Meet the Chef: Xavier Mayonove

Executive Chef Xavier Mayonove is a man with a mission.

After being hand-picked by the owners of Sidewalk Bistro to helm the kitchen, Mayonove took to refreshing the restaurant's long-standing menu and reworking several staples.

"There are about a million ways to make a soufflé," Mayonove explained. "No way is the right way per say, but if I'm creating a new and fresh version from my technique, and it's not unique and original, it's like reinventing the wheel."

Mayonove added that at the end of the day, the product has to retain its authenticity—or, a wheel must remain a wheel—but at the same time lose its cookie-cutter dull drums and become unique. And when first mixing things up, Mayonove often lost his patience with his staff.

During our interview, he looked left to right, making sure no one was listening, and whispered (in full-French accent):

"Let's just say I had to learn to be a bit more diplomatic." He followed this up with a sheepish and guilty smile.

But once he got the hang of public relations, the renaissance of Sidewalk's kitchen got well on its way—and there were no hard feelings to boot.

Mayonove, who grew up in Corsica, has roots steeped in family tradition; his ancestors were farmers dating back to the 1700s. Spending many happy hours in the household kitchen run by the women in his family, young Mayonove felt passionate about food even back then. He remembers watching in awe as both his mother and grandmother cooked and baked delicious French classics through the day. He would lick the spoons clean, sample the spoils and be their resident taste-tester supreme, building a valuable knowledge base without even knowing it.

"When we needed to eat, our family would pick the fresh vegetables, cultivate the truffles on our property and slaughter the animal," Mayonove said.

Talk about grass-roots training.

At age 25—after meeting his future American wife in a local cooking class—Mayonove moved to the States, speaking only French but seeking opportunities nonetheless.

It was when famous Chef Jean-Jacques Rachou of La Côte Basque fame took Mayonove under his wing that he realized his calling.

"He was the only one who would take me in despite my not speaking a word of English!" Mayonove joked.

These days, Mayonove splits his time between teaching at the French Culinary Institute and choreographing a tightly run kitchen at the Sidewalk Bistro. Thanks to him, standard vanilla crème brulee has now morphed into licorice and lavender cream; tried and true cassoulet now features the finest chorizo sausage; new cuisine has fused en masse with old school French style.

Mayonove hopes next to develop an exciting brunch menu for Sidewalk.

As for that project, he simply smiles and says, "short cuts will not be tolerated."