Natalie Cohee:
New York is such a fast paced environment and we're trying to slow it down. In life, we got to slow down. We got to enjoy it a little bit more. And I hope that when people come into Margaritaville, they feel that.
V Spehar:
Hey, Bombesquad. You're listening to Radio Cherry Bombe. I'm your guest host, V Spehar, the host of "Under the Desk News" on TikTok, filling in for Kerry Diamond who is on vacation. We're coming to you from Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in the heart of New York City. Today's guest is Chef Natalie Cohee, who has one of the most unique jobs in New York City. She's the Executive Chef of the brand new Margaritaville Resort in Times Square. Natalie is the daughter of restaurant owners, went to Le Cordon Bleu in Arizona and has worked for a number of oceanfront resort properties.
The Margaritaville Resort in the heart of Times Square is a 32-story tower featuring 234 guest rooms, a heated outdoor pool, five distinct restaurant concepts, and a two-story statue of Liberty raising a margarita to cheers escapism and signal it's 5:00 somewhere.
Inspired by the music of Jimmy Buffett, the father of what he calls drunken Caribbean rock and roll, the hotel caters to his loyal fans where Parrot Heads can indulge in the infamous cheeseburger in paradise cold draft beers. And of course the perfect margarita.
We'll hear all about that in just a minute. First, we'd like to thank our sponsor Free People. Who doesn't love Free People. So chill. So stylish. Don't miss the Cherry Bombe, Free People, Summer Supper Club collab, featuring food stylist, Mariana Velasquez, and Chef Tara Thomas. Head over to the Free People's YouTube channel for Mariana and Tara's plant-based recipes and to learn their tips and tricks. See how much style these two bring to the kitchen. That's the Free People on YouTube.
Little housekeeping. The next issue of Cherry Bombe is currently in the works and the issue is all about cooks and books. It's a celebration of the season's best cookbooks, food memoirs, and all things print. If you're a print nerd or a cookbook collector or you just need some new recipes, don't miss this issue. You can subscribe to Cherry Bombe Magazine at cherrybombe.com and get two issues a year delivered direct to your door.
Now, here's my interview with Chef Natalie Cohee. Chef Natalie Cohee, thank you so much for taking time out of Margaritaville to come down here and answer some questions for us about the new property. I'm so excited to get to chat with you.
Natalie Cohee:
Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here.
V Spehar:
So we're going to get to the dope-ass property that I got to visit, the Margaritaville in Times Square. But first I wanted ask you a little bit about yourself. Just tell the folks at home who maybe haven't had the chance to get to know you before. Where'd you grow up? Where are you from?
Natalie Cohee:
I'm originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. So I'm a Midwest meat potatoes type of girl. I grew up pretty much my entire life in the country. Campfire, bonfire, that type of atmosphere. My parents had restaurants growing up. So I did spend a lot of time within those establishments, working, slipping away on the floor, dishwashing and all that. I got my luck into culinary going to Le Cordon Bleu in Arizona.
After that, I went to Scottsdale and worked at some of the prestigious restaurants in Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona. After that, I did my externship in Sunset Key, and that's where pretty much my passion really grew. I got to do the private restaurant in Latitudes Beach Resort, which is owned by Hilton back then. It's a small eclectic Oprah Winfrey. Everybody had a house there.
V Spehar:
Wow.
Natalie Cohee:
So that's pretty much where I dove into it, worked under a phenomenal chef there that gave me my passion to growing up into the industry and set the foundation of my life. Then at 19, I got the opportunity to become the first executive sous chef with Sheridan and Key Largo. And since then, it's just been an ongoing adventure within the culinary world.
V Spehar:
That sounds like an adventure. You go from landlocked, Indiana gal with parents and the restaurant industry to super, hyper prestigious beach front restaurant.
Natalie Cohee:
Absolutely.
V Spehar:
Was that part of the plan?
Natalie Cohee:
It's funny because when I did my... In culinary school, you had to create your own restaurant, create your business module, do whatever you want. Just make a restaurant within as part of a final. I actually did it for Key West and opening a small little shake shack... Not shake shack, but it's like a taco shack, but it's the same vision of a beach bar meets tacos. It was called the Happy Shack. It's funny because just right after I completed that and aced that entire rebuilding of a restaurant, I was offered the externship to go to Key West.
