Michael Schlow, Chef and Restaurateur – A Recipe for Success

For a memorable meal and hospitable warmth that melts a cold New England chill, many people dine at Radius, Boston's only 4-star restaurant to rate a top-25 national ranking by Gourmet magazine.

Michael Schlow, creator, chef and managing proprietor of Radius, says that his French cuisine restaurant uses only the finest and freshest seasonal ingredients as part of a unique menu that changes frequently with creative whimsy.

"Our goal is to provide a great meal, great ambience and fantastic service so that the passion for what we do comes through to our guests," he asserts, adding that Radius has no dress code because it aims to attract an eclectic clientele by being "upscale but not stuffy."

The man once named "top chef in the northeast," as the winner of the coveted James Beard Award for Excellence, has enjoyed quite a career, preparing special meals for local and international celebrities, including various Boston sports heroes, Mick Jagger, and even leading culinary artists like the late Julia Child.

Schlow credits his success to passions he picked up and values he learned as a child growing up in Brooklyn, New York, as well as his "ground-up" training in the hospitality industry.

"My mom was a great cook, and I was already doing things in the kitchen when I was 10," he recalls, adding that his father taught him the value of giving his best to any endeavor. "I remember getting ready to leave the house for an interview to get a job at a car wash, and my dad stopped me from going in a t-shirt and jeans," says Schlow. "He made me change into slacks and a buttoned shirt and told me to 'show the job some respect.'" Boston's best chef also credits his parents for "using the dinner table to teach manners, politeness and respect."

Schlow applied what he learned about respect to every job he held, starting as a dishwasher at age 14. Growing up, he continued to hold down various restaurant jobs, mostly while working through college (where he also worked on a 90 mile-per-hour fastball until he suffered an unfortunate baseball injury).

By the time he left college and then graduated from the Academy of CulinaryArts in Mays Landing,New Jersey, Schlow had swept floors, bussed tables, served drinks as a bartender, and done prep work for numerous chefs. "That experience taught me that no job is beneath me, and it forced me to learn every job in the restaurant business before I opened my own restaurant," he recalls."Even today, I will still grab a broom or slice garlic because it is so important for staff to see the owner's attitude about doing whatever needs to get done for your guests."

After completing his schooling, Schlow got a chance to assist and learn from some of the best chefs inWashington,D.C. and the city of NewYork.Then, in 1995, he came to Boston as the chef and manager of Café Louis on Newbury Street, and that is where he set the template for his future success. "I always said,'You have to check your personal life at the door in this business, and take care of your guests,'" he remembers, adding that "you have to take immediate care of all their problems and needs and put them first."

One summer evening at 11:30 p.m. after Schlow had closed the register and started cleaning the kitchen, he got to put those words into action. "I saw three people coming up the stairs, and when they saw us closing, they started to walk away," he recalls. But when he learned that they had spent hours waiting for a table at another restaurant only to wait for another 90 minutes without being served, he couldn't turn them away. "I sat them at a table outside, brought them a house wine to serve for themselves, and whipped up a pretty basic salad and pasta dish so they would not go away hungry," Schlow remembers, adding that he charged nothing for the "quickie" meal. The three patrons became life-time customers and friends, following Schlow to his Radius opening in 1998 and to other restaurants he has opened since then.

That commitment to building relationships is something the Boston chef values in his lawyers too. "It's all about the relationship with Joe Volman [of Burns & Levinson], and I respect that," says Schlow, who notes that "we had an easy, mutual understanding right away" after being introduced by a mutual friend.

"I know that Joe is on my team and not just looking for ways to bill me," Schlow elaborates, adding that "he kind of reminds me of my dad, who believed that clients will come back because you treat them right, just like guests."

In fact, after setting up his corporate entities, Schlow has come back for extra servings of legal assistance with real estate leasing, trademarks, licensing agreements, and all kinds of contracts and general advice. "Joe has a creative mind, and he figures out not just how to protect me but how to elevate my business and profitability," says Schlow.

The renowned chef now has three newer business concepts that also benefit from periodic legal assistance: Via Matta, located across from the Park Plaza Hotel and featuring authentic Italian dishes inspired by cooking in Tuscany and the Amalfi coast; Great Bay, located in the Hotel Commonwealth of Kenmore Square and offering fresh, seasonal seafood dishes as part of a creative menu that changes daily; and Alta Strada, located inWellesley Square (and soon coming to Foxwoods) offering casual Italian food and market goods.

Not one to sit still, Schlow has even authored a cookbook now called,"It's About Time: Great Recipes for Everyday Life." He credits his parents for inspiring his work, saying that "a great meal is more than just a meal - it's something that brings people together."

This interview was published in the Winter 2008 issue
of our newsletter, Focus
Click here to view the entire 2008 Winter Focus