Respecting the old while finding new ways to express himself through food

It’s not easy to take over a restaurant with a reputation for extraordinary food and raise the bar even further. However, that’s what chef Andres Kaifer has been doing since he took over Elizabeth’s Customshop from Trey Wilson in 2022. Always respectful of the legacy of the restaurant’s well-established reputation, he has now fully made the restaurant his own.

“When I first took over Customshop, I was very conservative with the menu,” Kaifer said. “I didn’t want to scare any of the regulars away. I wanted to pay homage to what Customshop has been for a long time and ease into changing the menu. We slowly started changing the menu. I started to do what I wanted and express myself through food.”

On Monday night, attendees of our final Meet the Chef dinner of 2024, got an exclusive look of chef Kaifer’s food influences throughout his life, and where he is headed.

 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ORIGINAL PUBLICATION VIA UNPRETENTIOUS PALATE.