chefs table noodles season 1 episode 1
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00:00Los Angeles is one of the greatest food cities on the planet, but I will tell you, they don't
00:11eat pasta, they don't eat gluten, they're zealots about it.
00:17So it's unexpected that in the capital of gluten aversion, you have one of the great
00:23pasta makers in the world.
00:28The thing to understand about Evan Funke is that he has chosen the most difficult path.
00:34He has chosen making pasta by hand, without a machine.
00:40You have to roll out every sheet, and it requires perfection.
00:46When you go to Funke, his restaurant in Beverly Hills, he's a gladiator right in the middle
00:54of the restaurant, rolling sheets of dough.
00:58Creates a sense of reverence for what he's doing.
01:02He is making pasta in that moment, that you might eat moments later.
01:08And that's an extraordinary thing.
01:11Lasagna, tagliatelle bolognese, tortellini and brodo.
01:19His obsession goes extremely deep, and he's passionate about sharing credit with the people
01:25he's learned these dishes from.
01:28He understands that handmade pasta is a tradition that's been passed down, and that he's one
01:36of the latest custodians carrying this traditional law.
01:40It's a beautiful thing to see.
01:43It's a beautiful thing to taste.
01:55When you start with flour and eggs, you have to be very careful.
02:24And you put them together.
02:30It's not just pasta.
02:35This is religion.
02:49Every shape you see in the grocery store has an ancestral shape that was at one time
02:58made by hand, from flour and water, by a woman.
03:06You're eating history.
03:09Today, a lot of the handmade shapes are dying with the true masters.
03:19Less and less young people are willing to really become a master of it.
03:28I want to be a protector, one little tiny onto it, in thousands of years of tradition.
03:39I want to offer myself as a godson to these people, because they've given me something
03:48extremely special.
04:11I grew up in Los Angeles.
04:13My dad was in the movie business, and my mom was a constant source of endless love.
04:24My parents said, do what you want.
04:28Do what inspires you.
04:30They were saying, I don't care what you do, but whatever you do, you better do it well.
04:39There was always music, and there was always art, so it was a very creative household.
04:49My brother Jens plays like 13 instruments, all self-taught.
04:54My sister has a glorious singing voice.
04:58I wanted that, but I was never good at anything.
05:04High school was a disaster for me.
05:09I was overweight, self-conscious, and uncomfortable in my own skin.
05:19I didn't know what I wanted to do.
05:25I sold vitamins at GNC.
05:28I was a massage therapist.
05:31I worked at a gym.
05:34I tried so many things, searching for this all-in-one solution.
05:43I was really, really lost.
06:13Pasta shapes are really personal.
06:42It's your fingerprint.
06:44Sofia, she's been making trofie her whole life, and some of the most beautiful pasta
06:54I have ever seen being made were made by her.
07:13Leading up to the point where I met Sofia, trofie for me was really hard.
07:20How do you shape it into a corkscrew that's tapered at each end?
07:29Watching her make trofie, I found she's utilizing the entirety of the spine of her hand.
07:42Starting at the very base of the palm and ending at the very tip, within a very short distance.
07:55Super elegant, but also looks kind of violent, like a captured cyclone.
08:07If you look at me at face value, I don't think many people would say,
08:14you could probably make something delicate.
08:17But seeing her make pasta, my shape changed, and it hasn't gone back.
08:26Sofia totally changed my whole idea of what trofie should be.
08:32Now, it's an extension of her, captured in each little one.
08:38I don't think many people would say, you could probably make something delicate.
08:43But seeing her make trofie, my shape changed, and it hasn't gone back.
08:49Sofia totally changed my whole idea of what trofie should be.
08:56Now, it's an extension of her, captured in each little one.
09:09After high school, I was really dissatisfied with where my life was going.
09:19My girlfriend at the time, she was a great cook, and I would cook with her.
09:26She said, I'm going to cook with you.
09:31My girlfriend at the time, she was a great cook, and I would cook with her.
09:37She said, you clearly are natural at cooking.
09:41Why don't you go to culinary school?
09:43And I was like, oh, that's a great idea.
09:48Three months into culinary school, I got a job with Wolfgang Puck at Spago.
10:07Three months into culinary school, I got a job with Wolfgang Puck at Spago.
10:12And that kitchen produced some of the best cooks that California has ever seen.
10:23When I walked in that kitchen, it was charged with kinetic energy, passion, and fear.
10:34Everyone was propelled at top speed every day.
10:40I was scared shitless.
10:44I didn't speak. I listened.
10:48I took copious notes.
10:51I learned.
10:53I threw my mind, body, and soul into working for Wolfgang.
11:01It was insane. Just go.
11:04Go as hard as you possibly can.
