Together As One

The day we chatted with award-Winning chefs (and husband and wife) Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth, Booth was home caring for one of their young daughters who was under the weather. The couple, parents to Bryce, 9, Sunny, 5 and Daisy, 2, recount how their shared love of family was one of the things that drew them together when they first met.

“I’m very close to my family and he’s very close with his,” Booth says, adding that even though they hail from opposite ends of the world (she from Australia, he from Florida’s panhandle) there are a lot of similarities with how they were raised.

“We both grew up by the water and both loved fishing and going to the beach,” she adds.

As a young teen, McInnis, 44, landed a job working as a dishwasher for someone whose boat he used to clean. That first night on the job the sous chef injured himself cutting fish and McInnis jumped in to help.

“It was fun and I kind of saved the day,” he says, recalling the first of many accolades that would follow him in the kitchen in the years to come.

After graduating from high school, he headed to culinary school, noting the hectic lifestyle of a chef suited him well. “I’m extremely ADD so all the crazy things that happen at the same time, having to juggle 20 things at once, became good to me,” he says.

Booth’s trajectory was clear from the start. Her father owned restaurants, so she grew up around the industry, knowing early on that she wanted to become a chef. That education included traveling throughout Europe and Asia, learning and tasting as many cuisines as she could. Eventually, she landed in Miami, working in some of the city’s most lauded restaurants and competing in Bravo’s show “Top Chef” (McInnis was also on the show in an earlier season).

The two met in Miami working at Gigi in Midtown Miami, eventually becoming partners in business and life. Together with local restaurant group Grove Bay Hospitality Group, they opened their first restaurant, Root & Bone in New York in 2014. They’re now behind three popular eateries in Miami — Root & Bone, Stiltsville Fish Bar and Mi’Talia Kitchen & Bar, and have several other projects in the works, including a 3-story multi-eatery location on the shores of Lake Michigan. When asked about working together, McInnis is quick to answer, “Ah, it’s amazing! I mean, I wouldn’t advise it to every married couple,” to which Booth, 34, responds with a hearty laugh.

McInnis clarifies his point, “There’s working together and then there’s opening a restaurant together: those are two totally different things. If you have an office environment that’s 9 to 5 and all the holidays off and you’re working with your partner, and you’re in your cubicle and they’re in their cubicle, and you take lunch breaks together — that’s all cute and fun. I would love to do that with Janine! We’ve never had the ability to work together like that. It’s always been breaking it and trying to fix it and just putting it back together. We kind of learned with trial by fire with most of the restaurant openings. It’s very hard. I’m not going to lie to you.”

Still, it’s this tried-and-true formula they’ve built together that has forged their path towards success and brought them closer overall. That includes cooking at home a lot, not just for private parties and catering events, but for the family as well.

“Any given opportunity, we have all these little step stools in the kitchen, and we get our girls involved in any way we can. They love learning about cooking and learning about how to eat healthy and it’s really nice. They’re all really into it,” Booth says.

When asked to describe their cooking style, beyond Booth’s commitment to “keep things on the lighter side but fun and flavorful” they prefer not to be pigeon-holed into one particular type of cuisine, even though McInnis admits he’s known to many as “a Southern guy,” and his Fried Chicken Brined in Sweet Tea speaks volumes on his incredible talent when it comes to soul food.

“I guess my favorite way to cook is something new,” McInnis says. “Something interesting or something that I haven’t eaten or eaten but haven’t been able to do before. I’m 44 now so I have to try to do new things otherwise I’ll just fall into cooking the same thing I’ve always cooked. Janine is young and still hip, and she keeps me in shape, I think. She’s always coming up with these great ideas,” he adds.

Of course, managing their hectic, albeit rewarding, lifestyle is a team effort.

“We’ve gotten to a point where we know each other, we know what our strengths are and where our weaknesses lie, and we actually balance each other out in that way ­— the things that I am stronger or good at are not necessarily Jeff’s strengths and vice versa. We have three kids, so we’ve had to learn and adapt and figure out how to work with the family now,” Booth says. 

Love Rice Serves

Serves 10-14

“Great for large family gatherings, this dish is always a crowd-pleaser and goes well with everything. It has made an appearance in our restaurant menus over the years and is always a big hit with our diners.”

— Jeff McInnis

Ingredients:

½ cup pistachios

½ cup pine nuts

1 quart Basmati rice, rinsed very well until water is clear

1 oz. orange peel, peeled with peeler and julienned

1 cup sugar, to make simple syrup

1 carrot, julienned

¼ cups barberries/currants, steeped in warm water and drained

½ tsp. saffron threads, steeped in 2 cups hot water

4 oz. butter

¼ cup olive oil

2 large white onions, diced small

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. ground coriander

2 tsp. turmeric

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup rose petals, stems removed and soaked in a little water

Preparation:

In mixing bowl toss pine nuts and pistachios with 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper and place on sheet pan. Toast in oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-7 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool.

Heat sugar and 2 quarts water to a boil and add orange peel and carrots. Simmer for 1 minute until carrots are al dente. Drain and set carrots and orange peel aside until needed.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, blanch rice for 5 minutes until almost cooked and drain completely. Place rice in mixing bowl and toss with half of the saffron liquid and mix until rice is evenly yellow. Spread rice on sheet trays and cool to room temperature.

In a large pot over medium/high heat, sauté onions in ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add salt and spices and remaining saffron liquid, stir until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add fruit, nuts, carrots and orange peel and sauté 1 minute. Strain the rose petals and add to the mix tossing and stirring well.

Cool onion/fruit/nut mixture on sheet pans. Toss only 75% of the onion/fruit/nut mix and all the cooled rice together in another large mixing bowl until evenly mixed. Wash your hands and use your hands if you wish. Break up the rose petals if they are clumping together. Taste for seasoning and if necessary, season with more salt and pepper.

Depending on your style of service you can select one large serving pan, something like a cast iron or paella pan works best, or you can serve in several individual small pans if you like.  Grease the bottom of the pan or pans with just enough butter to coat the pan and the interior sides of the pan. Add the rice to the buttered pan. Sprinkle the rice in the pan with the remaining nut/fruit/onion mixture.

When ready for serving, simply heat cast iron pan directly on the stovetop and sizzle the rice for 4 minutes to lightly brown (careful not to burn). Add a couple of tablespoons of butter over the top of the rice then cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-15 minutes until hot.

Remove from the oven and top with any extra garnishes you may have. Get creative: a pinch or two of pine nuts, pistachios, currants, raisins, fresh herbs, coconut flakes, pomegranate seeds, fresh rose petals or orange segments work wonderfully. Serve with chicken, fish or simply on its own as an incredible vegetarian dish.