Here, I've never been to Key West. I really didn't know much about Key West, but I'd created this business module, and then to get the opportunity to end up going to Key West without applying or anything. It's like full circle. The world just knew that was the destination that I was supposed to be in, was getting to go into the islands and work that island Caribbean lifestyle. So I never thought I was going to be on the beach. I always thought it was going to be Montana or working in Colorado or something around ski resorts, but completely opposite. Got to go to the Caribbean pretty much.
V Spehar:
Were you cooking as a kid even? Was this an early passion?
Natalie Cohee:
With my great grandmother, we used to cook and roll homemade noodles and things like that. You would find me a lot like playing around and making pastries and desserts and things, but that wasn't my passion. Your parents usually let you make cookies and brownies and things like that. So those were simple things. Later on, my mom and dad, we owned restaurants, but that was their hobby was to open up the restaurant. So for them, it was like sitting out there barbecuing and inviting friends over. That's kind of where we all got together and did our learning how to cook and things like that. Most of it was just your typical, you're in the kitchen, you walk past your parents and you see what they're doing. And that's what drives your creativity and experiences, I guess.
V Spehar:
Was there any dish you loved making with your parents or from childhood?
Natalie Cohee:
We have a family recipe we've always done and it's turkey noodles, homemade, rolling it out, making chicken stock and all that. It's pretty much been a staple from my dad's side for forever, from all that I can remember. Every time we always want to do something, it's like let's make turkey noodle stew. It's always turkey noodle stew. And that's one thing that is my comfort food. So when I came to New York, the first thing I wanted to do it was just get a bowl of turkey noodle stew when you start eating it. It's just the signature comfort for me.
V Spehar:
Will we see like a turkey noodle stew taco someday maybe?
Natalie Cohee:
Well, yeah. See, that would work. That would work. It's always usually right after Thanksgiving is when we started off. So it's you take the carcass that's leftover and everything. The turkey goes for everything and I'm like, the last thing we end up making is turkey noodle stew, because it's like, okay, we have had enough a turkey. We've got to get rid of the turkey.
V Spehar:
I mean, I'm going to shake you down for the recipe for that afterwards. So when you were at Le Cordon Bleu, tell me a little bit about what the experience of... This is a women's food podcast. What was the experience of being probably one of the few women in that school, working at the level that you were, and fighting for your space?
Natalie Cohee:
I think it's kind of turning the corner now as a... It was always a man's dominated field, which you have to have thick skin. I think whenever you get into that, you got to put your foot down and just say, "I'm here for the same reason you're here." In the beginning of it, it was a little intimidating, but I was more of a tomboy. You couldn't rough me up that hard. I could take it, it was fine. I spent a lot of times with some of the chefs there, the instructors.
Working next to them every single day, they just showed it. All it takes is hard work and dedication. Just set your mind to it really. The rest of it, it doesn't matter. I don't care what the person next to me think. You may not like my food. I'm okay with that. But somebody does. Obviously, I've made it this far. Somebody does. In culinary world, it was. It was a lot of people like, "You're not good enough. You can't do it."
I was young going into it right out of high school. A lot of them, this is a second career for them. And you find that a lot of times that when they're going into culinary school, it ends up being somebody's second choice, or they could never get their foot in the door. So now they're going to culinary school to try to make this their next round. For me, it was right out of school. I wanted to go to culinary school.
So I did it. I was young there. 18 and everybody's in their 30s and 20s. So they looked at me a lot as you're just a young one. You'll probably be weeded out. Well, lo and behold, I ended up being one of the strongest ones. And with that, that's where I got the opportunity to go to Key West where they only took five. So out of those five, four of them went to Maine like actual Hilton and worked in the kitchen there versus I got lucky enough to go to private island, Sunset Key.
And getting that opportunity is pretty much paid the course of where I ended up now. Not many people got that luxury. There was no other externs that were allowed to actually go to Sunset Key and work on the private island at that time. Now, I'm sure there's many that have transpired over, but usually you had to start at Hilton made land and get your luck to go over to Sunset Key. Fortunately, for me, within the day one, it was like, we're going to send you over there. We're short-staffed and I never left.
V Spehar:
There you go.
