Communal Table Podcast: Paul Kahan

Chefs and restaurant workers take great care of everyone else, but often they need a little help themselves. Each week, Food & Wine senior editor Kat Kinsman talks with hospitality pros about they manage their business, brain, and body for the long haul. Is there a topic you'd like to know more about or a guest you'd love to hear from? Tell us at [email protected] or tweet to Kat @kittenwithawhip, and subscribe to the weekly Food & Wine Pro newsletter. Subscribe to the new Communal Table YouTube page and never miss an episode.

Episode 43: Paul Kahan

Opening just one long-lived, much-loved restaurant in a super-competitive city would be a dream come true for most chefs. Along with his One-Off Hospitality business partners, Paul Kahan has been keeping Chicagoans happily fed since 1997, with restaurants like Blackbird, The Publican, Avec (and plenty others) each offering their own distinct menu, vibe, and area of particular expertise. Yet rather than burning out from all the tasks at hand, Kahan (a 1999 Best New Chef) manages to stay impressively balanced, focused, and always evolving. While he was on the road to promote his new cookbook Cooking for Good Times, Kahan sat down for an open-hearted conversation about leadership, why humility is the key to enduring partnerships, and the power of live music.

Learn more about Paul Kahan: One Off Hospitality

Buy the book: Cooking for Good Times

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Previous episode: Josh Niland