- 4/22/2025
Chef Max Hardy Interview with Mean Jean
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00:00It's me, Gene, from the all-new Morning Bounce on 105.1 The Bounce, and I got a special guest here over the Zoom with me, Chef Maxell Hardy.
00:08He was recently featured on the Talk's Food City Face-Off, so we'll start there.
00:13How was that experience being on the Talk and, you know, doing a Face-Off with another local chef?
00:18Oh, man, it was great, man, just, you know, to be able to Face-Off with, like you said, another chef, Kiana.
00:22She's, you know, really cool and a lot of fun, a lot of high energy, so to be in L.A. with her, you know, putting on for our city,
00:28it was truly an honor and just always fun to be in L.A. too, so we had a good time.
00:34Yeah, yeah. I noticed that her kale burger won out over your burger, so do we need to do a rematch?
00:41Do I need to set up a rematch so you can take the dub?
00:43Yeah, absolutely. I told her, I said, well, I'm going to come over to your kitchen and we'll battle out.
00:48And I told her, she better enter the burger battle that we have here at Eastern Market.
00:52So, yeah, it was just a friendly challenge, man, but I think it was good for the city, man,
00:57just to, you know, to see two chefs, you know, represent it, represent the city.
01:00I think it was fun and, you know, great for the culture.
01:03That's awesome. So I noticed that you do a lot of classes that are geared toward young people in the Detroit area.
01:09So talk to me a little bit about those classes and why it's so important for you to do that.
01:13Yeah, so I mean, you know, in New York, before I got back to Detroit, I was doing a lot of those classes,
01:17you know, trying to help the inner city kids understand just, you know, how to eat healthy,
01:21how to take, you know, 25 bucks and make that feed your family, you know,
01:26and just kind of showing them some of the ins and outs of the whole culinary world.
01:30And, you know, teaching them, you know, culinary arts is not just because I want them to be chefs,
01:33but, you know, it teaches them a lot of tangible life skills as well.
01:36So that's important for our inner city kids and our youth.
01:39So I try to, you know, get that back as much as I can doing that.
01:43I always connect with Horatio Williams Foundation and Ford, UAW Ford, where we can, you know,
01:50kind of find those students that's interested in culinary arts.
01:53I also do it with Triumph Church as well.
01:56So it's just one of those things that, you know, I learned from, you know, a chef and he gave back to me.
02:02So I just want to empower and give back to students as well.
02:04That's dope.
02:05So, you know, you mentioned that being in the kitchen teaches some life skills they can use outside of the kitchen.
02:11What are some of those that you think kind of translate to just everyday life?
02:15Well, I mean, you know, you got to be punctual, right?
02:17So, you know, it teaches you time awareness, just being able to get the ticket times out.
02:21So it teaches you how to be on time.
02:23You got to wear a uniform.
02:24So it teaches you just how to dress.
02:27And then, you know, just when you're cooking for people is kind of giving love and kind of giving your passion through food,
02:33which, you know, some of those life skills you got to have forever.
02:36You know, you want to be able to cook when they get to college, when they get to adult,
02:39you want to learn how to cook something.
02:41I'm using a bowl of water.
02:43Right.
02:44If they get nothing else, they get that.
02:46But then there's also, you know, just camaraderie and just being in the kitchen and being around people,
02:51teaching them how to interact and work with others.
02:54And so those are some of the skills that I think they get.
02:57You know, and then, of course, they get the culinary side of it where, you know, they understand that.
03:01If they choose to go down that career path, then that's great.
03:04But I think it's more, you know, just, you know, keeping them grounded, keeping them out of trouble,
03:08keeping them, you know, just kind of understanding what food is and how it brings people together.
03:12Yeah, that's dope.
03:13And, you know, as you've done these classes throughout the year, have you had any success stories of, you know,
03:19someone that kind of went through your class who decided that they wanted to go down that culinary path?
03:23Yeah, man, we got so many, you know, from New York.
03:27I have three students, you know, for the last 10 years that's at Chefs now.
03:32Wow.
03:33I have two here.
03:37One is in culinary school now in Johnson & Wells.
03:39He's been with me the longest when I first got back.
03:42Young Jacob, he's going to be, you know, a great chef one day.
03:46Down at Johnson & Wells now.
03:48We got a couple other students that's leaving this year to go to culinary school.
03:52So, yeah, it's been, you know, truly a testament of the program and just, you know,
03:57how we're giving back and, you know, showing the kids, you know, tangible life skills and cooking.
04:01So they've been taking it to the next level.
04:04So truly honored to see that.
04:06That's dope.
04:06And what was it for you that kind of sparked your culinary journey and, you know, getting into being coming a chef?
04:14Well, in high school, you know, my family always, they always cooking and having fun in the kitchen and just, you know, just enjoying food.
04:20My mom's Bahamian.
04:21And so anytime, you know, we have family over, it's always a party, always entertaining.
04:26And so my grandmother did the same thing.
04:28My dad loved to entertain.
04:29So I think, you know, that kind of started it.
04:32But then in high school, I got hurt playing basketball my junior year.
04:36And that time, our program went from home ec to culinary arts.
04:40We had a chef come in and, you know, I just came in and kind of hit the ground running.
04:44I couldn't practice.
04:45And so I would go to the kitchen and bake cookies and cinnamon rolls and all that stuff in the morning versus practice in the weight room.
04:51And it just became a passion, man.
04:52It just became, you know, just something I love to do.
04:54So I always liked cooking, but I thought basketball would be what I do forever.
04:58And then when I got hurt that year, Johnson & Wales University came down and did an open house.
05:05And they were like, hey, we got a basketball team sitting to coach your film.
05:09And I did and got a scholarship for basketball and then got a scholarship for culinary arts as well.
05:15So I went down to Miami to Johnson & Wales and took off from there.
05:19But realized I wasn't going to the NBA.
05:21So I was like, I better make some money doing something.
05:24I put more energy into, you know, being a chef and start holding my skills at different hotels and restaurants and so forth.
05:29So that's kind of how it started.
05:31That's dope.
05:32Did you stay in Miami after college or did you come back or did you go to Detroit?
05:36I stayed down.
05:39I started my company, Chef Max Miami, where we're catered to different celebrities and athletes.
05:44Then I started working at some different hotels and casinos.
05:47I opened up the Hard Rock Casino there and executive chef there for a while.
05:51And then I moved to New York to become personal chef for Mari Stoudemire.
05:55So I was in my career for 10 years, you know, from college until I moved to New York.
06:00Wow, that's cool.
06:01I actually grew up in South Florida.
06:02That's why I asked.
06:03I grew up, yeah, in the Fort Lauderdale area.
06:05So Sunrise, the city.
06:08I live in Miramar, so, yeah, I know really well.
06:10Oh, yeah, yeah, that's perfect.
06:11I got family that lives out there, which is pretty dumb.
06:13Oh, small world.
06:14Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:15And my brother actually used to do, like, accounting for some hotels down on South Beach
06:20for a couple of years as well.
06:21Okay.
06:22Yeah, very cool.
06:23So I see you got a new spot opening up.
06:25What's cracking?
06:26Tell me a little bit about that.
06:29Yeah, so it's a seafood boil kind of concept.
06:31You know, the crab bags and, you know, all fresh seafood.
06:36It's going to be on Living Noise at 7.
06:38Just, you know, just a real classy, cool, fresh, you know, seafood place.
06:42You know, kind of with some of the new things and some of the fad that's going on out, you
06:45know, right now with all the crab meals and all that stuff.
06:47So we just wanted to join the party as well.
06:50Yeah, why not?
06:51And then open up, you know, a really cool restaurant that, you know, that you don't
06:55see on Living Noise right now.