Natalie Cohee:
So I don't know what it's like when they had to go over to Hilton and slip away for all the banquets. I got to do all the eclectic fun stuff. So that passion and that drive that I had was pretty much instilled upon me the rest of my life. Just show up to work. Be ready to work, drive hard, dig in and just work. We're all here to do a job and let's get it done, but it's definitely harder as a female to get going. But fortunately, I want to say some people say it's luck. I just say it's dedication.
V Spehar:
Mentorship sometimes as well. And you had a really strong mentor young as well. Do you want to talk to me about a chef?
Natalie Cohee:
Yeah. Chef Peter was probably my number one. He spent almost 16 years at the same company. When you spend 16 years with the same company, you're doing something right. Some can say, "Oh, you became complacent." But others look at it, especially in the culinary world, as you're doing something right for you to last so long and do good things. Travel the world and get to see things and open up new hotels, you're doing something right. And for him, he always was like, "All I can ask you to do is show up to work every day ready to work. You're going to have bad days. You're going to have miserable days, but be honest and have your integrity."
"Number one, don't lose focus on who you are because people are going to try to change you. They're going to tell you the food that you're doing is not suitable for the guests that we have. Stick to it because that's what you know. But adapt to change. We're constantly changing. Culinary world is constantly changing. But at the end, stick to your roots, but also put a little bit of the new world twist onto things, but you have to remain focused onto who you are." With that, it's kept me to where I'm at right now.
V Spehar:
Yeah. We've heard that a couple of times this week, as I've been filling in for Kerry. Every single chef guest has said how important it is to know your food, because we've had folks from top chef on, different competitions, different restaurants moving around. And the idea is like, if you don't really solidly live in what your food is, you can get lost. You can get completely swept away.
Natalie Cohee:
Absolutely.
V Spehar:
So what is Chef Natalie Cohee's food?
Natalie Cohee:
My favorite is barbecuing. I would like to spend all day sitting out there by a campfire, smoking ribs and roasted chicken. My signature, just my known too is everybody's always asking, "Oh, let's make ribs. Let's smoke ribs. It's just something that I always enjoyed." And it's probably because I come from Indiana. We got cows everywhere. It's me, potatoes, and corn. Majority of the time, that's what I'm usually making. Anything to do with outside. And I like to be around family and friends. So the best way to do that is host a party and sit there and out by the pool or on the beach and just barbecue it out. Any way, anything I'll take it. I'll do it.
V Spehar:
Do you have like a secret spice blend you like to put on your ribs?
Natalie Cohee:
I definitely like dry rubs.
V Spehar:
Dry rubs.
Natalie Cohee:
So I'm a big fan on dry rubs. Like really smoky hot. I'm a big spice person, so I enjoy the heat. But always finishing it off with something a little sweet. Sweet and tangy usually if I'm going with spice.
V Spehar:
Dig that. We've been talking also about summer cooking a little bit, and we're going to get into specifically what you did with the restaurant in Margaritaville, but what's your go-to summer dish?
Natalie Cohee:
If I'm going to do like my go-to summer, usually it's something like kebabs, fish. I do love a whole roasted, the whole fish on the grill.
V Spehar:
Yeah. That's great.
Natalie Cohee:
We've did a lot of this past summer before opening up Margaritaville. Actually, last summer, we spent a lot of time on the boat. So catching whole fish, throwing it out there on the grill, that's kind of my go thing. You make tacos or whatnot. That's things that I gravitate towards.
V Spehar:
That sounds so fun.
Natalie Cohee:
It is fun.
V Spehar:
Going back to Sunset Key for just a quick second, you said that Oprah has a house out there, all these folks have a house out there. What was it like trying to cater to that type of clientele with such specific food requests and trying to get it out in mass? What was a day like there?
Natalie Cohee:
It's having to know that each day that the clients are always going to want something different. What you think that they want every single day? I mean, a lot of the times they do ask for the same request, but then the next day they're like, "I had the filet this time, but you know what, now, I want no spice or I want this done a specific way." It's just being ready for change, always on your feet.
Constantly, things are changing and you have to... They'll tell you in the morning, "Hey, you know what? We're going to go get sea bass. This is what we want to have for dinner." Then an hour before service, like, "Nope, we changed our mind. We have so-and-so guests coming in and that's not what we want anymore."
So you've got to be quick thinking and you have to be ready for change at any moment. And it was. It was hectic fun. It's like you never knew what you're really walking into because what you think you planned for, it was never going to happen. It never turned out the way that we thought it was going to be because unfortunately they're paying guests. They can change their mind. They can do whatever they want.
