Chef Chat, Part 1: Kevin Naderi of Roost and Lillo & Ella

Photo by Phaedra Cook

Kevin Naderi relaxes in a booth upholstered in cheerful orange at Lillo & Ella

Kevin Naderi has the daunting task of running not one, but two independent restaurants that each have a unique identity. Roost has been a mainstay of the Montrose neighborhood for almost three years and has scored national recognition on more than one occasion. He's dad to a new "baby" now, too. Lillo & Ella is the fledgling that has only been open for about six months.

In this first part of our chat with Naderi, we'll talk about his native Houstonian roots and how becoming a chef helped turn the former bad boy into a grounded chef and business owner.

EOW: Are you a native Houstonian?

KN: Yes. I was born and raised here. I went to Bunker Hill Elementary, Memorial Middle School and Memorial High School. I went to The Art Institute [of Houston], too.

EOW: A lot of chefs in town went to The Art Institute. Are there any chefs here that went there at the same time that you did?

KN: Joe Cervantes, Chris Wolff and Andrea Weir. I think they are the only ones still doing a significant amount of work. Joe's is now at Killen's [Steakhouse] as the executive sous. Andrea did all the photography for our walls here. She does photography on the side and is also at Coltivare. Chris is out in Galveston at [Number] 13. So, yeah, everybody's kind of doing their thing. It's good.

Photo by Phaedra Cook

Roast Duck Eggrolls with water chestnuts, plum sauce and sesame wilted spinach at Lillo & Ella

EOW: How did you know that you wanted to be in the culinary industry?

KN: I really didn't. I was really a bad kid. I'd gotten kicked out of school. My parents sent me to military school for the summer. When I came back from military school, I ended up taking a bunch of blow-off classes. I figured, Home Ec, I'll meet girls and eat and do whatever. I ended up really liking it. I was really good at it. So, I just stuck with it and ended up working at a hotel, the Doubletree on Post Oak. Then, I worked my way up the ladder from restaurant to restaurant.

The celebrity chef thing was hitting off like, what, 10 years ago? I figured, hey, you can make a living at it. It's pretty cool. Girls like a guy who can cook.

EOW: Were your parents happy about your career path?

KN: My parents have always been supportive regardless, but the fact that I was such a little pain in the ass--they were happy that I found something as a job that I was good at. They knew I wasn't going to do the whole doctor or lawyer route. They were happy just to see me happy. It worked out well.

EOW: So you were at the Doubletree. Were you a line cook there?

KN: I was a banquet cook. I spent about a year there and left to go to the CIA [Culinary Institute of America] in upstate New York. I was there a short while. I wasn't a big fan of the town and came back [to Houston]. It was too quiet and serene for me. I missed the hustle and bustle of Houston and being around family. That's when I went to The Art Institute and got my degree.

EOW: Where did you go after that?

KN: Ooof. After the Art Institute, I think my first main job was Brennan's! I was doing both--going to school and working at the same time. I started at salads, worked up to hot apps and then I got into it with Jose Arevalo. I didn't go back. Randy [Evans] asked me, "Hey, your job is here if you want to come back. I know you guys had an exchange of words." I was like, "I'm good, man, I'm just going to pursue something different."

He and I didn't see each other for a couple of years and then I hooked up with Randy again at Haven.

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