Todd MacDonald
Todd MacDonald is a midwestern boy from Minneapolis who grew up in a foodie family. His mom was a great cook and his dad, who loved food and wine, made sure it was a constant part of their life. Todd remembers a family trip to New York City when he was eight years old. The family, wanting to expose Todd to fine dining, ate at Lutece one evening! Not only did he behave, but he realized how wonderful food could be. Todd started helping mom in the kitchen and found a cooking job at age 15 in a little Italian joint in town.
But Todd considered himself an artist. Cooking was a way to make money, but never a career. He decided to major in Art and attended a college in the area. It didn't take long for Todd to realize that college wasn't for him. After one year he dropped out and decided to translate his art abilities to the culinary field. After some research of schools, Todd decided on NECI as being the school that would challenge him the most.
NECI provided Todd with a rewarding and traditional college experience. There wasn't a lot to do in Montpelier in the mid 90's so he spent a lot of time cooking on the weekends. He loved preparing survival meals and remembers a particular pig roast that was a lot of fun. Todd also experimented with home brew, which sparked an interest in food and beverage pairings.
His first internship took him back to Minneapolis to work at Goodfellow's Restaurant. When it came time to look for a second internship, Todd was ready to break out of his comfort zone. He moved to San Francisco to work in an entry level position at Hawthorne Lane. It was a great place to start as he was able to get pastry experience as well as learn extensively from their charcuterie program. This was the start of Todd's modus operandi - start at the beginning, soak up everything he could learn, grow with the organization then move on.
When the internship was over, Todd headed to LuLu's Bistro where he went from cook to Sous Chef at the age of 21. What a challenge! Making a leap into a management role so young made Todd work extra hard to learn and practice all the skills that he would need for the future.
After three years, Todd moved to Boston to cook for Chef Ken Oringer at Clio. Though he started off, again, as a cook, it was a fun time to be at Clio. Todd's employment pattern continued when he was appointed as Chef Oringer's Sous Chef. While he was there Chef Oringer won the James Beard award for Best Chef in the Northeast and worked on all sorts of interesting and special dinners. A particularly memorable event was attending a gourmet summit in Thailand where Todd helped prepare a meal for the princess.
Todd always wanted to end up in New York City and work at the most rigorous restaurants in the industry. Ready for the challenge, Todd went to work at Bouley. It was here that he met Shea Gallante who left Bouley to open Cru Restaurant. Shea asked Todd to join him as his right hand man. The two men traveled to Italy and Spain to conduct research for their menu and to develop their concept for the restaurant. Though a restaurant had stood in the location for years, they completely overhauled the place, bringing in new equipment and updating everything. Todd spent four years as Sous Chef at Cru helping to establish the restaurant. Cru is known for having the largest wine list in New York City and one of the largest in the country.
Finally, Todd decided he needed a break from the restaurant business. After years of crazy hours, he left to work for a boutique catering company in Tribeca. It was a wonderful experience and gave him the chance to learn a completely different facet of the industry.
Just eight weeks ago, Todd got a call from Cru. Chef Gallante had left to return to Bouley's and the sous chef wasn't working out. Would Todd be interested in returning to Cru as Executive Chef and Partner? He could completely rethink the restaurant, making it his own. Wine would continue to be the focus but Todd could recreate the menu with more accessible and wine-friendly entrees.
Todd jumped and has been hard at work for the past month. He completely rewrote the menu in six days and gives significant kudos to his new staff! The menu has a more traditional, French country flair with tastes that blend well with the extensive wines available. Todd admits this has been a life changing experience but he couldn't be more excited!
When asked what advice he would give to NECI students, Todd observed that many of the recent New York culinary school graduates don't seem to want to put the work in to be successful. They have an expectation to be made sous chef right out of the gate. To really make it, you must put your head down and do what you need to do to work in the places you love. By being a sponge for a few good years you will gain the important foundation that you need to really make it. Over and over Todd took cook positions at restaurants where he wanted to work. Soon enough he would prove himself and move into the sous chef position. But he had to start at the beginning.