Ever wondered how a quiet kid from the Bronx became a culinary innovator? Join us as we sit down with Chef Malcolm Livingston II, whose journey from childhood curiosity to culinary royalty is nothing short of inspiring. Uncover how his Bronx roots and family influences sparked a passion for food, leading him to create August Novelties, a line of non-dairy ice cream bars that reinvent nostalgic flavors like Neapolitan, creamsicle, and cookies and cream. Hear Malcolm’s heartfelt reflections on how storytelling and relatable flavors shape his innovative dishes.
Our conversation takes a fascinating turn as Chef Malcolm shares the emotional and transformative decision to join Noma in Copenhagen, facilitated by a key connection with Rocio Sanchez. Learn about the intense, high-standard environment at Noma, described as training for the Olympics, and the invaluable mentorship and friendship Malcolm found in Noma's head chef, Rene Redzepi. Plus, get an exclusive sneak peek into Redzepi's upcoming Apple TV show, "Omnivore," and insights into the world-renowned hospitality philosophy at Noma, making every guest feel special.
But that's not all—Chef Malcolm's creativity continues to shine as he talks about the creation of a nut-free, dairy-free gelato bar that captures the essence of childhood memories. Imagine a strawberry coating made from Harry’s berries, agave, and lime, evoking the nostalgia of Breyer’s strawberry ice cream. Finally, Malcolm shares his deep appreciation for the creative space at Crafted Kitchen, likening it to a culinary Avengers universe. Join us for an episode filled with heartfelt acknowledgments, mutual appreciation, and the sheer love of culinary artistry.
Located in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles, Crafted Kitchen is a shared commercial kitchen space that provides small food business owners with the tools and resources they need to Prepare For Greatness™. Visit craftedkitchenla.com to learn more.
Ever wondered how a quiet kid from the Bronx became a culinary innovator? Join us as we sit down with Chef Malcolm Livingston II, whose journey from childhood curiosity to culinary royalty is nothing short of inspiring. Uncover how his Bronx roots and family influences sparked a passion for food, leading him to create August Novelties, a line of non-dairy ice cream bars that reinvent nostalgic flavors like Neapolitan, creamsicle, and cookies and cream. Hear Malcolm’s heartfelt reflections on how storytelling and relatable flavors shape his innovative dishes.
Our conversation takes a fascinating turn as Chef Malcolm shares the emotional and transformative decision to join Noma in Copenhagen, facilitated by a key connection with Rocio Sanchez. Learn about the intense, high-standard environment at Noma, described as training for the Olympics, and the invaluable mentorship and friendship Malcolm found in Noma's head chef, Rene Redzepi. Plus, get an exclusive sneak peek into Redzepi's upcoming Apple TV show, "Omnivore," and insights into the world-renowned hospitality philosophy at Noma, making every guest feel special.
But that's not all—Chef Malcolm's creativity continues to shine as he talks about the creation of a nut-free, dairy-free gelato bar that captures the essence of childhood memories. Imagine a strawberry coating made from Harry’s berries, agave, and lime, evoking the nostalgia of Breyer’s strawberry ice cream. Finally, Malcolm shares his deep appreciation for the creative space at Crafted Kitchen, likening it to a culinary Avengers universe. Join us for an episode filled with heartfelt acknowledgments, mutual appreciation, and the sheer love of culinary artistry.
Located in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles, Crafted Kitchen is a shared commercial kitchen space that provides small food business owners with the tools and resources they need to Prepare For Greatness™. Visit craftedkitchenla.com to learn more.
Speaker 1:
Hi and welcome to the Crafted Kitchen Podcast, where we talk about more than just food. Today I'm so honored to be sitting here with culinary royalty Chef Malcolm Livingston II. Chef, thanks for coming.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. Thanks for having me. I like that you said royalty as well, because I've been trying to get people to understand that it's Livingston II, roman numeral two. So I'm so happy, you know, just believing in my name, believing in the destiny, believing in the destiny, that's right.
Speaker 1:
Talking about destiny and the name, et cetera. Where'd you grow up and how did where you grow up inform your decisions and choices, whether it be about food or other things?
Speaker 2:
I grew up in Bronx, new York, and I think the connection of food, like most people, just comes through family. My mother has roots from Barbados, my father's family has roots in the South and so, yeah, like growing up, I kind of was privy to a lot of home-cooked meals. Didn't really go out to eat much. So, yeah, I was inspired by my family.
Speaker 1:
What were you like as a kid?
Speaker 2:
Very curious Quiet. My parents and my family said like at times they didn't know if anything was happening or wrong with me because I didn't say anything. I kind of just was smiling all the time and just kind of just like going with the flow and everything. But yeah, I guess I was like a very likable, calm kid.
Speaker 1:
Kind of like you are. Yeah, yeah so how do you weave storytelling into your dishes then?
Speaker 2:
um, yeah, again personal truth, nostalgia and I think about what's relatable to people. So again going back to like the controlled anarchy, like, for example I'm just going to talk about august because it's just natural, like what I make augvelties, which is a non-dairy ice cream company. I make three different ice cream bars and the palette that it's in the flavor palette it's like strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, right, and it's like those.
Speaker 2:
Neapolitan. You know, like, when you see the three of them, it's Neapolitan. But then also like people generally, like when they go this is like real data when they go to an ice cream shop, there'll be like 72 flavors. Most of the time people will pick those three flavors. It's just because it's just what we're used to. And but how do I change that? So texturally and visually? And you know, know, so the strawberry isn't just a strawberry. It's like the outside coating is a strawberry, like ice that almost is reminiscent of a sorbet, but then also like the inside is super creamy because it's vanilla ice cream. But then when you think back, what did you eat as a child? Creamsicle it's like, oh, this is a different version of a creamsicle. I can understand, understand that.
Speaker 1:
It's strawberry.
Speaker 2:
These are the best strawberries that you can get in California, using really good, high quality farmer's market strawberries. And the next one cookies and cream. Again, people love cookies and cream. How do I reinvent that? And the last one is the chocolate.
Speaker 2:
But it's like, instead of just being about chocolate, I wanted to have like a textural element. So I don't use any nuts or gluten in the ice cream. Also, just, you know, not make the person who has the gluten, dairy or nut allergy feel less than because, like when I was in the rest and working in fine dining or in restaurants, like sometimes you know, one person will get the shrimp dish and the other person will get like a similar dish, but it's like, oh, I made you the dish without the shrimp and it's like, nah, like that's not cool. So when I was at Noma, they really took those aversion or allergy dishes to the next level and that really inspired me to think differently about how I create, because it's like they want everyone to feel so special. So it's like if you're getting the tart with this, you're getting the exact same experience, but to your dietary needs, and I think that's so special, so I do it the same way.
Speaker 2:
So, going back to the chocolate. Instead of using nuts or gluten, I put roasted tortilla chips in it. So it's very reminiscent of feuilletine, which is like a commonly used ingredient in pastry, which is a light caramelized crepe, but the tortilla chips are gluten-free. They're super crispy, highly addictive, and that's like coated into the chocolate, no, enrobed into the chocolate coating, so you're getting like, like you know, creamy, it's nuts.
Speaker 1:
How did you come up with the idea of the tortilla chips with the chocolate?
Speaker 2:
Yucatan in Mexico and I was actually with Rene and I could talk about Mexico for hours. I just love the cuisine. Mexico and Japan is one of my favorite places in the world for food. Just the level of craziness is just next level of flavor. But yeah.
Speaker 2:
I was in Mexico and seeing some tortilla chips, I was biting on some chocolate and I was like, yo, this is, this is delicious. Like I was like. And then I thought about also, not not just the delicious part, but like. When I heard Choco Taco was discontinued, I was like I need to get in here somehow, like I need to like make us, I need to make my own Choco Taco.
Speaker 1:
And so you are. So August Novelties is a line of dairy-free and nut-free gelato bars. For lack of better phrasing, how'd it come about?
