Cuisine has been one of Detroit's crown jewels since it opened in 2001. Most recently, Cuisine was awarded the 2024 Detroit Free Press Restaurant of the Year Classic, and the restaurant owner, Chef Paul Grosz was also the recipient of the 2024 Sylvia Rector Lifetime Achievement Award for Hospitality.
As a one-time Metro Detroit Chef myself, I was fortunate to have Chef Paul working for him when Paul was 19, and I was a young, brash, 23-year-old chef running the 42-seat kitchen of Raphaels. So being able to feature Chef Paul in our story of Detroit: The City of Chefs is pretty special, taking into account the longevity of his desire to keep serving up French cooking to French foodies.
The reason for this filming session was to capture the energy of a typical dinner service and to witness firsthand how his culinary brigade operates. It was a magical environment with very little conversation, only short, concise direction given by Chef Paul as he managed the dinner service like a conductor of a symphony. His kitchen team is made up of mostly women, who are either students or graduates of the Schoolcraft College's culinary program where Chef Paul also teaches.
Hard work, passion, and a professional attitude in school could allow you to be hand picked to gain real cooking experience in one of the nation’s most celebrated restaurants just like Sous Chef Jordan Demchak, a recent graduate of Schoolcraft. The Sous Chef is a leader and runs the kitchen when the chef is not there and is responsible for the preparation of the dishes on the menu.
We were able to film Chef Paul accepting a delivery of fresh seafood, including Sablefish just out of the Canadian waters, probably 24 hours earlier. The delivery came from Motor City Seafood, a supplier to most of the leading restaurants in Detroit. Co-founders and husband/wife team, Matthew Wiseman and Staci Hayman have each spent 20+ years each in the restaurant industry. Matthew a native New Zealander, ensures the highest quality of fresh seafood for his chef clients.
We wrapped our filming up for the evening as we documented that same fish being served in an eloquent French manner to the dining guests. Chef Paul Grosz truly defines our culinary heritage of longevity and excellence. We are honored to feature Cuisine Restaurant and Chef Paul Grosz in our film, Detroit: The City of Chefs.