V Spehar:
We'll talk about what Margaritaville is as a menu. But what is it as an experience? When the guest is coming through the front door, what is Margaritaville on a sensory mental level?
Natalie Cohee:
What we want is when you walk into the door is to feel like you're on vacation. We have so much stress in this world. Whether whatever walk of life you're coming from, it's stress. So when you walk in the door, you want to feel like you're doing an escape on a vacation. Whatever destination you choose to come to in Margaritaville, the most important is when you walk in that door, the sense of, "I can just take a breath. I'd have to let everything go. I don't have to worry about what's going on outside of the world. Just come in, enjoy, listen to the music, watch some of the shows that are going on. That's the most important thing is just to get that fresh breath air within our establishment and feel like you're on a vacation."
V Spehar:
You personally though are not out of vacation. You've got five restaurants within this property.
Natalie Cohee:
Absolutely.
V Spehar:
Should we start with one and go through them or do you want to talk about them as a collection?
Natalie Cohee:
I mean, I can kind of run down them.
V Spehar:
Yeah. Run down them.
Natalie Cohee:
Obviously, the most important and the biggest one is Margaritaville. That's what we're known for. That one is our biggest restaurant. It has two floors. So you can see we're almost 500 people within that establishment. And it's beautiful because we have the statue of Liberty sitting there holding a margarita glass, basically cheersing off to 5:00. 5:00 somewhere where everybody knows about.
Then you're going to go to LandShark, which has the only outdoor 24/7, 365-day pool. It is heated. We just opened that up last week. So it's officially open hanging over Times Square. Nobody has that here. And it's one thing... For me, I love it. Because LandShark is known for being around beaches. Unfortunately, we don't have a beach here, but it is an island, Manhattan. So they did put the pool outside, so you can kind of escape out on the pool deck drinking, changes Latitude Margaritaville.
V Spehar:
When I went to that sixth floor pool, it is the craziest thing. You're just truly sunbathing and swimming. And then also in Times Square, seeing the Broadway posters off the side walk.
Natalie Cohee:
I know. It's crazy, completely different, what you would envision.
V Spehar:
You can't even believe you're in New York anymore. It's a very, very cool experience. So we've got Margaritaville, then we've got the LandShark grill and then up on the 32nd floor, we've got a different kind of escape. What's going on, on the roof?
Natalie Cohee:
That is Five O'clock Somewhere. And that's where you're going to want your sun down. I want to come after work and have cocktails with the coworkers or bring a date night. It is probably one of the most breathtaking views. Unfortunately, I don't see it at nighttime. I actually go there first thing in the morning. Usually, it's the first place I go and just have a coffee. I go up there when nobody's there. I'm the first one in the building. So it's my fresh of breath air in the morning. Instead of having to go straight into the kitchen and getting ready for the grind, I go up there and I watch the sunrise, and just get to see all of New York before the hustle and bustle starts. So I love it up there. Even at nighttime, when I am there actually helping out, getting it set up, I'll go out there, right around sundown, and when the sun is setting, it's probably the most beautiful view that you could see within the establishment that we have. You get to see both sides. So for me, it's-
V Spehar:
It's bougie up.
Natalie Cohee:
It is bougie. We have some nice-
V Spehar:
It's ritzy.
Natalie Cohee:
... food up there. The drinks, the cocktails are all craft cocktails, all specialty. We brought in our own mixologist to do that and paired wish charcuterie and cheese board. We have Wagyu sliders, ceviche, tuna tartare. So it is more of a dress up. You don't have to dress up, but it's a little more eclectic.
V Spehar:
It's like an island...
Natalie Cohee:
You want to go into your like resort wear atmosphere. It's a lot of fun. And at nighttime, especially sunsets, it's breathtaking.
V Spehar:
And you can see the Times Square ball is right there.
Natalie Cohee:
Exactly.
V Spehar:
You can see that off the view.
Natalie Cohee:
Not many people know that, you actually get to see the ball drop. So New Year's Eve for sure is definitely going to be a place to be. Because we have two floors. We can literally see the ball drop and stand outside and it's within-
V Spehar:
And be eye level.
Natalie Cohee:
Eye level. Exactly.