Speaker 2:
Uh, maybe. Yeah, I've been wanting to do an ice cream company or just an ice cream. Do an ice cream company or just an ice cream. I've been wanting to do ice cream since 2014. I love ice cream. It's my favorite dessert. I can't stop thinking about it. I love it. No-transcript.
Speaker 2:
I don't know what it was the doctors still don't know but I had shortness of breath. It was crazy. I had to go to the hospital. I was in the hospital for like three days and after I left the hospital I was advised to go. I had to go to like a healing clinic, kind of just to detox my body, and I was advised to stay off of dairy mushrooms.
Speaker 2:
Yeast flour Sourdough was okay because it's like a natural fermentation. Chicken I could only eat duck and fish. I couldn't have any red meat dairy I guess like inflammation foods I had to stay away from. But I was like shivering because I missed ice cream so much. And in Denmark they that is a dairy country they're like what do you mean? No dairy.
Speaker 2:
It's like you know, the dairy-free options out there were, just they weren't good. They weren't good at all, and I was like this is not hitting it, so like while in the experimentation process. You know we're always and we're always testing stuff. I just started thinking about, like, what are some non-dairy alternative ice creams I can make? And also, you know it was benefit for the restaurant too because, again mentioning about the dietaries, you know, so in that time of exploring, I believe I got really good at mimicking dairy flavors and dairy nostalgia with non-dairy ingredients. And also, you know my father is a non-vegan for like 22 years, so he's been doing it before as a trend. And I I specifically remember him in, like one day I came home from culinary school and he's like, mac, I'm telling you, learn what I'm teaching you. Like I know it's a lot. He's like this is going to change the world. This is like back in 2006, 2005. And he's like, maybe earlier.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I was probably like high school and he's like I'm telling you, this is going to change the world. And he's right. The dairy-free industry I don't even want to say vegan because that's like a whole nother thing, but let's just say the dairy-free industry, alternative food industry, is just booming and you know, I didn't make August to like jump into that niche, I just made it because I wanted to be creative and I wanted to just have my own interpretation and August. The reason why I named the company August was because there was a gentleman named Augustus Jackson. He's known as the godfather of ice cream. He's a black chef who worked in the White House. Don't quote me, but my understanding is he's known to create Philadelphia style ice cream, which is ice cream that doesn't have any eggs.
Speaker 1:
Is that more custard? Is that a frozen custard? Yeah Well, it wouldn't be a custard, I think, because there's no eggs, right?
Speaker 2:
but, uh, philadelphia style ice cream was, is is an ice cream, a milk-based ice cream without eggs, and he had a conf, uh, like a confection shop, and he was known for like improving ice cream, whether it was the churning process or also holding ice cream. So he used to store ice cream in these like metal containers, and so I was just like looking at all this stuff and that's why, like, a lot of the messaging in August is like stainless steel, a lot of metal, cold, and yeah, I was like really inspired by this gentleman and I almost thought of myself as Augustus, like I was like man you know, I don't want to leave this planet without like leaving some legacy, and you know, apparently he made all these improvements, but he didn't patent any of his ideas.
Speaker 2:
But he's known in the ice cream community as like a godfather.
Speaker 2:
So, yeah, I wanted to tell a story with that. And then, you know, somebody asked me I was like yo, would you ever make dairy like ice cream? And I was like, yeah, if I find a black dairy farmer like I want to. I think like doing the storytelling around black dairy farmers is just as important, because it's a niche, like there's not many out there. So it's like, yeah, I can make dairy ice cream, but why there's so much dairy in the world but black dairy farmer there's not many of those. So, yeah, put some highlight on that and tell some storytelling around that. And if we only make 50 liters, that's all we got.
Speaker 1:
What about? Entrepreneurship is not what you expect.
Speaker 2:
I don't know. I never looked at other people to be like, oh, I want to be an entrepreneur because that looks fun. I just really wanted to do something on my own. I really wanted to. I love working for people. I, I, I love it Like, I think it's great and I think everyone should work for somebody to not just gain experience and be in the field but and make money, but it's, it's a great place to to sort of get foundation to do the next steps. But I think, like when there comes a point where you don't necessarily want to like, you want to forge your own path.
Speaker 2:
I think that's when, yeah, you have to make your own thing and that's what I wanted to do. I was like man I just want to make my own thing and I want to create. I just, I was like man. I just want to make my own thing and I want to create a community of thinkers around like I want to create my own sort of community and it's super hard, like no one told me. Like you know, I listen to podcasts now but and I don't even think I'm nearly successful, I don't even think I scratched the surface.
Speaker 2:
I haven't even started. Like you know, I'm like I'm still on day zero, but it's super hard, the balancing act. I say we, but it's really me. I have some great people, whether it's my wife or friends, and people like you, cindy, who are in the brain trust of like helping me do this stuff. But yeah, it's a challenge, everything is a challenge.
Speaker 1:
You mentioned it sort of in passing before, but I'm going to return to it. You are an alum of Noma in Copenhagen.
Speaker 2:
I am.
Speaker 1:
Five-time Best Restaurant in the World winner.
Speaker 2:
They did that. Y'all world winner, they did that.
Speaker 1:
Y'all did that. How did that come about?
Speaker 2:
What going?
Speaker 1:
to yeah, how'd you land that?
Speaker 2:
one. I mean, yeah, first and foremost God, God's the creator of all things. But yeah, I think it was just probably just yeah, the timing, Everything is timing. And you know, just by chance. Unfortunately WD-50 was closing in 2014. Sad moment, but yeah, at that time 2014, I was contacted by Rocio Sanchez, who was the current pastry chef at the time, and me and Rocio are friends. We go way back.
Speaker 2:
I actually replaced her when she was a sous chef at WD-50. I replaced her when she went to Noma and she contacted me. She was like yo, I'm about to open a taqueria. Um, she's like we're looking for a pastry chef. She's like I think you should apply. I was like what, no way? She's like, yeah, you should do it, I think it'd be great. And so I talked to my wife. I was like yo, what do you think? Like Copenhagen? Like you know I, I didn't. After WD-50 was closing, like I was for sure. Like I was like I'm gonna start ice cream. Like you know, I, I didn't necessarily think like going to Europe was going to define me as a cook. I felt like New York was just the mecca of restaurants there's so many great restaurants, so many chefs.
Speaker 2:
So even if I wasn't going into ice cream on my own directly, I can learn and still further my craft within America, in New York. I really believe that at the time of the food that was being put out, I discussed with my wife. She's like yo, you should go, Like we should, you should do this, Like this is going to be life-changing. And so I applied, got contacted by the restaurant. They're like we'd love to have you and, yeah, restless history. But you know, I worked at the restaurant and you know, eventually, like you know, Rene was my boss but eventually got really close, really great friends. He's like one of my best friends, like talk all the time, super incredible mentor. And, by the way, I'm just going to like hype him up right now he's got a show coming out on Apple TV called Omnivore. It's like four years in the making.
Speaker 2:
This is going to be an incredible, incredible food show, doc slash journey journey, it's, it's, it is beautiful, so I I'm looking forward to it yeah, I encourage you to watch it, everyone listening there's, there's no, there's no question.
Speaker 1:
Is there something that you learned at noma that has become part of your, part of the, your pastry dna, or how you operate, or how you think, or how you look at ingredients or textures?
Speaker 2:
There's so many things, I can't name one specifically, but I will say, after working there, you'll never work the same. There was a time there was an Olympic athlete who is staging and they I mean I wasn't there, this is like I'm repeating a story from somewhere else. I didn't meet this person, but apparently this Olympic athlete said working at Noma is as hard or harder than training for the Olympics, because what you guys do, or what you all do, is a sport like this, and it truly is. I mean the level of efficiency and just the level of care, and it's just so incredibly high. It's the Super Bowl every single day. It is fireworks every single day, it doesn't matter if it's Tuesday or Thursday, it's fireworks.
