This week’s guest arrived in Chicago during a brutal winter storm. Jose Sosa was sixteen, newly arrived from Mexico, spoke very little English, and needed a job. An uncle helped him get in the door as a dishwasher, and from there Jose built a remarkable career: eighteen years with Gibson’s Restaurant Group, including opening Gibson’s Italia; a stint opening UMMO with Carlos Gaytán; and now The Greggory, where he’s chef and partner alongside longtime colleagues Gregg Horan and Bill Veremis. We couldn’t help ourselves and spend a healthy amount of time talking steak technique, diving into tempering, cast-iron cooking, dry aging, beef tallow, and the art of getting an even cook on a bone-in steak. Along the way, we hear about coming in hours early for free just to learn knife skills, the brunch service that got so crushed Greg had to start running trays himself, and the prep cook Jose sent home on day one for refusing to stop massacring a pile of beets, and so much more!
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