Howie Haywood wanted to be a chef since he was a kid in Massachusetts. He grew up watching Julia Child, and he remembers getting to try one of the dishes she'd shown him years later when he was a young, rugby-playing chef in France.
"I thought I was going to start crying," he recalled for our podcast, "The Dish I Miss."
Listen to our free podcast, "The Dish I Miss," where Boston chefs explain what they miss cooking diners during the coronavirus crisis. It's on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Haywood's culinary career took him all over the world, but he eventually landed back in the Boston area as the executive chef of three restaurants: Blackmoor Bar and Kitchen in Charlestown, Olde Magoun's Saloon in Somerville and LongCross Bar and Kitchen in Medford.
In our conversation, Haywood describes how his three restaurants adapted throughout the coronavirus shutdown. He talked about the dish he misses serving most, though what he really misses is the oven he uses to bake it.
All three of Haywood's restaurants are now open for both indoor and outdoor dining, after Gov. Charlie Baker announced that restaurants could resume both outdoor and indoor dining, although the chef is unsure how comfortable customers feel dining indoors just yet.
"This is a new world we live in and I think we just have to get used to the idea that there are germs out there that could be harmful," Haywood said. "The world has to keep going, you know, we can't hide from this. We have to be safe but still live your life."
Listen here, or click the subscribe button to find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, to hear his fascinating journey and find out the dish he misses the most:
