is
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like they're cooking 2,000 filet mignon's that they can't go wrong. Yeah. So you build the trust. You train people, but you also build the trust. You show and you show and you show.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Consider anything granted. You have to check, check, double check. Yeah. Check, check, double check. This is what I'm saying to my lead cooks.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It doesn't matter. We always count. We always check. We always double check.
Aidan Descourouez:When something goes wrong, what is it that your team sees from Nothing goes wrong. Nothing goes wrong.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Hospitality. No. When like I said before, when something goes wrong, we have to be positive. We have to stay professional. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And to see what we can do to make it better. Okay. And we have to be really realistic if it's if it's going in a really bad way that affects the service, will affect the guest, we talk to the guest.
Aidan Descourouez:If you had someone shadowing you for the day, what would be something that would surprise them spending the day with you at Naylor?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:How much we walk because it's one of the biggest establishment in Chicago.
Aidan Descourouez:What steps are we talking on the
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:low end, on the high end? The high end, 32,000, 33,000. The usual is our 15 to 16,000, and then depending on the event. No. He's gonna see how much we talk with people.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. He's gonna see that now I'm not in the cooking a lot, like, especially only when I show to people what we're gonna do. And, like, you have to talk with, like, maybe 100 people and giving direction and be, like, in coordination with all these things.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah. Is there a a moment in service that you feel or you realize that, you know, your culture is working correctly and everything is just going Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. The moment that I go and I touch the tables, like, do it in the restaurants I work, I do it in the small events, but I also do it in the big events. Okay. The moment I go and you see these people smiling, these people having the food, these people having a smile that they the filet mignon was great and the and the sauce was great and they see, oh, chef, thank you for coming. It's very nice.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. It's very nice. It fulfills me as a person, and it shows us that we're doing something wrong in the end of the day. Something
Aidan Descourouez:Something right.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Oh my god. That we're doing something right in the end of the day.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay, chef. I know you've also spent a lot of time working with some other legendary chefs. And I know this was a lot in Europe. Correct? You tell me a little bit about your experience working with them, what you learned, who they were?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So I had the luck to work in one of the biggest resorts in Greece, and then we had guest chefs coming every summer. Yeah. And also I had the luck to go stash with them around Europe. I have worked in France, Italy, Holland, a little bit in Germany, and it's very, very nice, like, to be a part of this thing. So I have the luck to work with chefs like Jerome Ceres Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Frank Lapard, like Daniel Brucci, like some one of the two of the Greek legends, like Yeah. Mario Lazar and Giannis Baczavanis. Working with these people and going into this culinary vision of the Michelin star and doing all this hard work as a chef de cuisine, like, it trains you really hard. It trains you like, when I came to The United States, it was a whole different way for me, like, working in a different environment, and I'm used to the Europe side of your chef, you jump, you jump, like, you know, there's no no and then meeting all these nice new things in Chicago. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Getting me there, but I came ready from a much more harder environment, and it my transition here was much more easier for me
Aidan Descourouez:Gotcha.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:As a cook and a chef. Okay. So that was the thing.
Aidan Descourouez:And we're talking about all these other legends. I mean, for yourself, obviously, I know you run a insanely massive culinary program here. Do you you yourself have dreams or aspirations to open something of your own?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yes. Of course. Like, my biggest culinary vision and dream is to open my Greek restaurant that's gonna be doing fine dining. Okay. And if I have the luck and the courage to win a Michelin star, and even not to do the food that I feel from my Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Heart Absolutely. And to give people a great experience. I'm very happy that this is my one of my future plans, and, like, I want to turn it to reality. But, you know, like, you have to be, like we said, humble and patient. Yes.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And I think the right people will approach at the point and we will work together.
Aidan Descourouez:Can you give us a little taste or a a little idea of the dream of this restaurant?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:The restaurant would be like I don't want something huge for the beginning.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:I want to leave, like, something that's gonna be fine dining, Greek cuisine with a nice menu de cussacion and nice bites. We call it meze
Aidan Descourouez:Mhmm.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Closer to the Spanish tapas.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:This is the definition. With nice menu de cussacion, everything made from scratch. And, also, I wanna build other things that's gonna be more casual.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Like, more casual restaurant, more casual items. We'll see. We'll see how it goes. I hope it comes to reality at the point.