Speaker 2:
And you know when you come in, you know you got to be ready for this, you got to be ready for this like concert. And I think that, knowing that there's a certain way that you work, you, you want to be set up, you want to know every detail, you want to be prepared as over prepared as possible. And I think one you know Dan Giust, who was the head chef when I was there. I remember he said yo, when people come to Noma, like you got to remember like this is the most important day of their life. And he's like I'm serious about this. He's like people book months, years in advance. People get on planes, they're canceling stuff they're they're doing, they're proposed, they're. This is an event in someone's life and you're, you have a small piece of that.
Speaker 2:
And if you fuck that up, it fucks up the experience, yeah so, like when he said that to me, I was like man, that hits different. It makes you, it makes you care a little bit more, because you realize this is really important. You're not just cutting a cucumber, you're cutting the best cucumbers for that person. That table is special, just like all the other tables are special. That restaurant makes everyone feel extremely special. There's no VIPs. We call them friends.
Speaker 1:
That is beautiful, you know there's a show and it's called the bear. Are you familiar with it? Never heard of it, never heard of it.
Speaker 2:
Okay, okay, so there is a character on the Bear and his name is Marcus, and are you familiar with that character? I'm familiar with.
Speaker 1:
Marcus. Okay, it is said that Marcus was modeled after you. You're nodding your head, so would that be correct?
Speaker 2:
That is what they say. Yes, that is correct.
Speaker 1:
How does that feel?
Speaker 2:
Ah, super grateful, Super grateful that people recognize my work and even want to my work and even want to um think of me in that way, like I'm. I'm very grateful.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's no words when you, it leaves you speechless, absolutely. When you first found out, what did you think? Uh or when you're first. You know when someone first told you, or yeah I.
Speaker 2:
I mean, when I watched the show, I was just like wow, like I just yeah, I, I was speechless and um, just super grateful that people are recognizing the work you know, um, and recognize me as a talent and they want to inspire a character off of me. That's like what.
Speaker 1:
Mind-blowing, mind-blowing. So when you watch the show and you see, and there's a scene with Marcus, do you see yourself?
Speaker 2:
I see parts of me and I don't see like my full self, but I see I see inspired parts. I see, yeah, I definitely see it for sure.
Speaker 1:
That's got to be a super proud moment, and so few people in the world will ever have that experience as you've had have that experience, as you've had.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I'm beyond grateful I don't even know the words to say, because I'm so grateful for it Like it's, like. No, the feeling that I feel is it's. I can't even put a word to it. It's unexpressible. It's like it's just insideible. It's like it's just inside. I'm like, oh, my goodness, like it's. You know, it doesn't make me feel like, wow, look at me.
Speaker 1:
It's like whoa, like this stops you, detracts it stops you.
Speaker 2:
It's. It's like wow, like someone thought to do that. That's like super thoughtful.
Speaker 1:
So I have before me a silver package Maybe it's four inches by eight inches, ten inches, and it says August on it and then on the back it has flavor and nutritionals etc. So I'm going to open it. A little AMSR here, wow, okay. So what I just pulled out is a bar that is 3D and it is bright, reddish pink in the most beautiful way. Yeah, all right. So I'm going to cut this. I know, which is like so terrible that I'm cutting something like this.
Speaker 2:
It's cuttable.
Speaker 1:
I know I've done it, it's cuttable Oops oh sorry. No, no, you take the first one. Oops, oh, sorry.
Speaker 2:
No, no, you take the first one.
Speaker 1:
Well, no, I'm going to.
Speaker 2:
It's like you know you got to take the first slice.
Speaker 1:
Well, all right, so here we go. I'm going to taste this. It is white on the inside, it is red on the outside, and Mm.
Speaker 1:
Mm-hmm outside, and the first thing that hits for me is a strawberry that it comes in, you know, it comes in strong from the moment it hits my tongue. The second thing is, once you're past the shell, if you will, the texture changes. So it's interesting to the palate, texturally. And then this, the, the center, is you know how sometimes you get ice cream or something, and it it's icy or there's graininess in it. You know, you know I'm talking about right? Yep, you don't have that here. This is that perfect gravy that we talked about. Yeah.
