Episode 101: Jordan Rubin of Mr. Tuna, Bar Futo and Crispy Gai in Portland, Maine

The CHEF Radio Podcast

Do you have dreams of controlling your own destiny rather than waiting in line for your turn to step up in a restaurant owned by someone else? It seems like an obvious question, but maybe it isn’t because not everyone has the same ambition. What you are going to hear here today is the improbable story of a chef who was so driven to be their own boss that he bought a beat-up hot dog cart, shined it up with some stainless steel cleaner, hammered out some dents, and opened Portland, Maine’s first sushi hand roll cart, calling it Mr. Tuna.

Here's what else is on deck:

• How being sick of the grind inspired him to get creative and start a hand roll cart
• The short summer season in Maine
• How Portland has a very high restaurant per capita number
• Jordan paints a picture of what the fishing docks look like in Portland
• How he fell into the world of sushi
• Convincing the owners of a restaurant to put in a sushi bar that he ran for his first taste of running his own business
• Deciding to move to Portland in order to put on some roots
• The challenges of running a food cart in a climate that has snow on the ground many months of the year
• The impeccable seafood that he gets to serve his guests in Maine
• Eli and Jordan talk about their favorite oysters from Maine.
• How a sushi chef can manipulate fish to get the most out of it
• How a sushi chef can breakdown preconceived notions of their guests and get them to try fish they may know otherwise
• Why he does not use fish from Japan
• Jordan talks about his fleet of food trucks that go out and around the Portland area
• Starting his Thai-style fried chicken concept with his partner
• What’s next

A huge shout out to our sponsors, Maxwell McKenney and Singer Equipment, for their unwavering support, which allows us to be able to bring these conversations to you. Check out their websites for all the amazing equipment they can supply your restaurant with to make your team more efficient and successful.

Welcome to our newest sponsor, Meez, which is one of the most powerful tools you can have as a cook and chef because it allows you to have a free repository for all of your recipes, techniques and methods so that you never lose them. Meez does way more than just recipe development though, it's an incredibly powerful tool that any chef or restaurant would benefit from.

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