I love the word cheftestant! Of course, this word only exists in the crazy dialect of Top Chef—a world Missouri-native Ty-lör Boring (real name) knows all too well, thanks to a successful stint as a competitor on the series. Fresh off the show, Ty-lör is about to open his first pop-up restaurant in Nolita, and has the intention to open a Kansas City barbecue restaurant around the city in the not too distant future.
Gilian Tozer: Let’s begin by speaking about the City Grit pop-up restaurant you’re opening on Monday.
Ty-lör Boring: Yes! So, we’re opening the pop-up in the old St. Patrick’s schoolhouse in Nolita. It will be open from February 6th until the 11th. The event is called TBD, which could stand for Ty-lör Boring Dinners—what what?!—but also, To Be Determined. This is the first chapter in my post-Top Chef career, so it’s a great opportunity for people to experience my cuisine. I’ve been in New York for five years but have never been able to cook my own food, so I’m really excited!
GT: So what does the menu look like at this point?
TB: Someone described it as a Pacific-Northwest-Asian-French kind of affair. My style of cooking is very seasonal and regional, influenced by many years on the west coast. I believe that the ingredients closest to us taste the best, so a lot of the menu is an homage to what’s available in late winter: hearty greens, winter radishes, and wood ear mushrooms.
There’s an amuse-bouche, four courses, and then for dessert I’ve created a little something you can take home with you. I wanted to make the menu light and clean, showcasing a lot of the flavors and ideas that I had on Top Chef. I haven’t actually told anyone this yet, but the amuse-bouche will be one of my award-winning dishes from the show.
GT: I just realized how hungry I was. So let’s step back in time, how did you become a chef?
TB: I started cooking 19 years ago, flipping hamburgers on my 16th birthday at the local Sonic drive-in in Raytown, Missouri—a really small town of 35,000 people.
GT: Quintessential Americana vibes?
TB: Yeah, über-classic Americana, like heart of America: think pick-up trucks with shotguns in the back. Since that time I’ve had a lifelong love of food; I was raised by a Japanese nanny who cooked Japanese-style pub food, which had a huge influence on me. Kansas City barbecue has also had a huge effect on me.
GT: Tell me more about Kansas City barbecue, Lyndsy was telling me about it just before we got here.
TB: Kansas City barbecue is when you slow cook the meat for a long time, 13-16 hours at least. The meat is usually dry-rubbed with a spice blend and cooked in a specially-built small brick room, with a smoldering fire of live oak. Eventually the meat turns black but not because it’s burnt, it’s actually just the caramelization process. It evokes a lot of sweet and spicy scents.
GT: Sounds really sexy.
TB: It is very sexy! But you asked about how I got cooking: I’ve traveled to 16 countries on four continents, gone to school both in Europe and in the US, and apprenticed everywhere.
GT: Where did you study?
TB: At the Seattle Central Community College. I also won a fellowship to attend the finest chocolate and pastry school in the world, a school called Lenôtre, just outside of Versailles.
GT: Total polar opposites!
TB: My firm belief is, whether you spend $5 or $50,000, you get what you put into things. I got a lot out of community college. The school i
Gilian Tozer: Let’s begin by speaking about the City Grit pop-up restaurant you’re opening on Monday.
Ty-lör Boring: Yes! So, we’re opening the pop-up in the old St. Patrick’s schoolhouse in Nolita. It will be open from February 6th until the 11th. The event is called TBD, which could stand for Ty-lör Boring Dinners—what what?!—but also, To Be Determined. This is the first chapter in my post-Top Chef career, so it’s a great opportunity for people to experience my cuisine. I’ve been in New York for five years but have never been able to cook my own food, so I’m really excited!
GT: So what does the menu look like at this point?
TB: Someone described it as a Pacific-Northwest-Asian-French kind of affair. My style of cooking is very seasonal and regional, influenced by many years on the west coast. I believe that the ingredients closest to us taste the best, so a lot of the menu is an homage to what’s available in late winter: hearty greens, winter radishes, and wood ear mushrooms.
There’s an amuse-bouche, four courses, and then for dessert I’ve created a little something you can take home with you. I wanted to make the menu light and clean, showcasing a lot of the flavors and ideas that I had on Top Chef. I haven’t actually told anyone this yet, but the amuse-bouche will be one of my award-winning dishes from the show.
GT: I just realized how hungry I was. So let’s step back in time, how did you become a chef?
TB: I started cooking 19 years ago, flipping hamburgers on my 16th birthday at the local Sonic drive-in in Raytown, Missouri—a really small town of 35,000 people.
GT: Quintessential Americana vibes?
TB: Yeah, über-classic Americana, like heart of America: think pick-up trucks with shotguns in the back. Since that time I’ve had a lifelong love of food; I was raised by a Japanese nanny who cooked Japanese-style pub food, which had a huge influence on me. Kansas City barbecue has also had a huge effect on me.
GT: Tell me more about Kansas City barbecue, Lyndsy was telling me about it just before we got here.
TB: Kansas City barbecue is when you slow cook the meat for a long time, 13-16 hours at least. The meat is usually dry-rubbed with a spice blend and cooked in a specially-built small brick room, with a smoldering fire of live oak. Eventually the meat turns black but not because it’s burnt, it’s actually just the caramelization process. It evokes a lot of sweet and spicy scents.
GT: Sounds really sexy.
TB: It is very sexy! But you asked about how I got cooking: I’ve traveled to 16 countries on four continents, gone to school both in Europe and in the US, and apprenticed everywhere.
GT: Where did you study?
TB: At the Seattle Central Community College. I also won a fellowship to attend the finest chocolate and pastry school in the world, a school called Lenôtre, just outside of Versailles.
GT: Total polar opposites!
TB: My firm belief is, whether you spend $5 or $50,000, you get what you put into things. I got a lot out of community college. The school i