11:07Every day, go hard.
11:10And I loved it.
11:25I left Spago as a sous chef.
11:28I talked my way into becoming the chef de cuisine at a hotel in Beverly Hills.
11:34It was run by a chef whose family was from Bologna.
11:39Chef could make pasta.
11:43But he wouldn't teach me anything, and it pissed me off.
11:47So I was like, all right, fuck you.
11:49I'm going to go learn from the source.
11:55I started to look for places in Italy to learn pasta.
12:01And I stumbled on La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese.
12:04It was run by Alessandra Spisni, who is one of the best sfoglini in the world.
12:22I got on the phone and got Alessandra.
12:26She said, OK, we'll see you when you get here.
12:30Great.
12:46I arrive in Bologna. I don't know the language.
12:50I rang the doorbell at La Vecchia Scuola.
12:53Alessandra, she opened the door, and she goes, buongiorno!
12:57Like, big, boisterous welcome.
13:01I was like, this is it.
13:14Alessandra teaches with this overflowing warmth.
13:20Make mistakes. Roll it. Have a good time. Dance.
13:50You need flour, eggs, and air. But you need your heart in the dough.
14:02Alessandra was this fountain of everything that I wanted to know.
14:11She recognized that I was so interested in the cooking processes.
14:17All of a sudden, she started giving me tasks to help her in the kitchen.
14:20And I'm like, oh, shit.
14:23Everyone was receiving instruction,
14:27but I was receiving this additional attention that was more than I expected.
14:37And I just gave myself to the whole thing.
14:48I wanted the craft of handmade pasta to be the focal point of everything that I did from here on out.
15:01But the rolling of the suoghi was a challenge.
15:06I had to be able to do it.
15:08I had to be able to do it.
15:10I had to be able to do it.
15:12I had to be able to do it.
15:15But the rolling of the suoghi was really awkward for me.
15:21And I kept doing this and gripping it and rolling over my fingers.
15:30And I didn't have a matarelo, but I wanted one so desperately.
15:37So Alessandra gave me an address to go buy a matarelo.
15:42So I go inside, and it smelled of freshly cut wood and dust and machinery and oil.
15:53And out comes Maestro Oki.
15:57And he's like...
16:12I picked one out.
16:14I looked at the wood.
16:17And the wood grain was so beautiful.
16:23And I knew that this wasn't just a stick.
16:29This was like something special.
16:33This was like something special.
16:38The Master Oki
17:02I fell into this rhythm of waking up.
17:06making pasta as much as possible.
17:10And I kept making dough after dough after dough after dough,
17:15seeking out the rhythm of how to do it.
17:19One day, I start working the sfoglia,
17:25and there's no hesitation.
17:28It felt natural for the first time.
17:32¶¶
17:41It was talking to me in a way that I could understand finally.
17:47¶¶
17:50We're actually having a conversation.
17:53¶¶
17:55I was in awe of what was going on.
17:59¶¶
18:02Like, okay, I guess this is happening now.
18:06¶¶
18:11It was fresh and thin.
18:14¶¶
18:16Strong and balanced.
18:19¶¶
18:22And in the end, it was perfect.
18:26¶¶
18:28It was that defining moment.
18:32¶¶
18:33This is who I'm gonna be.
18:36¶¶
18:46¶¶
18:54¶¶
19:03Rego Bolognese is a cornerstone of Cucina Bolognese,
19:08and for me, the truest expression of Alessandra.
19:13¶¶
19:21¶¶
19:24I wanted to capture that.
19:27¶¶
19:29And I started building up this Bolognese
19:33to become a facsimile of her ragu.
19:37¶¶
19:39With this big base tone of umami.
19:44¶¶
19:47I couldn't get it.
19:49Beef that's raised in California tastes like dry grass.
19:54So I added bone marrow to gain this foundation.
19:59¶¶
20:01And I put the marrow into pork fat.
20:04¶¶
20:07I take the sofrito, and I put it into the pork fat.
20:12I add straight grind brisket.
20:15And as soon as it starts to trickle out the juice,
20:19add the wine.
20:22Add the tomato.
20:25Add the brodo.
20:27And then you bring it up very, very slowly.
20:30¶¶
20:32Alessandra taught me you cannot rush ragu.
20:37How dare you?
20:39You just have to watch it.
20:42You have to love it.
20:46It's my favorite thing to make.
20:49¶¶
20:51And what, 17, 18 years later, I think I kind of have it.
20:57¶¶
21:12¶¶
21:43Italy was 3 months, 6 days a week,
21:47as many hours as they would allow me to be at school.
21:51¶¶
21:55I felt myself coming into flower as a human.
