P H OTO : W I L L B L U N T
CHEFS
Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer BOIA DE
Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer had to jump through a few hoops before they finally met. In 2008, Giangrandi completed a non-fiction writing degree at The New School while Meyer studied economics at Emory University. An aspiring food writer, she interned at Scarpetta and ended up staying for three years. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, he worked under Rising Stars alumni Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo at Animal and helped them open Son of a Gun. With a move to New York, Meyer staged at Eleven Madison Park before being hired full-time. The couple’s paths crossed as part of the opening team of Daniel Humm and Will Guidara’s The NoMad Restaurant in 2012.
Within a year, Meyer became sous chef, and Giangrandi moved on to Carbone. She visited Italy to spend a summer cooking in Tuscany, and Meyer quit his job and followed. The partners traveled to Mexico and Japan, consulted and catered in Meyer’s native Los Angeles, and settled hometown in Giangrandi’s of Miami. By 2018, she and Meyer were drawing attention with the launch of their Design District taco cart, La Pollita. Despite a loyal following, they closed down in 2019 but opened Boia De (Italian for “Oh my!”) a month later. With their combined chops, the Italian restaurant was named Eater Miami’s Best Restaurant in 2019.
stinkyfishtales / akmeyer4 / boiaderestaurant Luciana
Alex
Favorite kitchen tool: My Takamura chef knife and a cake tester
Favorite kitchen tool: Powderfree latex gloves. I never really thought of them in those terms until the great latex glove shortage of 2020-2021. They’ve been almost impossible to find, and like Joni Mitchell said, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”
Favorite cookbook: I’ve had a copy of Il Talismano della Felicità for as long as I can remember. My mom had a copy in our kitchen, and although it's not meant for professional cooks, it’s a great reference of Italian cuisine. Where you eat on your nights off: I really like eating and drinking the complete opposite of what we offer at the restaurant—I like going out for cocktails and steak at Jaguar Sun, sake and sushi at one of the great omakase experiences around town, or anything from Lil’ Laos. Advice to your younger self: Be patient, put your head down, work hard, and absorb all you can from the talented people you come across in your career, and never leave a job on bad terms.
Tool you wish you had: ThermoMix Favorite food resource: Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking. It’s pure, concentrated knowledge. Most important kitchen rule: Taste everything. Place to visit for culinary travel: I’d love to go back to Japan and explore more of the regional cuisines. Advice to your younger self: There are too many loud, obnoxious, and arrogant cooks out there who can’t back up their talk, so I say, “Stay humble and shut up.” M IA M I 202 1
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