Michael Bryer’s introduction to large scale food preparation was far removed from the French-inspired cuisine he prepares now. The senior executive chef at downtown eateries Maynards Market & Kitchen and Cup Café, got an early start in food service by helping those most in need.
“My first exposure was through my mother. She used to volunteer at shelters in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and she used to take us down when we were 10 years old to help in those kitchens,” Bryer said.
That early experience had an impact and years later he gravitated back to the kitchen.
“My first job was in a family-owned Italian restaurant in Monroe, Connecticut, and that’s where the cooking bug really took hold,” he said.
Bryer trained to be a chef at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, before taking a job as a corporate chef in Cleveland, Ohio, where he ran four franchise restaurants. He moved to Tucson at the suggestion of his sister, who was living in the Old Pueblo.
“I was talking to her one day and she said, ‘Move out here,’ and I did and I love it. I listened to her and it was one of the best decisions I ever made,” Bryer said.
In 2009, Bryer began working for Cup Café in the Hotel Congress. When the owners, Richard and Shana Oseran, opened Maynards across the street, he became senior executive chef at both locations.
“My focus right now is Maynards Market & Kitchen,” Bryer said. “Both restaurants strive to provide extremely high-quality food and a great guest experience. Cup Café has more of an upscale American casual theme and Maynards Market & Kitchen has more of a fine dining French cuisine with a modern twist.
“One thing I do love are the techniques taught by French cooking and Italian cooking and those techniques can be transferred into a multitude of different ingredients.”
What is one skill or technique every cook should know?
“Braised meats are always a fantastic technique. You typically have a not very expensive cut of meat and you can make a fantastic meal. It speaks to the heart. When I talk about braised meats I talk about pot roast (and) short rib, which is something we have on our menu.
“The other type of cooking I like to do is working with seafood. Meat from a cow, every piece of the animal taste same for the most part, the same for pork, but when you’re dealing with seafood, you are dealing with a whole multitude of textures, flavors and cooking techniques that can be applied.
“I love poaching seafood in butter. That’s what’s great about seafood, too, you can use just about every kind of cooking technique you can come up with and apply it to seafood.”
What is your favorite ingredient?
“I would say onions are one of my favorite ingredients. There are all types, different sorts of onions you can play with. You’ve got wild leeks, yellow onions, scallions, Vidalia onions, I can go on and on about the different types of onions. You can have a different effect depending on how you want to use them.”
What is your most innovative food pairing to date?
“Simplicity is always usually best. I love a beautiful piece of fish with a couple different kinds of onions and then, basically, baked.”
What do you cook at home?
“Favorite go-to is freshly made pasta with ingredients from my garden. That’s what I do at home. Right now I’m growing eggplant, just about every herb you can imagine, tomatoes, a couple varieties of kale … corn and lots of tomatoes and lots of peppers.
“My favorite go-to dish would be fresh, homemade pasta and all the fresh vegetables and herbs from my garden and butter. I like to start with olive oil and a touch of butter. It seems to bring out the flavor of the vegetables a little bit more. It gives a base flavor to all of them. Just a little bit of butter right at the end makes it very nice.”
