BJ Lieberman semifinalist for the 2023 James Beard award! Best chef: Great Lakes category. That’s a huge award that recognizes chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. He tells me his culinary origin story. He went to the Culinary Institute of America in NYC, helped open Husk in Charleston with Sean Brock, Bon Appetit named them best new restaurant in America and was quickly booked up for 2 years in the future. Later, moved to DC to help open Aaron Silverman’s Rose’s Luxury. Leading by kindness and respect as opposed to rudeness and intimidation. Culinary school vs real world experience. When BJ came to town Cameron Mitchell was very helpful and allowed BJ to audit Cameron’s pre opening things like vendors and operations.How does BJ manage his time? He has a very popular busy restaurant Chapman’s Eat Market as well as his jazz lounge Ginger Rabbit and he’s working on another restaurant called Hiraeth slated to open in June 2023. Hiraeth is a Welsh word that basically is a feeling akin to homesickness but a positive, familiar way, something you’ve been looking for your whole life. A sense of belonging as well as something they’ve been searching for.BJ Lieberman’s top 3 Columbus restaurant’s Comune, Joya’s in Worthington, and Rooh. His go to munchies are store bought sushi. Naturally, we talk about how great Tensuke Market is.I asked him if his new restaurant Hiraeth doesn’t get accolades, is that a failure. He said that they don’t do it for the accolades, he says accolades are random. He worked for a restaurant that won best restaurant in the country according to GQ and Bon Appetit. The New York Times said Chapman’s was top 50 restaurants in the country. Accolades are cool but random, his chief motivation isn’t winning awards and accolades, it's if his staff is happy and successful is all he cares about. Chapman’s reservations book up very fast, for example on March first, April dates open up for reservations. You can try your luck to get a reservation or you can come to the bar which is first come first serve. Husk won best new restaurant and was booked 2 years in the future. Then at Rose’s Luxury they took no reservations and 300 plus people would wait in line in the hopes of getting a table. He feels Chapman’s method is the most fair. Home cooking pro tip: Keys to success for a homemade cacio e pepe pasta. Practice a lot and let it be a little looser in the pan, than when you plate it, because the sauce will break otherwise.