V Spehar:
Once you're in there, you truly do get lost. It's such a unique and exciting experience. And then outside of those things you also have, is it... Joe Merchant's os the coffee shop?
Natalie Cohee:
Yeah. Joe Merchant's is the coffee shop and that's your typical grab and go. We have pastries brought in daily, bagels, cinnamon rolls. Eventually we will get into where we have sandwiches and pizzas. Within that same level, you do have the chill bar, which is the lobby bar for the hotel. And that does small bites as well. So it has flatbreads, same thing, tuna sliders, wings, things like that. And that view is just as pretty. It's on the seventh floor, and it actually has a Times Square view. You can sit outside, have cocktails, checking in. This is my second favorite place.
In the morning, it's probably the best place to go to because most people can't get up to the 32nd floor. But to be on that seventh floor in the morning and just let the birds chirp, and before the honking starts, it's actually a nice place.
V Spehar:
So within this complex, which is all glass and beautiful and interesting, this like menagerie of escapism in island culture, where is the kitchen? How are you getting this food around?
Natalie Cohee:
The kitchen is on the third floor. So to put it in perspective, the kitchen is almost heart of the building. You would think it's right there in every single restaurant, but we actually share one kitchen for all concepts. So it's a pretty big kitchen. Most people that do come in are like, "Wow, this is a big kitchen for New York." But we do have two lines inside that kitchen. So it's on the third floor. LandShark is above it and Margaritaville, it feeds straight to Margaritaville. So everybody has to run the stairs, dropping off the food, but we do it. It's definitely engineered well. I'm surprised how well it is engineered.
V Spehar:
If there's one thing about New York, people can run the stairs with full trays of food.
Natalie Cohee:
Absolutely. Listen, I say it every day. The first day I walked in, I'm like, "Oh my gosh. We're going to have to run all these stairs." Everyday I'm like, "Thank God for the stairs because I'm just getting more toned every single day I've run up them."
V Spehar:
When you've got food coming out of this kitchen, what's your process of organization? How are tickets coming in? What's the chef view look like?
Natalie Cohee:
The most important thing is organization. You've got to have organization to run all five of these outlets. It's a moving part. It's constantly moving and with everything going to a different location and not having a kitchen set on every floor where all the restaurants are. You have to be organized. You have to know where your team is at, where everybody is supposed to be and making sure that everybody knows what their job and what their job responsibilities are supposed to be.
If you're not organized and you don't set that tone in the morning, it can go upside down real quick. Unfortunately, prep is down in the bottom. So if you don't set yourself up for success even starting with the line cooks all the way to the supervisors and managers, one moment of not paying attention can cost you a trip downstairs.
That takes another 30 minutes. You just really have to be organized. We have a great team. The team that we have has really done a phenomenal job. They're all new to it. Like I said, normally you have a chef that's been at an operation for quite some time and they start molding and building their team. Unfortunately, everybody was on ground, fresh like brand new. Everybody is in the same game, starting the first game together. So with that, it was a little challenging at first, but a lot of people have risen up to the challenge and has done a phenomenal job getting this place to where it is right now, where we finally feel like a team. I mean, we've only been open for almost a little over a month and you would feel like I've been working with them for years because they're starting to get how it's supposed to be. Everybody's such a hard worker. They're trying to do the best that they can do. As long as we're organized and it's constant communication, it does well. We've been doing well so far.
V Spehar:
And you do notice that as a guest in the dining room and at the bar. You can tell that people are genuinely happy to be working there. If they're not, they're certainly putting on a great show because they seem to be having just as much fun as I was as a guest. So it was really... Again, when you're in New York, these are experiences that you can't just like have every day. For anyone who's thinking, "Well, I don't like to go to Times Square because I'm a real new Yorker," like you're not a real New Yorker unless you go to Times Square. Tourist stuff is fun because it's fun.
Natalie Cohee:
Right. It is fun.
V Spehar:
Get in there and do it. So I have to ask with the fandom, did you feel a lot of pressure from the Jimmy Buffett fandom and from the amount of songs he has about food to include that when you were developing your menu?
Natalie Cohee:
Well, I think we all know the Cheeseburger In Paradise, that's a staple.
V Spehar:
Had to happen.
