Michael Scelfo
Photo: courtesy of Temple Bar
A Long Island native, Michael Scelfo earned his Boston-dining stripes while working in the kitchens of Dedo, North Street Grille and Tea-Tray in the Sky. His culinary philosophy – that serious food doesn't have to be pretentious – can currently be experienced at Cambridge's Temple Bar, which is where the Buzz caught up with him to talk ingredients, inspirations and weight-loss.
Zagat Buzz: Your menu is filled with local ingredients and house-cured meats. Can you tell us about your current culinary interests?
Michael Scelfo: Someone once described my food as deceptively simple. I think what I like to do is let the quality of the ingredients shoulder the load for me. I do that by using high-quality local ingredients, striving to execute them well and not masking them – I don’t want to confuse anyone’s palate. As far as my interests go, I just love to cook and eat. I love seeking out those little closet-size places that rock your world for 5 to 10 bucks. ... Give me ten bucks and I can kill it in Chinatown, Hei-La Moon
is one right off the top. In Eastie there are so many little taquerias – walk around Maverick and have a pupusa (or six!). You can’t beat a
slice from Galleria Umberto in the North End and a great veal parm from Joseph’s in Southie...I’m getting hungry just thinking about these places!
ZB: Are there any chefs in particular that you look to for inspiration?
MS: I’ve always kind of walked my own line when it comes to food; I didn’t take the normal path for sure. ... I recently had a meal at Ken Oringer's Toro, which was really impressive to me.
ZB: We hear you managed to lose 75 pounds a few years ago, and recently you won a Biggest Loser challenge among your staff by shedding 10 pounds. How does a professional chef go about slimming down?
MS: I can be guilty of using butters, cheeses and other fats too. Although, I have noticed my food trending toward my diet influences, which customers have really appreciated. It’s quite challenging using healthy ingredients. Could you imagine telling chefs that they couldn’t use bacon, butter or cream? For myself, personally, I eliminated fat (except EVOO), dairy and sugar (I eat fruit) and white carbs – the weight poured off.
ZB: How do you feel about the explosion of food/dining coverage on TV and the Internet?
MS: It’s amazing. Everyone has a voice, and quite frankly they deserve to have it. It keeps you on your toes, but it’s really exciting to cook for so many savvy people. The bloggers have been very good to me over the last few years, and I think I owe a lot to them and their support.
I really feel a kinship to the blogging community.
– Eric Grossman