Big ideas, strong opinions, and a deadpan Instagram: These are a few of our favorite things. Former pastry chef and current Empellon and Mischa boss man Alex Stupak is a complicated—and incredibly sincere—dude, and in this episode, we have a really spirited conversation about what it’s like to open a new restaurant that isn’t part of the Empellon Mexican multiverse. The food at Mischa is Eastern European, and it’s Stupak’s most personal project to date. We get into that, as well as some big ideas for the future. We hope you enjoy our talk with Alex.
Matt Rodbard is the editor in chief of TASTE and the author of Koreaworld: A Cookbook, Koreatown: A Cookbook, a New York Times Bestseller, and Food IQ, a Publishers Weekly Bestseller and winner of a 2023 IACP Cookbook Award (Food Issues & Matters)