Los Angeles, California — “When people ask me what it's like, I tell them they have no idea,” says Jose Garcia, John's chef de cuisine. & Vinny's Slauson. Cooking has been in his family for a long time. He spent time in New York working with family chefs, learning tricks and tips while working in their kitchens. After Garcia returned to Los Angeles, he rose through the ranks at John & Vinny's Slauson. I started working as a server and kitchen assistant at Vinny's, a famous Southern California favorite.
John & Vinny's describes itself as a California-style Italian restaurant that uses fresh farmer's market produce and simple ingredients, and also has a wine retailer attached to the restaurant called Helen's.
Popular for its fresh ingredients, pizza and wine, the restaurant also has ties to FX's hit series “The Bear.” “There are so many relatable moments in 'The Bear,' and that's mainly because of Chef Courtney. She was my chef when I started,” Garcia recalls. Courtney Stoller, former head chef at John Barr, & Vinny's, who currently serves as culinary producer on FX's “The Bear,” said, “I sat down and watched it and I thought this was 100% Chef Courtney's cooking. The 'behind you, behind you' gestures, the way she always makes sure she has a working mechanical pencil.”
Passion is what keeps us coming back every day.
“There was always something new. She was a treasure trove of information,” says sous chef Herbert White, who cites a perfect example of Stoller's influence on the show in “Review,” the seventh episode of season one, when pastry chef Marcus becomes too focused on making doughnuts instead of cakes. “She always loved creativity, but she never neglected her day job, and she was always reminding us of that,” White recalls.
It's not just the kitchen that's connected to the show, but the rest of the staff as well. Adrian Cervantes, John's waiter “They experience the same adversities and challenges that occur on the show, like work-life balance,” explains Liliana Gastelum, general manager of John & Vinny's. & Vinnie's Slauson says the season two episode “Forks” resonated with him: “That's one of those moments when you're trying to teach someone something and they actually see it and understand it and understand why you're teaching them a certain thing.”
“It's passion,” White says, “that keeps us coming back every day. It's the passion that draws us back. This is true of most other things that most people fall in love with,” and White feels that it's through that passion expressed in “The Bear” that he helps audiences understand and appreciate what's involved in the John experience. & Vinnie's special.
Every episode of FX's “The Bear” is now streaming on Hulu.
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