Tableside Talks: Eddie Moreau of Marrow Detroit
Eddie Moreau is currently the Chef De Cuisine of Marrow Detroit. Eddie grew up on Nantucket Island and started cooking at the age of 12. He spent summers on Nantucket cooking seasonal cuisine at various establishments, most notably American Seasons under Michael LaScola.
After graduating from the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt., Eddie cooked throughout New England. In Boston, he began managing restaurants under Chris Parsons and Matthew Jennings.
Eddie then moved to Portland, Maine, where he became Chef de Cuisine and partner at Central Provisions and further immersed himself into New England fare. Continuing his knowledge of sustainable cooking and broadening his New England roots, he’s now proud to continue his culinary journey in Michigan.
Welcome in, Eddie!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Cassie Francisco (Tableside): What was the most impactful piece of advice you received about leadership?
Eddie Moreau: When I was an intern on Nantucket, my mentor was Mike LaScola, who always said, “cooking is the easy part.” I never really understood what that meant until I started in management. I realized that he was absolutely correct. You can be the best, but you have to bridge that gap with teaching and mentoring young minds and making sure that they're getting the best out of what you're trying to get to them. And that's all about language, empathy, direction, positivity, and just growth, not only for the cook, but yourself and just kind of pivoting constantly.
Cassie: What's your favorite thing about leading in hospitality?
Eddie: I would say the passion that I see with young cooks. Obviously it's a consuming job and every day is different. Every day is essentially a long day, so it's really positive for me to see young cooks come to you with an idea that they were inspired from their grandmother or inspired from their own travels. And then you're trying to basically lead them down the best path that you possibly can.
That being said, I love the network that we're in. The culinary industry in itself is a great, small little world, where everyone kind of knows everyone. It's always nice to reach out to old friends, get connected with new friends. In the hospitality industry in itself, when you're leading in it, it's great to see other leaders doing what they want to do and the impact that they're having on their own little communities.
Cassie: In times of crisis or uncertainty, what do you do to maintain high morale with your team?
Eddie: My dad was really big into team sports. I learned camaraderie really early in life, and through him, seeing how he handles stress. He kind of takes it on as a challenge of remaining positive, remaining calm, but also demonstrating what we're doing in that timeframe and why we're doing it in that place.
Being that beacon of positivity and keeping everyone grounded is very important. You always want to look to someone that doesn't really falter, or when they do falter, they admit mistakes and is always very transparent. So, I would try to remain positive, work as hard as I can, to keep the ball rolling in a positive direction. But if I can't, asking for help. Making sure that I'm being as transparent and positive with my team as possible.
Cassie: Okay, so possibly the toughest question of all to wrap it up. You have one condiment in your refrigerator. What is it and why?
Eddie: It's kind of a chef answer, but we're a huge herb house. If there’s anything in my fridge that's about to kick the bucket or die, we chop it up and make a condiment out of it. It's not a chimichurri, it's not a salsa verde, but it goes on everything from eggs to fish to beef to potatoes and vegetables.
Cassie: Well, thank you so much, Eddie, for joining us on Tableside Talks and sharing some of your lessons in hospitality leadership.
