09: Staying True to Your Roots | Nelson German, alaMar, Sobre Mesa

My First Restaurant

“The end goal is to make people happy, and tell our stories through food” - Chef Nelson German
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Nelson German is the Executive Chef/Owner of alaMar Kitchen & Bar and Sobre Mesa in Oakland, CA. His restaurants tell the stories of the African and Caribbean diasporas through cultural foodways, and have achieved local and national accolades. Chef Nelson appeared as a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef - Season 18, and he was named one of Plate magazine's “2020 Chefs to Watch,” and “Best Chef 2022” from East Bay Express.

In our interview we discuss Nelson’s journey from Washington Heights to Award-winning Chef, including:

- The tricky balance between signing a new lease and raising funds for your first restaurant

- Why it’s important to continue doing research even after you open

- Being open to pivoting and adjusting along the way

- Checking your P&L numbers weekly, so you have time to react and adapt before it’s too late

- A BIG announcement about the future of alaMar – you heard it here first!

- How he got invited to appear on Top Chef after initially thinking it was a prank call

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Where to find alaMar:

• Website: https://www.alamaroakland.com/
• Instagram: alamaroakland
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alamaroakland/

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Where to find Nelson:

• Website: https://chefnelsongerman.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelson-german-6411b82b/
• Instagram: @chefnel4

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• Copacabana
• The Bear
• Community Bank of the Bay
• Bravo Top Chef
• On Cooking
• A History of Food
• The Secret
• The E-Myth

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In this episode, we cover:

• (01:37) Chef Nelson’s background
• (03:20) Nelson’s first dream before becoming a chef
• (05:57) Training under the “French brigade” style in NYC
• (07:17) The club that inspired Nelson’s journey to become a chef
• (12:27) How Nelson’s cooking now is different from his start in New York
• (14;47) “The end goal is to make people happy, and tell our stories through food”
• (17:15) The steps Chef took to make his first restaurant alaMmar a reality
• (19:42) How he found the location for alaMar
• (22:24) The tricky dance between funding the business while trying to sign a lease
• (26:24) What the initial months looked like after open