Long before his career in the kitchen, chef Paul Keyser was being nourished — generously — by two grandmothers with distinct culinary traditions. One was Irish and specialized in baking; the other hailed from Italy and relished keeping the family well fed.
At the latter’s house, Keyser could count on a pot of gravy simmering on the stove, usually with meatballs and fennel sausage — a dish he enjoyed more times than he can count. Today, Keyser is cooking Italian food just like his nonna did, although it would probably be fair to say his flavors are a tad more refined.
Keyser is the executive chef at Mika, an upscale restaurant in Coral Gables opened by chef Michael White, formerly of New York City’s Italian seafood paragon Marea. Over more than two decades, time spent in talent-rich kitchens has helped shape Keyser’s path.
Menu items at Mika
Photos courtesy of MIKA
“I was very fortunate to have some amazing mentors,” says the 34-year-old Keyser, “such as Gordon Ramsay’s chef James Avery from Fox’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’; Robert Zwirz, who was the executive chef at Babbo and Lupa in New York City; and, obviously, chef Michael White.”
During his tenure with each, Keyser learned not only the wide range of Italian cooking beyond sausage and meatballs, but also how to successfully lead a professional kitchen. White, in particular, helped define Keyser’s style and remains one of his greatest influences. “Watching him cook,” Keyser says, “is like being able to watch Picasso paint live in front of you.”
Fusilli with wine-braised octopus and bone marrow
Keyser often points to one of White’s signature dishes — Fusilli with wine-braised octopus and bone marrow — as a prime example of the chef’s ability to create something that lingers long after the last bite.
“He gives you things you never knew you wanted until you eat his food,” Keyser says.
“Everything is so simple, yet highly complex in its preparation. His nuanced detail is something that I use every day.”
Their similar approaches in the kitchen is one of the reasons the two chefs work so well together. Rather than overwhelming a dish with multiple components, their goal is to pare it down to the essentials, allowing the ingredients and techniques to shine.
“If we are doing a classic, like a gnocchi al pomodoro,” Keyser says, “you know it is going to be the best sauce and best ricotta gnocchi you have ever had in your life.”
Gnocchi
At Mika, the team rolls fresh pasta daily at 7 a.m., the early hour in part to avoid local challenges such as humidity, which can affect the dough. Beyond that, there are different flours, textures and even egg sizes to contend with.
“It is a living, dynamic thing that the recipe is simply the guide [for],” Keyser says. “The art comes from the artist who is making [the pastas] with their hands.”
Dishes like Lobster Burrata with tomatoes, pickled eggplant and basil; Salmon with beluga lentils, butternut squash, guanciale and saffron cream; and a classic preparation of Dover Sole with brown butter, lemon and Sicilian capers demonstrate Keyser’s technique. When creating new dishes, he hesitates to name what exactly serves as his muse.
“It is different every time,” he says. “Sometimes it is an incredible rare ingredient from the fish vendor that’s in season, or it’s truffle season — my favorite. Dishes often start out as one idea and then evolve.”
Spaghetti
Old Fashioned Di Fico
He credits his belief in “simplicity done right” to his professional beginning in New Jersey, where he learned to appreciate local farms, setting high standards for fresh ingredients long before “farm-to-table” became a catchphrase.
“I remember as a young chef being able to go down to the scallop boats in Point Pleasant, N.J., and picking beautiful day boat scallops right off the boat, then bringing them into the restaurant for service that night,” he recalls. “We also had foragers who would forage amazing vegetables all summer long and deliver them in the backs of their trucks.”
Outside of the kitchen, Keyser is a black belt in Kyokushin karate, a full-contact style of martial arts known for its intense physical and mental rigor.
“Being a black belt and a martial artist, you learn to dig deep,” Keyser explains. “There are days when you want to quit, there are days that don’t go your way, there are things that happen that are disappointing. Martial arts teaches you to be extremely headstrong, to persevere and to be able to get into the ring with anyone and fear no challenge.”
Despite the long hours and pressures of the restaurant industry, Keyser says it’s a career he wouldn’t trade for any other.
“It is the best feeling when someone stops you in the dining room and says, ‘This is the best meal I have ever had,’” he says. “We all cook to nourish, to provide an experience to someone that transports them to another place just for a few hours.”
Photo courtesy of MIKA
Lobster Burrata
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
• 1 eggplant (about 1½ pounds), peeled and cut into ¼-inch sticks
• kosher salt
• 1 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup rice wine vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 2 Maine lobsters, 1 to 1¼ pounds each*
• 12 grape tomatoes, peeled and halved†
• 6 oz. burrata
• fresh lemon juice
• basil oil
• 12 large basil leaves
• 1 small handful mâche (lamb’s lettuce) or baby arugula
• flaky sea salt
*You can substitute about 10–12 oz. cooked lobster meat if preferred.
†To peel tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water for about 10 seconds, then transfer to an ice bath; the skins will slip off easily.
PREPARATION
Salt the eggplant sticks and let them drain in a colander for 10 minutes.
In a small saucepan, bring the vinegars, water, sugar and a pinch of salt to a boil. Add the eggplant and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let sit for 30 minutes to lightly pickle. Drain and toss with olive oil.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lobsters and cook for about 7 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath. Remove the meat from the shells and cut into bite-size pieces.
Place the burrata in the center of a serving platter. Toss the lobster with the olive oil, lemon juice and tomatoes.
Arrange the lobster mixture and eggplant around the burrata. Garnish with basil oil, basil leaves and mâche (or arugula). Finish with olive oil and flaky sea salt. Spoon some of the tomato juices and olive oil around the plate so the burrata can be broken and mixed into the dressing. Serve immediately.