Natalie Cohee:
It had to happen. No matter what, you have to put on the classics. The volcano nacho, the cheeseburger, the lava lava shrimp, those are all things that are stables within Margaritaville. We were able to tie in different things within this menu due to the fact that we are in New York. It is a different concept, a different vision. So we did have to bring in a little bit of things that we were not normally going to have on a menu. We brought in the whole snapper. We wanted to bring a little bit of the Caribbean into New York, but still keep it eclectic and nice versus just having the burgers and things like that.
So we're running the whole snapper, which is probably one of the top sellers that we have. It's a beautiful dish. Everybody loves it. It's fun to make. Not everywhere are you going to find in New York City, whole snapper. We get it locally, so it makes it even better trying to support the local community here. As well as bringing in a filet we've changed up. We bought a steam pot. Especially LandShark, it's supposed to be by the beach. That's what our vision is behind that concept.
So with that, we brought in a steam pot, which has crab legs, clams, shrimp, potatoes, and Dewey. That is a favorite. A lot of people love enjoying eating that by the pool. And that's probably our number one seller. That's not something on every other menu within the concept. And here we are about to roll it out nationwide because that's how big of a seller it has been.
V Spehar:
Yeah, the Northeast is hot for that clambake
Natalie Cohee:
Yeah. They love it. They love it. I love it too. So I'm all for the clambake.
V Spehar:
Real talk though, how many cheeseburgers are served in paradise a week?
Natalie Cohee:
In this beautiful paradise, it is still going, but traditionally you'll sell 40,000 cheeseburgers a week.
V Spehar:
40,000?
Natalie Cohee:
Yup.
V Spehar:
Oh my goodness. 40,000 cheeseburgers in paradise. I believe it.
Natalie Cohee:
Yeah. I mean, depending on what venues you can go to, it can be astronomically crazy. We were just last, what was it, a couple, maybe like six or seven months ago. We ended up doing a segment in Pigeon Forge and they're like, "How many pickles do you really sell?" I'm like, "Do you want me to tell you how many gallons of pickles I've sold?" It was like 47,000 gallons of pickles.
V Spehar:
Wow.
Natalie Cohee:
That's a lot of gallons of pickles. A lot of pickle chips is what I talked about.
V Spehar:
Well, it's lettuce and tomato, kosher deli. Heinz 57. We got to have it.
Natalie Cohee:
They love it.
V Spehar:
It's got to be like the song. I mean the fandom is wild. How many cold draft beers you think you're going with those burgers?
Natalie Cohee:
Oh, Geez. You would think the draft beer would be the biggest seller, but it's the margarita.
V Spehar:
It's the margarita.
Natalie Cohee:
It's the margarita. I mean, you're talking ridiculous amount of Margaritaville. I mean, easily, like if I put all five concepts going into it, we're selling almost 20,000 margaritas. That's a lot of margaritas.
V Spehar:
20,000 margaritas. I have to say a shout out to John at the Margaritaville Bar. And my bartender made a perfect margarita and it sure was.
Natalie Cohee:
It was perfect. He's perfect.
V Spehar:
He is. Hey, John. So tell me a little bit more about how this property differs from others in the collection? Because folks like to go to all of them. There's, I think like 20 or something of it now, isn't it?
Natalie Cohee:
Yes.
V Spehar:
Quite a few.
Natalie Cohee:
I mean, this concept is completely different than what I think any of us really envisioned it. They had a vision. So I think it is exactly what they envisioned. It's just to take a concept that is known for tropical oasis and bring it into Times Square, you have to be ready for that vision. It just can't happen overnight. They went a lot of thought and process into designing the building and to getting it to where it is to now conceptualizing it and having Margaritaville Times Square.
Normally, they're on the beach, they're in a tropical destination, that's sunshine all the time. And they decided you have to take that concept bigger and bolder. And the best way to do that is to bring it into Times Square. It is an island. It's not surrounded by the tropical beaches, but it is surrounded by water and you just have to be ready for that boldness of just taking it on. Parrot heads as they call it. They love everything. Anything in Margaritaville, you can put it almost anywhere. They're going to show up.
V Spehar:
Absolutely.
Natalie Cohee:
They love it. And you know, we love it as well.
V Spehar:
I have some stats that's on the Parrot Heads actually as my father was a founding member of the Parrot Heads Club, it's three countries, 47 states, three Canadian provinces with a membership of almost 28,000 active Parrot Head members. Not just Jimmy Buffett fans or fans of music or fans of the franchise, but people who are actively in a club, the Parrot Heads club.
