Keeping chaos off the menu

After more than 15 years with his original partners, Boston-based chef and restaurateur Jamie Bissonnette, founding partner of hospitality group BCB3, is navigating a new chapter: one defined by collaboration, patience and a whole lot of multitasking. 

Now working alongside longtime friends Andy Cartin and Babak Bina, he’s opened three new concepts—Somaek, Sushi@ and Temple Records—all within arm’s reach of one another in Boston’s Downtown Crossing.

We spoke with the James Beard Award-winning Bissonnette about learning to compromise, managing multiple restaurants at once and the kind of leadership that fuels growth.

— Interview by Kelly Dobkin, edited by Lesley McKenzie

You’re working with new partners after 15 years. What was that transition like for you?

Working with Andy and Babak is awesome. We've known each other for so long and work really well together. Change always involves some work, but it's been so rad. When we started planning Somaek, Sushi@ and Temple Records, it was sometimes hard to know when and where to compromise, as we all wanted to respect each other’s points of view. Now, two years in, we just know. It’s so great to be aligned!

Together, you have opened three new restaurants basically all at once. What was it like managing so many new projects in close proximity?

It’s tricky for sure, but it’s three-in-one. We share the back office and kitchen, which makes it a little easier. All the hot food comes off one line. Surprisingly, it’s been easier than expected but certainly not without its hurdles. Knowing that if we need to put out a fire (figuratively speaking), we can just walk into the next room is super rad.

What advice do you have for chef/owners managing multiple concepts at once, such as yourself?

Stay calm and hope that they’re close to each other. Be patient and plan everything. In one restaurant, it can be easy to wing it, but with multiple, too much winging it can cause chaos. Write out and think through all possible scenarios, and you’ll be more ready for them and for the ones you didn’t think were possible but happen anyway.

(Above: Somaek. (Courtesy Brian Samuels Photography)

What values and/or leadership style do you think make you successful as a chef/operator?  

Impact is important. Just being at work is different from making an impact at work when you’re a leader. I used to come into the kitchen at 8 a.m. and just start. Some days, I’d get so much prep done but none of the planning. It took a while to realize that while the team appreciated the help with prep, what they really needed to grow was the attention to detail in planning.

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The Prep is written by Kelly Dobkin and edited by Lesley McKenzie.