Aidan Descourouez:Fair enough. And one last thing on the legacy note. I wanted to ask again, like, who the works that you're doing that move you? Or
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So we work a lot with children. Yeah. We work also a lot that the things that we don't promote in social media with my wife and the small company we have, Chef Kapernaros Kulinary. Okay. We do a lot of things with kids.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Okay. A lot of lessons, a lot of things with the churches, the Greek churches of Chicago. And it's something that makes us very happy also. The part of the philanthropy with all these great organizations is something that I really really love. Yeah.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It fills my heart. I had the the bad luck to lose my parents very early
Aidan Descourouez:I'm sorry.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Considering other normal things. And Yeah. You know, I'm very proud of helping against the fight against cancer Mhmm. The cystic fibrosis things. Like, it's it's so important for me, these things, because it makes me happy as a person.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. First of all. And, you know, we have kids and knock on wood, you never know how how life treats you. Yeah. And we want to give people hope and a smile.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. It's very important for us.
Aidan Descourouez:I mean, to me, it sounds like, I mean, you're you're living hospitality through and through. Right? I mean, what we do is giving people things. Even outside of it, you're filling your cup with giving to more people. So I think that's that's really cool.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It's in our DNA now. It's like and and for us, Greek people also, we're we're born in a country that has a lot of tourists, like from young kids, we have to do with other people. Like, you go for vacation and you meet all these people from different cultures. And it's a lot of hospitality professionals in Greece, and I'm very happy I was one of them and I was trained with such a great people, and it helps us a lot. Alright.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay. And now we're gonna wind down with our last little set of questions. It's a set of seven questions that I ask everybody who joins us on the show. They're all hospitality centric, but you can take them however you want to and just answer how you feel. Okay?
Aidan Descourouez:Perfect. Great. So we're gonna start with our Amouj Bouche. What is the smallest gesture of hospitality that's had the biggest impact on you?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:For me, it's bread made in the oven in the village with a side of olive oil and olives. This is the biggest gesture of hospitality as an amouge bouche you can give to me as a person.
Aidan Descourouez:I love that. That's great. I I need some bread and some olives. That sounds delicious actually right now. Next one up.
Aidan Descourouez:What dish, drink, or moment first made you fall in love with this industry?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:The first thing that I loved in a professional kitchen that I tried was the loaves that we talked about Yes. With the whole of the sauce. This was a shock in my palate because I have never tried it, and it's the first thing that I tried in a professional kitchen.
Aidan Descourouez:Yeah. What is the hardest part of the profession that guests never get to see?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Missing family moments. Yeah. Like, missing family moments, missing birthdays, missing, some of us, we're we're we're really liking. We miss the the birth of our children. If it's something like, birthdays, you're missing your family.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:This is the most difficult thing for me.
Aidan Descourouez:Tell me about a time that spontaneity led to something unforgettable.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:The best thing I remember was we had Redco chili peppers at the Grand Resort, and we were feeding them. We were getting ready to take a picture. Yeah. And then Flea Yeah. Made a flea in the sea, and he hurt his shoulder.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Yeah. And we were treating him. And like this is something unexpected. Yeah. And then he was chasing us to give us tips and we're saying no, and they gave us VIP tickets to go to the concert.
Aidan Descourouez:That's great.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:This is one of the best stories that I have.
Aidan Descourouez:That's that's awesome. I love that. Where is the show?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It was in Athens.
Aidan Descourouez:In in Athens. Okay. Super cool. What does good taste mean to you?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:Good taste to me is everything. Good taste in culinary arts, good taste in life, enjoying the experiences and what life gives you. And for our profession, great ingredients, a lot of love how we cook them, a lot of passion. Never let the negative come up and do as much good as possible you can for the people around you. This is good taste for
Aidan Descourouez:me. Thank you. And then if you could leave our listeners with one lesson from your journey, what would it be?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:What I always say, be humble, work, and everything will come. Like, don't don't don't wish for we say it in Greece, don't wish for the neighbor's goats to die. Wish that you will be able to buy a goat. Like, it's it's very important.
Aidan Descourouez:Okay.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:It's very important for me. Like, be always positive and see always what you do. And the people that see what you have to do, they will see it in the end of the day.
Aidan Descourouez:Oh, thank you so much, chef. My last little question here is is where can people find you? What's your Instagram, your social media?
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:So my Instagram, chef Kapernaros, c h e f k a p e r n a r o s. Then we have w w w chef kapernaros dot com that you can find us, and we can work in different projects like VIP Chef Stables. You can come on Davey Pier in an event if you are the guest, or you can come at our beer garden Yeah. That we have, like, all this beautiful American food and also 30 different kind of beers.
Aidan Descourouez:We love that.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:And then now we have also advertisement coming up, THC products in drinks.
Aidan Descourouez:I love it. This has been so, so great. Honestly, thank you so very much for your today. Love the beautiful in the background. You guys see It's stunning day.
Aidan Descourouez:I can't believe we've sat on a Ferris wheel for about an hour now.
Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros:But this is we say. We live in one of the most magic cities in the world.
Aidan Descourouez:That's so true. We really, really do. I'm Made in Descartes, and this has been All In Good Taste.