JustinBruhl

Chef by Will Coviello

JUSTINBRUHLGREWUPIN

MASSACHUSETTSANDWORKEDIN

BOSTON foryears before moving to NewOrleans.Here, he’s cooked at CompereLapin and Maypop and started hisMatchbook Kitchen pop-upatBarrelProof, whereheservesaprimarilyAsian menu Saturday through Monday. He’s preparingafive-course tasting dinner at Mister Maoon Wednesday, May17. In June, he’lldoa collaborativeevent with Nashville-stylehot chicken pop-up DaddyHot Bird.For more information, visit@matchbookkitchen on Instagram.

Howdidyou getintocooking?

JUSTIN BRUHL: Igot into cookingwhen Iwas akid.Mymom wasareally good cook.She was half Japanese and shetook us to Chinatownand allthe cool stores, and Iknewwhatadumpling wasata young age. Ialways had somethinginthe back of my mind aboutfood. Ididn’tthink aboutitasaprofessionuntil I wasinhighschool. That’s when it really started Almost allmyprofessionalcareer happenedinBoston. Iworkedat Babbo, which wasaMario Batali restaurant.Ispentalot of time in theNorth Endata fine dining Italian spot.I spentfouryears with theFranklinGroup,which is Citizen Public Houseand FranklinSouthie

When Iturned30, Imovedto NewOrleans forvarious reasons Istarted offatCompereLapin and wasthere fora year.Icame in withoutknowing therewas such an awesomepop-upscene.Iknew it wasmoreopen than Boston, whereyou can’tdoa damn thing That wasone of thebiggerreasons Imoved. It wasbetween Chicago and NewOrleans.Thatwas the very beginningof2016. Idrove throughthe blizzard that ripped apartNew England to getout

Howdidyou startMatchbookKitchen?

B: Idid my first thingfor myself in Boston.Itwas anow-defunct startupwhereyou would go on this site and click on what chef you wanted to come to your house and cook either afamily-style dinner or atasting. As acook,you’d puta prix fixe there. You’d need athree or four course menuand a fivetoseven course. Peoplecould click on themenu and your schedule. I’d putupmydaysoff, because Iwas a full-time sous chef Igot my feet wet. I waslike, Ican make moneyfor myself

When Icame to NewOrleans, Iwasn’tthinking about that quiteas hardashavingto re-networkmyself.

When Istarted at Compere Lapin, they broughtme to Barrel Prooffor drinks afterwork.

Isaw therewere pop-upsand they coulddowhatever they wanted.That’s whereitstarted.I took theA.M.spotatMaypopsoI coulddothatstuff as well.

At first it wasone daya week, butitgrew, and then oneday Iwas quitting my job. Iwould alsobeat CourtyardBrewery.Idid some fun lunchshiftsatCoffeeScience.As far as full time at Barrel Proof, that wasa pandemic thing.

Now, Ialwayshave thefan favoritesthatItry nottochange. I always have salt roasted,smashed and then re-fried potatoes.The crowd favorite is theonion dip. It’s from-scratch caramelized onion and nori dip. It tastes like theonion dip yougrewupwith, withpreserved seaweed.It’sdank

Afan favorite Ican nevertouch is dandan noodles.That’sas traditional as youneed it to be, butwith alittlemoresauce. I make it how70% of Sichuan Chinamakes it,and Idon’t think it should be changed.I getfresh noodles from theAsian market.I candoitvegan with mushrooms, which gotsomeexcited vegans onboard

Thefried chickenand ricedish gotmeonthe map. It used to be onlyGeneral Tso’schicken,but nowI trytochange it twoorthree timesa year.Inthe summer,I do lemon-ginger chicken.I’lluse nice lemons andfresh ginger and float Sichuanoil on thetop.Right now, it’s orange-sesamechicken.If thereare satsumas around or nice oranges,I’llsqueeze them and put that in there.

They’reall made from scratch riffsonthe American-Chinese dishes that youget when you’re shitfaced in Chinatownat3a.m.