Michael White on Teamwork, Consistency, and Sourcing Local
It's all about the guest experience for the lauded chef
About a year ago, Michael White, known for Michelin-starred restaurants and fine dining with a coastal Italian flair, brought his talents to the Bahamas.
The chef joined other high-profile culinary talents such as Jose Andres, Alon Shaya, and Nobu Matsuhisa at Atlantis Paradise Island, turning the mega-resort into a culinary destination. In the past few months White has also opened Mirabella at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel and has plans to open a restaurant at 520 Madison Avenue in New York City in Fall 2024 and another concept in Coral Gables in the future.
White is still very much active in Paranza’s day-to-day since it opened in late June 2023. When we caught up with the chef, he was planning a trip down to Paradise Island to check in on team members and oversee some menu changes.
Close to a year in, White says the restaurant is finally getting its sea legs. “The restaurant is evolving. All restaurants take time to start to gel and we’re definitely over the hump.”
White says the key to success at any restaurant is consistency, which goes double for restaurants in resorts. “If someone comes to my restaurant and then returns six months later, I want that guest to have the same excellent experience from the front and back of the house. I want that dish to be the same as they remembered it,” he says.
It would seem that someone with as many accolades as White would have a strong ego, but the chef says he’s not one to subscribe to the notion that chefs should cook for themselves. “We are there for the guest. We want to create the dishes that people yearn for.”
White compares the experience of cooking at a restaurant to that of a popular musician in one respect: “It’s like what Jimmy Buffett probably felt when he played Cheeseburger in Paradise. I’m fortunate to have a solid handful of dishes I’m known for.” The payoff is knowing that his food makes people happy. “I’ll be at an airport and someone will come up to me and talk about some eggplant dish. That’s extremely humbling.”
That’s not to say that there’s anything static about Paranza. “We have menu items that are fun for the team and for the guests. It’s about teamwork between the kitchen team and front of house. Getting everyone excited about food is really the fun part of the job,” says White.
And, White says, being surrounded by the gorgeous waters of the Bahamas is one of the greatest gifts a chef can have. White sources seafood from people who dive for conch and spearfish. “We get beautiful fish that arrives in a bucket — usually Nassau grouper — and Mr. Brown dives for conch.” The restaurant also sources local chicken and herbs from the island of Abaco. “After one year we’ve fostered relationships with a lot of people.”
And, that attention to service, precision, and locality has paid off. White says that Paranza has grown into a restaurant that caters to locals as well as the tourists who come for some well-earned beach time. “Apart from the transient guests, we have a lot of people drive from Lyford Cay on New Providence or people coming from other islands on their boats. That’s one of the beautiful things about Atlantis. People will go to the Sunday brunch buffet here. It’s so cool to see everyone dressed up after church. It’s a lot of good feels.”
And, even though his restaurants have earned Michelin stars, White maintains that “simple is best” when it comes to cooking that fresh catch from the Bahamas or your local market this summer. The chef has these simple tips for making your seaside meals memorable and flavorful: “Try to procure the best ingredients that you can and keep it simple. That’s a hallmark of Italian cooking.”