22:01¶¶
22:04One day, Alessandra said, we're going to make lasagna.
22:08I'm going to teach you.
22:10¶¶
22:12This is music for my ears.
22:15¶¶
22:17That's a bad name, isn't it?
22:19Alessandra.
22:20Yes, Alessandra.
22:22You're the only one with a feminine name.
22:24Always.
22:25So we're always together.
22:27¶¶
22:30¶¶
22:41The way that she made it was just so beautiful.
22:46The mixture of the bechamel and the sugo.
22:51This practiced, unmeasured balance.
22:56Even though she had made it so many times,
22:59she recognized that this was the first time for me.
23:03She took great care in showing me how to do it.
23:07¶¶
23:10She wanted to give that to me.
23:13¶¶
23:15Before Italy, I didn't know who I was.
23:20And I found something that I could shape my life around.
23:26This is who I am.
23:27I'm a pasta maker.
23:33I didn't want to leave.
23:35I wanted to rip my roots out of the U.S.
23:38And plant them in Bologna proper.
23:41¶¶
23:51But I was broke.
23:53¶¶
24:07I get back from Bologna, Los Angeles.
24:11Seems so unbelievably boring and sad.
24:17And I had to get a job.
24:20I met Josh at Rusty Canyon.
24:23At this little restaurant in Santa Monica.
24:26It's struggling.
24:28Josh was very adamant about being a neighborhood restaurant.
24:33And there had to be a burger.
24:36¶¶
24:41The last thing that I wanted to cook was a burger.
24:46¶¶
24:48But I had to do it.
24:50¶¶
24:53When I took it over, it was this blue cheese, confit bacon, Cisco patty disaster.
25:02And it was cooked in a cast iron.
25:04And it tasted metallic.
25:06¶¶
25:09If I'm going to cook a burger, I'm going to make it my own.
25:13¶¶
25:16So I started to play with it.
25:19Get better cheese.
25:21Get better meat.
25:23Find a better bun.
25:25Cook onions down forever and ever and ever.
25:28¶¶
25:31And it turned into this beast.
25:34¶¶
25:40It became a cult hit.
25:43The cash cow of that restaurant.
25:47Great, successful, amazing, making money, good.
25:51But it was not my ambition or dream.
25:55¶¶
26:00This fucking burger.
26:04It wasn't fulfilling this desire to make pasta.
26:09That's what I wanted.
26:11I wanted to make my mark with my hands and a stick of flour and water.
26:18¶¶
26:25I wasn't sure what to do.
26:27The restaurant I wanted did not exist.
26:32But when I found my business partner, I found a way forward.
26:38I wanted this sanctuary dedicated to handmade pasta.
26:42No machines.
26:44Just labor.
26:46¶¶
26:49I got in touch with Kozaku.
26:53Ko was the teacher's aide with Alessandra.
26:59Kozaku is probably one of the best pasta makers there is.
27:05Extremely focused individual.
27:08Monk-like, even.
27:10¶¶
27:19And when I told him that I was going to open up a restaurant based on handmade pasta,
27:25he was like, I'm going to come there and we're going to be the best.
27:29And I was like, all right, fuck yeah, let's do this, dude.
27:32¶¶
27:40We made pasta every fucking day from 6 in the morning to 10 p.m. at night.
27:48We were freestyling.
27:51From corsetti to busa to tortelloni to agnolotti to guitarra.
27:58It was nothing but pasta.
28:01I didn't want people to talk.
28:03I wanted them to focus on eating that.
28:06Eat that.
28:08¶¶
28:11So I can give you another one.
28:13¶¶
28:21Buccato was the greatest singular moment in my life.
28:29¶¶
28:33Everybody ready to go to church?
28:35Yes, sir.
28:36Ori and a lamb, 7-2.
28:38Ori and a lamb, 7-2.
28:41Heads up on a Rivia, Mark.
28:44Joe, what are you bringing me right now?
28:47Copy that.
28:51One day, Ko comes to me and says, I can't work with your business partner.
28:56I'm going back to Tokyo.
28:58You should pay attention.
29:01And I'm like, whoa, what?
29:05How the fuck am I going to do this without you, dude?
29:10I was still thinking about just the pasta.
29:13The sheer production of the pasta.
29:17Then I started to look.
29:21Paychecks were bouncing.
29:24And my investors were like, we're not getting paid.
29:26You're past 90 days.
29:28So I'm like, oh, my God.
29:33I had signed personal guarantees on every single credit app that that restaurant had.
29:42Everything from China, glass, silverware, booze, food, dry storage.
29:47Everything had my signature on it.
29:51I took a meeting with one of the investors.
29:54And he said to me, you need to separate yourself from this person immediately.
30:01Immediately.
