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Street: You’re originally from Roxborough and you went to school in West Philly at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill. How has growing up in Philly shaped your culinary career?
Justin Bogle: It’s crazy. You know, I really never had the intention of cooking for a profession. I graduated high school and went to West Chester University for a year because I figured I needed to go to college after high school. The only jobs I’ve really had were in restaurants. Actually, I worked in a sneaker store for like one day, and got laid off (laughs). I worked in restaurants all during high school and after I came back from West Chester I started working again in restaurants—it just clicked at one point and it all made sense. Then I decided I might as well go to culinary school so I could have that piece of paper that said, “hey I can do this professionally.”
Street: For the past few years you were the head chef at Gilt in New York City, where you received two Michelin stars. What are the big differences between the culinary scene in New York and Philadelphia?
JB: You know, it is really different. In New York you definitely get more of an international crowd. Gilt was in a large hotel, so we definitely got a lot of those diners. There are also more high–end restaurants in New York, so you know New Yorkers are more open to restaurants like this. But Philly is getting there, and people are getting more comfortable with restaurants like this and Fork and Serpico, that are using different ingredients and approaches that aren’t as common now in Philly. Like in New York the diners are more, I wouldn’t say more educated, but they’ve experience more. But Philly’s there man, Philly’s pretty much right there.
Street: Is there a specific aspect of Philadelphia that makes its food scene not just unique but also desirable to be a part of?
JB: Yeah I mean it’s a tight–knit community, the restaurant scene and the chef scene is really close, there’s definitely a lot of comradery, which makes it awesome. In New York you’re kind of like a small fish in a big pond, just like you are in every other industry in New York. But as far as the chefs are concerned, there are so many restaurants, all competing for the same thing. Here in Philly, it’s a little smaller city with that big feel, but the chefs know each other and they’ve all worked together. It’s got that “just a bunch of neighborhood guys” kind of feel.
Street: Avance is your homecoming to Philadelphia. What was the motivation to bring it all back to Philly, and in the old spot of Le Bec Fin?
JB: Honestly, the timing all played out well. A couple of cooks who worked for me in New York were in Philly when le Bec Fin was fading out. Gilt had closed and I was taking some time off, I did a couple pop–ups here and there, and I guess my name kept getting thrown in the hat. They were like “call Justin, call Justin. He’s just sitting on his ass in New York, give him a call” (laughs). And that’s how the whole conversation started. It was kind of a no brainer. But initially the conversation was “come help us rebuild Le Bec Fin, and bring it back to its former glory.” But I didn’t really want any part to do with that; Le Bec Fin was George Perrier’s, so at this point it needed to go to bed. But once the conversation turned to, you know, “what would your concept be, what do you see for the space?” Then I got a phone call, “alright, if you move back to Philly, we’ll go for it.”
Street: What is the overarching philosophy behind Avance?
JB: Avance is progressive American in its approach, in that we are setting a tone for ourselves that we are constantly moving forward, constantly pushing the envelope, just trying to provide a better experience for the guest at all times—whether it’s progressive in how we’re cooking, sourcing produce and ingredients or even how the service staff is attending to tables. We’re always trying to keep it fresh and new, a new experience every time. That’s the goal—to have this ever–evolving restaurant never rests. We just want to keep on moving forward, which translates to the ingredients we use, as well as staying super seasonal, which leads to us constantly changing the menu and letting the seasons of the region really dictate what we’re putting on the plate.
Street: You have quite a few cool gadgets in your kitchen. How does the use of these molecular gastronomy techniques fit into that philosophy?
JB: That’s interesting. Yes we know all these techniques, and we utilize them when necessary, but we don’t want it to overshadow the food. We don’t want it to be what people come to expect or recognize us for. Whether we’re cooking something sou vide, or we’re roasting it over Japanese charcoal, it all depends on what’s gonna get us the best end result and, when they’re needed, we’ll use those fancy gadgets to get us there. But we don’t want it to speak for use; we want the product to.
Street: Do you think that kind of flexibility and openness to incorporating a wide range of techniques is a very American approach to cuisine?
JB: I just think, for me, it’s a maturity thing. You know, when I first took over at Gilt, I was a young chef looking for recognition, and I was like “how can I get all these crazy techniques and combos onto one plate.” But as you mature, you don’t want those things to speak for you, so you start subtracting things, you start filing it down to what is actually the best result for what you’re trying to do. You move things around and, for me, it was maturing as a chef and finding my own path.
Street: In another interview you mentioned that Avance sources locally, but isn’t what people would call “hyper–local.” Can you elaborate a bit on that?
JB: Realistically, there’s going to be products we want to use that obviously don’t grow in this region. You’re not gonna get Périgord truffles in Pennsylvania, you’re not going to get white asparagus in Pennsylvania. We definitely try to support our local farmers and artisans as much as possible. You can go that route—to go only local—but it’s limiting. Our cuisine speaks a little wider than that.
Street: From the diner’s perspective, when they see that there’s a chef with two Michelin stars in the kitchen, it means something specific—that they’re going to have a special experience. But from the other side of the table, as the chef with that recognition, what does it mean to you?
JB: You know, it’s a lot of hard work. It’s years and years of work and dedication to a craft. And when you get Michelin, it’s international recognition—you’re playing on a different level when you get to that point. It’s huge, and especially getting it when I got it—at my first executive chef position. I’d just taken over the kitchen at 28, and then we got two Michelin stars, which is just crazy. And after that, moving forward every year, on the eve of the Michelin guy coming out, not being able to sleep, waiting for the phone call...its intense, and it’s definitely something that, as a young chef, you aspire to get there and, once you actually get there, it’s like “holy shit that really actually happened.” It’s pretty cool. But unfortunately you can’t take them with you, or they’d be hanging right there on the wall (laughs).
Street: Moving forward, what do you see for yourself and Avance?
JB: This man. This is it. This is the baby. We want to build the place and hopefully have a legacy like George Perrier did at this address. He ran this place for 40 years—40 successful years. I don’t know if I’ll last 40 years, physically (laughs), but that’s definitely a goal of ours—we definitely want to get as many as the local accolades as possible, but we also want to put this restaurant on a national playing field, and hopefully one day an international playing field. We want to come to be recognized as one of the best restaurants in the world. That doesn’t come over night, or in a few years. That’s a lot of time and dedication and focus and working out the kinks and finding out what works and what doesn’t.
Street: Do you have any stories from your time at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill, or anytime you ventured to Penn’s campus?
JB: (laughs) No, not too many. When I was at Walnut Hill I didn’t live on campus and I was working full time then. I was just coming in, taking my classes, then peeling back out. But, you know, we definitely had our days where we walked to Penn’s campus, to look at the girls (laughs) and drink those three dollar 40s from the bodega.
Street: Do you have any thoughts on the developing food scene in West Philly?
JB: I hear great things, but I’ve been so crazy busy since I got back that I haven’t gotten the chance to get out there yet. But I’ve heard it’s really starting to build. And there’s some cool ethnic food up there, though. I’ve gotta get out there sometime and try it out.