06:56So it's almost in the Detroit area.
06:58So, you know, we're looking forward to that.
07:01And so we're building out now.
07:02And we've probably got about another four months before we'll be ready to rock.
07:06But I'm super excited about it.
07:08Indoor, outdoor seating and garage doors, daiquiris.
07:13And so it'll be real fun.
07:15Nice.
07:16Every video that I've seen, because, you know, you'll see the reels come through, people
07:19doing seafood boils.
07:20I always see them using Sunny Delight.
07:22Is that normal or is that like a social media thing?
07:25I think that's a social media thing.
07:27You know, I think it's a gimmick, you know, kind of deal.
07:31But I think, you know, some chefs and some owners might like that.
07:35I don't think we'll be using it.
07:36But yeah, no, I think it's definitely, you know, definitely a gimmick.
07:44And, you know, but you never know, you know, people like different things.
07:46And, you know, if, you know, if it works for them, then I'm happy.
07:52Oh, man.
07:53All right.
07:53So this morning, excuse me, on our show, we were talking about there's a restaurant in
07:58New Jersey.
07:59I'm not sure if you saw this.
08:00It's like an Italian restaurant.
08:01And they posted on their Facebook.
08:03They said, moving forward, no kids under the age of 10 will be allowed to come to our
08:08restaurant because, you know, their reasoning behind it, at least from what I read in the
08:12comments, was like, you know, we've got kids running around the restaurant while people
08:16are trying to serve food.
08:18And, you know, they're running into them.
08:20Things are being dropped.
08:22We opened up the phones to some of our callers this morning.
08:25And every single person was like, I'm good with it.
08:28Like, I do not want to, like, I'll go out for a nice meal.
08:32I'll leave my kids at home.
08:33I don't want to be dealing with your kids.
08:34What do you think about that?
08:36Well, I mean, you know, most restaurants are family oriented, right?
08:39And so I think, you know, depending on just the level of the, I guess, you know, how high
08:46end the restaurant is, I guess I would say, hey, you know, if it's something where I'm
08:50going to drop, you know, five, six hundred dollars for dinner, you know, yeah, I kind
08:53of want to be cool.
08:54But, you know, if it's a family environment, then, you know, I have no problem with the
08:58kids.
08:58The parents better hold the kids down.
09:03Yeah, but no, that's a pet peeve of mine, man.
09:04Like, just seeing kids is running around.
09:06But, you know, both of my restaurants now is, like, you know, very family oriented.
09:09So, you know, you get that.
09:11But I think, you know, to segregate and say, hey, no kids allowed in the restaurant, I think
09:18that's a little bit tough.
09:18Yeah.
09:19You know, but depending on the style of the restaurant, you know, and just what, you know,
09:22the culture of the restaurant is.
09:23But I can see where people be like, yeah, I like that.
09:26And then I can see where people push back as well.
09:28But I think it just depends on, you know, style of the restaurant.
09:32Are you saying right now that kids will be allowed at what's cracking?
09:35Is that correct?
09:36Well, yeah.
09:39It's a small restaurant, man.
09:41And so we've got 40 seats or so.
09:45It'll be a little tight for them to be running around.
09:47Yeah.
09:48But, yeah, I mean, everybody's welcome.
09:50Got you.
09:51And talk to me a little bit about the Irie Smoke Shack.
09:55Yeah.
09:55So it's another collective in Lansing.
09:59Lansing Shuffle is the collective name.
10:01And so Irie Smoke Shack is a Caribbean barbecue spot.
10:04Nice.
10:04It's similar to Coop, but more focused on barbecue.
10:09And we've got a nice smoker that we, you know, do our brisket, our jerk ribs, our curry spice wings.
10:15And we've got a smoke pork belly glaze and all that good stuff.
10:20So just bringing some fun, cool stuff to Lansing.
10:22It's a little more Caribbean, but definitely with a lot of barbecue flavor.