30:03We draft a separation letter.
30:06We have a courier drop off the letter.
30:09And all fucking hell breaks loose.
30:12The phone starts blowing up.
30:14What's going on?
30:15We can work this out.
30:16We can fix it.
30:19Then it starts getting nasty.
30:26I had been so engrossed.
30:31In the day-to-day of just making pasta.
30:36And so blinded by the craft.
30:42Not paying any kind of attention to what was going on with the business.
30:48And now I was absolutely fucked.
30:54I get hooked up with a bankruptcy lawyer.
30:56He says, well, Evan, it's about three and a half million bucks.
31:03Bankruptcy was the only option.
31:19Bucato was supposed to be his dream restaurant.
31:24His temple to handmade pasta.
31:29The restaurant went under.
31:32He declared bankruptcy.
31:35And he went into exile.
31:49I was just lost.
31:56And I was drinking a ton.
32:02I was not in a good space.
32:07I was so pissed that I had failed.
32:10Because I wasn't fucking paying attention.
32:14Who was going to trust me?
32:19In order to overcome the fear, I had to do the thing that I dreaded the most.
32:29I had to come to grips with the fact that I didn't know shit about running restaurants.
32:49I got in touch with Rich Melman.
32:52He owns Let Us Entertain You, one of the most successful restaurant groups there is.
32:58I needed to go and learn the business from scratch.
33:05Rich had gone to Bucato.
33:08So he had already known about me.
33:12He said, Ev, come on out to Chicago.
33:16See if we can find something for you to do.
33:21Rich is a master operator.
33:25Working with him, I started to understand the art and science of this business.
33:33Accounting, insurance, food costs, labor costs, inventory.
33:39But the most important lesson was how he treated people.
33:45How he grew people that showed their worth.
33:51Chicago became this awakening of a different side of myself that I did not know existed.
34:01All those things you need to be a leader.
34:05I was like, fuck, I'm not done.
34:11One day, I get an email.
34:14Hey, Evan, I'm opening a restaurant on Abbot Kinney.
34:18Wanted to see if you were interested in having a chat.
34:21I was like, fuck yes.
34:25Felix became a part of my life.
34:29He became a part of my life.
34:32Wanted to see if you were interested in having a chat.
34:35I was like, fuck yes.
34:39Felix became where I could show Los Angeles that I could be a success.
34:48The new kind of approach of doing the Tortellini, Tortelloni, Tortellacci shape
34:55is to just seal the shape only where it's absolutely necessary.
35:01The first step was to build a team.
35:06Taking five pasta makers with different size hands.
35:13How do you make them all form the same size and shape?
35:18I was loving teaching people.
35:21And man, we fucking took off.
35:25When I first went there, I see Evan Funke.
35:30And he's in this glass box in the middle of the restaurant.
35:37And he's making this pasta with such ferocity.
35:42I was like, okay, wow.
35:45Wave after wave of food came out.
35:50The pasta was so exquisite that I was in that state of delirium.
35:57At the time, I helped put together Esquire magazine's list of the best new restaurants in America.
36:03I was like, this is my number one.
36:06Esquire named us best new restaurant in America in 2017.
36:11And then there was the James Beard nomination, best new restaurant in America.
36:17Felix was my thesis of everything that I'd grown to learn about myself
36:25and what I really wanted to give.
36:33It worked.
36:36It worked.
36:41Bona sera!
36:42Bona sera!
36:44Welcome to Friday, everybody.
36:46How's everybody feeling?
36:47Great.
36:48Fantastic.
36:49With the success of Felix, I got an offer to do a restaurant in Beverly Hills.
36:54They said, go ahead and dream.
36:57Whatever you need, we're going to let the artist make the art.
37:04At the time, I was going back to Italy as much as I possibly could.
37:10Seeking out a shape.
37:13And finding a person that would teach me that shape.
37:23I wanted to celebrate these women.
37:28So when I opened Funky, I listed the pasta shape with its provenance.
37:36Region.
37:39City.
37:41And the woman who taught me.
37:47The real heroes of handmade pasta making are women.
37:53And he's standing up for them.
37:55His devotion to them.
37:57His commitment to naming them.
38:00It's a pretty extraordinary thing.
38:06We're celebrating their history.
38:10Giving the credit where credit is due.
38:15Now their story gets to live on at Funky.
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41:34It's really important to me to continue the tradition.
41:41I don't want it to die.
41:43I do not want any of it to die.
41:57I'm just like a tiny little spoke on a massive wheel,
42:02and every sfolia I roll is a part of history.
42:08I find that really beautiful.
42:13This is what I was meant to do.
42:17To make pasta.
42:21Make pasta.
42:26Make pasta.