“I have a mantra I try to instill in my employees: ‘How do we make it better than it was today? How can I be better tomorrow than I was today?’”
“The origins of all food come from a wood fire.”
Justin Bazdarich
Chef
Justin will tell you he’s made plenty of mistakes throughout his culinary career. His secret to success, though, is that he’s never made the same mistake twice. Justin’s culinary career began after dropping out of college and taking an internship under Jean-Georges Vongerichten. He quickly moved from intern to line cook to chef de cuisine, eventually helping Jean-Georges open more than 15 restaurants all over the world. During this time, he learned how to manage a restaurant and even how to roll a ball of dough—which later came in handy when he opened Speedy Romeo in Brooklyn, New York. Now he runs three popular eateries in New York City, earning him some serious culinary cred.
Justin’s signature touch is his use of a wood-fired oven. It’s the secret ingredient that gives his meaty dishes at Oxomoco their smokey flavor and the pizzas at Speedy Romeo their spotted crusts. What’s in store for the future? Maybe a French bistro or a Middle Eastern restaurant—each with a wood-fired oven, of course.