10:29I always wanted to do a barbecue in a restaurant.
10:32So, you know, this is an opportunity to do something, have some fun with barbecue.
10:35I did barbecue brawls with barbecue filet.
10:40And so after that, I was like, oh, yeah, let's really, you know, get home on that.
10:44So, yeah.
10:45So it's fun.
10:45We opened up about three weeks ago.
10:48So it's been going good.
10:50You know, sad to hear that, you know, that shooting in Lansing last night.
10:53So, yeah, I'm going to put a little damper on, you know, that's opening today.
10:57But, yeah, we open every day from Tuesday to Sunday.
11:00So feel free to come through.
11:03That's good stuff, man.
11:04And you got some spices, too.
11:06Man, you're just doing it all.
11:07All in one year.
11:102020 is a big year for Chef Maxell.
11:12The spices have been out for a minute.
11:14Just relaunched them just to kind of, you know, give a new feel and new look to the packaging.
11:20So we'll be relaunching that in the next two weeks.
11:23But they've been out for almost two years now.
11:27So a little over two years.
11:28But we're just relaunching now.
11:30So hopefully we have them in Myers before the summer is out.
11:33And then get them online or get them at the restaurants.
11:36And so, yeah, so it's been a little busy, man.
11:39And that's chefhardy.com is where someone can order those if they want to, right?
11:43Yeah.
11:44Yeah.
11:44Okay.
11:45There we go.
11:45Okay.
11:45So somebody, so I, I'm a fake chef is what I call it, right?
11:50You know, because I do love to cook.
11:53I've done it since I was really young.
11:56And, you know, now I'm like one of those people.
11:59I only post pictures of food if I cook it.
12:01So I know that some people don't like, you know, Instagram food people.
12:04But if I cook it, I feel like I got to post it.
12:07So I'm getting better with my plating and all that kind of stuff.
12:09What kind of, like, what would you say to somebody who's new to Detroit, like myself,
12:15is the food scene here in the city?
12:17Like, is it thriving?
12:18Is it on the come up?
12:19What do you think?
12:20Well, I mean, you know, it's a, before COVID, I think we were like booming, right?
12:24We, you know, it's a, it's such a diverse city and so many different cuisines, different
12:30cultures.
12:30And so you get, you get a melted pot of different flavors and so forth.
12:35So I think, you know, if I would had to say, you know, it's a melting pot of just, you know,
12:40just a lot of different, you know, cuisines and, and, you know, like, especially the African-American
12:45food scene, you know, we're starting to get more and more restaurants.
12:49We're starting to get away from just the soul food driven, you know, things like Ima, you
12:55know, doing a little Asian, you know, mix, you know, you got Petty Cash is open up now
12:59doing a little Mediterranean with a little soul, you know, mixed in.
13:02So you got, you know, you got so many different places that's opening, you know, kind of bring
13:05in different, you know, vibes and cultures and cuisines.
13:09So I think it's, you know, definitely thriving lately, you know, since COVID has been, we've
13:14been trying to fight our way back and trying to, you know, get back busy and get back to
13:18the numbers we were doing before COVID.
13:19So that's, that's a challenge.
13:22But I think, you know, the culinary, you know, community here is strong and we're supporting
13:27each other as much as we can to, you know, to keep, you know, helping each other to, to
13:31keep pushing, to keep the doors open.
13:33So, you know, but, you know, I love going out to different restaurants in Detroit, you
13:37know, just, you know, it's so, so many different options and so much, you know, fun and culture.
13:42So I would say if you're, you know, new to the city or if you're not new to the city,
13:45you know, just venture out and, you know, come down to Midtown, go down to Eastern Market,
13:49go, you know, to Dearborn and, you know, but there's so much stuff in the city of Detroit
13:53that you can really, you know, almost go somewhere different every night if you would
13:58choose, you know, everything from African to Boba Fair to, you know, Petty Cash, like
14:03I said, to, you know, to She-Wolf to, you know, to, I don't know your name, I'm going
14:08over to the kitchen, you know, Joe Lewis next door.