Natalie Cohee:
It's astonishing.
V Spehar:
It's wild.
Natalie Cohee:
It's awesome. I mean, they help keep us alive. They keep us going and we're constantly trying to do things for them as well. No matter where you've been, pretty much, everybody has heard the songs from Jimmy Buffett. You kind of know who Jimmy Buffett is one way or another. And to bring that into Times Square and bring in a tropical beachy, fun vibe atmosphere, I think is exactly what New York needed to bring in the pool outside.
I mean, it's just a whole nother vibe. New York is such a fast paced environment and we're trying to slow it down. In life, we got to slow down. We got to enjoy it a little bit more, and I hope that when people come into Margaritaville, they feel that. They get to feel to slow down, enjoy and sip a drink, take a...
V Spehar:
Just be goofy.
Natalie Cohee:
Enjoy life. Enjoy who you're with and have fun with that.
V Spehar:
As if the five restaurants wasn't enough, the 32 floors, the outside pool. This has got to be the only Margaritaville with a synagogue also and a kosher kitchen included within it.
Natalie Cohee:
Yes, it is.
V Spehar:
Are you managing that process as well? Is that separate.
Natalie Cohee:
Well, right now it's still in construction. Our owner decided to pay tribute to actually keeping the lease with the synagogue. Right now it's still under construction and with it still being under construction eventually it will reopen and we want the congregation to welcome them back. Right now, they're still in the process of finishing the construction underground, but it will have a full kitchen and all that. It is separately managed, but it's nothing like having a synagogue attached to it. It just opens up the doors for us, longevity wise to help out and especially to support our local community.
V Spehar:
When you think about New York City and you think about negotiating your property, to go so far out of their way to make sure that they were negotiating the building of the synagogue and the terrace and the kosher kitchen, I think that's such a Testament to SoHo properties and to the ethos and the vibe behind Margaritaville being a fair and safe place for everyone where you just enjoying things, because it just makes sense to do the right thing.
Natalie Cohee:
Absolutely. We definitely did the right thing with keeping the synagogue and being able to have that underneath us. It's a good thing, for sure.
V Spehar:
It's a cool thing. No cheeseburgers down there probably, but we'll figure something else.
Natalie Cohee:
No cheeseburgers for sure.
V Spehar:
Other Margaritavilles have the erupting volcano or a spa or a zip-line. You've got the sixth floor pool and you've also got a light show?
Natalie Cohee:
Yes.The Statue of Liberty is actually holding a margarita. It's pretty much like cheersing off to 5:00 somewhere. It's cheersing off and that light show goes off every hour on the hour, and it's pretty much just an awesome light show. You have to come check it out. It's too hard to explain because it's one of those ones you just need to see what it does.
V Spehar:
Well, I want to ask a little bit more about the development of the menu, because you do have such a strong background in developing these flavors and you have such a strong personality when it comes to your food. Margaritaville also published a cookbook by Julia Turshen and Chef Carlo. Was there pressure to include their recipes and the hyper signature dishes? Or was it mostly like, "Hey, y'all kind of got to do these hyper signature dishes that everybody loves, but then you have a ton of freedom on the other side"?
Natalie Cohee:
Most of it was we knew what we have to bring which is the Cheeseburger in Paradise. Those are staples. I don't think there was much pressure at all, as far as going into the cookbook. We do have some phenomenal corporate chefs within our establishment that spent endless time and hours trying to figure out what this market would entail and what does it need to do to make it completely different than other Margaritaville, but still keeping some of our signatures dishes.
Chef Dan did an amazing job honing into that and making sure that although we are in a more eclectic area, we still have to hone into what our true value is. And that is the cheeseburgers, the fish and chips and the shrimp, the volcano nachos. I mean, those are our staples and that's who we are. So you want to keep those staples, but you also want to be creative and broaden out your menu to kind of suit everything. And they did a phenomenal job with it.
V Spehar:
And like you said, you do the local snapper dish. Is there any other local stuff or fun things that you've been exploring food-wise since getting to New York City?
Natalie Cohee:
We've started to dabble into a few things that I can't mention yet, but they are soon to be coming to the rooftop deck. We're going to kind of take another spin on the menu and revamping that. We are doing some menu tweaking to see what people are enjoying within New York and there are coming, but I just get to dabble into their...
