Eli Sussman On Memes, Mistakes, and Making Fun of Restaurant Life!!
2/23/202653 min
Viral Chef Eli Sussman joins Adrienne and Joe to talk about how he became a hero to line cooks everywhere. They discuss his relatable kitchen humor, how he gained such a large and devoted social media following, and why certain things are true no matter what restaurant you work in. In this episode, we discuss:
Eli’s biggest lessons from opening (and closing) restaurants, including gertrude's in Brooklyn
Eli’s upcoming satire book – and the shortcomings of the self-help industry
Learning the ropes as a chef (and how to manage a team)
The...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAdrienne Cheatham· Host0:00
[gentle music] This week on The Chef's Cut, we're joined by Eli Sussman. He is the chef and partner of Gertrude's and Gertie's in Brooklyn. He's also a cookbook author and food industry meme lord. On this episode, we ask Eli about being a hero to line cooks everywhere.
Eli Sussman· Guest0:19
You wouldn't believe how many, uh, people between the ages of 29 and 40 that are degenerates wanna talk to me when I am at their restaurant ...
Adrienne Cheatham· Host0:27
catching Michelin star heat from some of the biggest names in the world Would Daniel Humm wanna hang out with me?
Eli Sussman· Guest0:33
Like, probably not ...
Adrienne Cheatham· Host0:34
and how his satire is reaching a new level with his upcoming book.
Eli Sussman· Guest0:38
There's a chapter on how to cook your books.
Adrienne Cheatham· Host0:41
Your social media is hilarious, and we feel like you capture so much of the industry, so much of, like, the perspective of chefs, current-day modern sentiment, like your memes with waiting for somebody to show up for an interview, just everything. Everything is just- [laughs] Oh, yeah, I saw that one the other day, and I was like, "This is, this hits too close right now."
Joe Flamm· Co-host1:03
[laughs] Like, I can't... You know what I mean? I just opened a new restaurant like six weeks ago, and just, like, the waiting for somebody to show up for an interview, I was like, "Oof."
Eli Sussman· Guest1:10
I know. It's brutal.
Joe Flamm· Co-host1:11
Oof.
Eli Sussman· Guest1:11
Thank you. I- The truth cuts too deep I appreciate that, and it's, it's a, it's fun that they're universal, and that seems that everyone can identify with them. I hope that what that means that everybody doesn't feel like they're doing this all by themself. We are all, unfortunately, going through the same, uh, rituals daily, and