14:11And so, you know.
14:12I already smoked Shaq.
14:13I already smoked Shaq.
14:15Or Cooplin, you know.
14:17So, yeah, it's, it's been fun to see, you know, just the culture of our culinary scene
14:22change and evolve.
14:23That's dope.
14:24All right.
14:24One of the, I'm going to ask you one question and then I'm going to say one thing on the
14:27end.
14:27The question is, so I've gone twice to audition to be on MasterChef.
14:32The first time I messed myself up because I thought I was being smart.
14:36I was like, I'm not going to get there early because then I'm going to have to sit there
14:39all day.
14:39Right, right.
14:41But a year later, I saw someone who was there helping judge and she remembered exactly what
14:45I made.
14:46And I'm like, well, how come I didn't get talked to?
14:48She's like, you got there so late that they were like, they already had their favorites
14:53picked out.
14:54And so I kind of, yeah.
14:55So I was trying to be too smart and I messed myself up.
14:57Second time I made it through a couple of rounds.
14:59What kind of tips would you give me for the next time that I go audition to be on MasterChef
15:04to, to make it and get on the show?
15:07Well, I mean, definitely, you know, be on time.
15:11That's number one.
15:13I know that the networks and especially that program, I know they're tough.
15:18They just, you know, have tight deadlines and they're trying to go through so many people
15:20that's auditioning for it.
15:22I personally have not auditioned for MasterChef.
15:26I've been able to be on other shows, but I would say just, you know, be yourself too,
15:30man.
15:30Have some fun with it.
15:31And don't be too risky, you know, you know, sometimes, you know, when I'm cooking, I'm
15:38like, okay, I want to push the envelope a little bit and especially on the shows.
15:42And then, you know, you find yourself and trying to, you know, with your way out of,
15:46out of it.
15:47But yeah, just have fun with it, man.
15:50Enjoy it.
15:51You know, it's, you know, it's a process and, you know, don't give up.
15:54You know, I'm sure, you know, first time if you didn't get on, I'm sure you keep, you
15:57know, shooting at it, you'll, you'll get there.
15:58Yeah.
15:59And then continue holding your skills, man.
16:01And then if you really want to be a chef or you just like that, you know, go stodge behind
16:05a, you know, behind a chef for food and kind of get some, you know, some kitchen experience
16:10on your free time, whenever you get some free time, you know, you're going to come by here
16:15where I throw you in the kitchen for a little bit.
16:16Hey, I'm ready.
16:17You let me know.
16:17I'm down a hundred percent down.
16:19I'm not joking either.
16:20Yeah.
16:21Now you got some good restaurants, man.
16:22There's some good chefs in the city, you know, where you can, you know, kind of hone your
16:26skills a little more and then you'd be definitely ready to go on MasterChef and kick their ass.
16:30Let's go.
16:32Let's go.
16:33All right.
16:34We got to do a redo of the food city face-off because we got to get you that dub.
16:39So what's up?
16:40Morning Bounce hosting?
16:41Can we host the food city face-off?
16:43Let's do it.
16:44We'll do it over at Q Kitchen.
16:45Get her on the line and tell her, let's, let's, let's pull up and we'll make it happen.
16:49Let's go.
16:50All right.
16:50There it is.
16:51Chef Maxell, congratulations.
16:53It sounds like you've got a lot of really good and positive things going on this year.
16:57I hope you all success in all that.
16:59And I'm coming through.
17:00I'm going to come stage and get, and get them skills up because I'm going to be the next
17:04MasterChef.
17:04All right.
17:06Come on through anytime, man.
17:07Thanks for having me, man.
17:08Absolutely.
17:08Appreciate you, my brother.
17:10Absolutely.
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