Speaker 2:
And this is right out of the deep freeze and we're able to slice and cut it and eat it. Um so yeah, over time, like when that eating experience just keeps getting delicious and better and it's very refined yeah. I appreciate that. I will say that you know it's not refined.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I appreciate that I will say that. You know, it's not like a um, it's not like a popsicle, brown popsicle. It's not even a creamsicle yeah, some people.
Speaker 2:
It's funny. Some people thought like, when they see it, they they reference it as a popsicle and I, I. They're like, oh, I'm sorry, I call it popsicle. I and they're like, oh, I'm sorry, I call it a popsicle. I was like, no, I'm not offended. I mean, it looks like a popsicle, right, but this is not. It's a molded bar, but what do you call it? I'm just saying it's an ice cream bar, I mean. Or yeah, this is an August.
Speaker 1:
This is an August bar, it doesn't. You can.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, this is an August bar. You can't even define it. It's just defined by August bar, that's it.
Speaker 1:
I call it a nut-free, dairy-free gelato bar.
Speaker 2:
And that's so cool that you reference it as gelato, because that's like the ultimate compliment, because it's like gelato, is rich, um very smooth, so, and I think that's what is here.
Speaker 2:
So that's tell me about the coating. Uh, and this one is a strawberry. I call it like an ice candy. So the coating is um made from strawberries. I I actually use Harry's berries and yeah, it's just seasoned with a bit of agave and some acidity from some lime. I think lime just amplifies berries in general. And yeah, like, once that coating is made, um, I dip the molded ice cream bar into that coating to create a very thin shell, and it because the ice cream is so cold the coating freezes instantly. And yeah, then I package them um.
Speaker 1:
But yeah it's I.
Speaker 2:
I just remember, like in you know, my journey of of cooking like I loved. I think like one dessert I made was like a granita.
Speaker 1:
And.
Speaker 2:
I just don't remember the refreshingness of a granita and I always love like granita and cream.
Speaker 1:
Kind of affogato in nature.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it's just so refreshing and I think like you need that sometimes with ice cream, at least for me, like I love the balance of how the strawberry almost cleans your palate from eating the rich vanilla ice cream and then I almost love how they're two separate flavors, but it almost feels like you're eating a strawberry ice cream bar. It does. Growing up. This is really bad, I guess, but I loved strawberry ice cream from Breyers.
Speaker 1:
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:
And I loved the frozen strawberry bits.
Speaker 1:
Oh, they killed your teeth.
Speaker 2:
They like, you know it's just like stuck in it and you know it's like icy and hard, yes, and that's you know. I think this is a better version of that. But like again, like I'm always like hitting'm always hitting those nostalgia points because it's relatable. I'm pretty sure most people have had Breyer's strawberry ice cream and you know what I'm talking about when I say the frozen strawberry?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, they're weapons.
Speaker 2:
So yeah, and I like that when I eat that it reminds me of that.
Speaker 1:
Chef, this has been an honor to sit with you and talk with you, and it is an even greater honor to know you, and it's the ultimate honor for you to have said that this is now your home. That means a great deal to me.
Speaker 2:
So you know, got to hit it with the. So, yeah, absolutely, this is all. It's all personal truth. Man, this is Crafted's a great place, not just to me, but I think as a whole. How you treat people, all the chefs here, creatives, cooks you welcome them and yeah, it's tough out here and you know it's good to have an ally. It's like this is like the, the sort of like culinary commercial kitchen Avengers universe here, and you know it's a sandbox.
Speaker 2:
It's a sandbox, so, yeah, this, this is the place to be, so I appreciate you. Well, I appreciate that. And it's a sandbox, so yeah, this, this is the place to be, so I appreciate you well, I appreciate that and it's a wrap it's a wrap, thank you.