V Spehar:
All right. So some more city stuff coming soon.
Natalie Cohee:
There are some secrets coming soon.
V Spehar:
So you as a person though, now living in New York City, working in the Times Square, have you had a chance to get out and go out to dinner anywhere here? Have you found a favorite?
Natalie Cohee:
My main focus since I've been here is getting this big steam ship rolling. Unfortunately, we joke about it all the time. It's like, what have you gone out anywhere? Unfortunately, no. I do spend most of the time there, but for this to be successful, that's what it takes. We need to focus on this. I'm running this and getting this operation going. I have dabbled out a little bit within Times Square. I'm loving a little Chinatown and Asian markets and stuff like that. My secret passion is Asian. So I love Asian influence. So a lot of noodle bars whenever I get a chance too.
V Spehar:
The best.
Natalie Cohee:
And in the next six months you asked me that. I promise I'll have some good answers for you.
V Spehar:
I'll definitely be calling and finding out. If you need any help with recommendations, I mean, Cherry Bombe has a few.
Natalie Cohee:
Perfect. I would take them.
V Spehar:
So with the success of Margaritaville and this project just erupting right now, are you even taking time to think about the future or is it really about being hyper present? Where do you see this type of cuisine, this type of experience going?
Natalie Cohee:
I sit there every once in a while when I'm on the 32nd deck and I'm like to finally be here, this has been an operation. This has been trying to get going for so long. The ground broke we're opened. Finally, the moving parts have started, are finally here. We've finally reached it. I remember when I first started with them back in August of last year, and actually today is my one year with the company.
V Spehar:
Oh, congratulations.
Natalie Cohee:
It's funny that here, I'm doing an interview about it. So a year ago, I never thought, you couldn't ever see the vision of it finally getting open because with COVID unfortunately that put a lot of things and stopped a lot of things.
Once I got to New York and we finally got in the building and they handed over basically the keys to us, it's like, we're finally here. Now, it's time to like let's get this thing going. We've got to get this place open. Now that it's finally open, it's like we did it. We finally did it. What's next after this? This is just the groundbreaking for what IMC and Margaritaville are going to do.
I think there's many more resorts that are going to be opening in the same type of venue, same type of concept, big, bold, and different than what we're used to. So I see a lot of traveling in the near future once this gets going. I think there's going to be a lot of opportunities for growth within going overseas, all over the United States. I just see a lot of openings soon happen.
V Spehar:
For a lot of them chefs there's the in-house experience. And then some of the ambitions they have in building a culinary profile for them as a culinary personality. Are there any competitions or festivals or shows and stuff you'd love to do? Is that something you're thinking about?
Natalie Cohee:
For sure, as far as cooking competitions. I mean, back in Florida where I came from, we used to do a lot of them. I'm all for barbecue chili cook-offs. Anything that's like that. I love the competitive aspect of that and getting to do your own thing and your own twist. As far as TV shows, my inspiration truly is chef's table. If you've ever seen it, I mean, some of those chefs are just breathtaking, mindblowing. The things that they are able to accomplish and that they do with the food. Things that I inspire to do.
All my spare time, that's what I want to do is kind of relive those. I love going to fine dining bougie restaurants, just to look at the food and see what the chefs are doing. My favorite is either Victoria Albert's in Florida or Alinea in Chicago.
V Spehar:
That's a nice one.
Natalie Cohee:
Yeah. So that's where I like to kind of dabble into. Although, I can't do anything as fancy as they can do. It's just where my passion is.
V Spehar:
Sometimes it's just fun to watch other people be awesome at their thing.
Natalie Cohee:
Exactly.
V Spehar:
I think that's the best part about the culinary industry is we can all be good at our thing and then be so excited for someone else's good.
Natalie Cohee:
Absolutely.
V Spehar:
Just like mind-blowing.
Natalie Cohee:
Yep. You have to root the other one on. If you can't do it, let them do it and they do it well and I'll enjoy what they're doing.
V Spehar:
Yeah. Hospitality is one of the few industries where the give and take is so 50-50. You want to take care of somebody when they come to your place and they want to take care of you when you go to theirs. It's just like this beautiful little ecosystem that I wish we could set the rest of the world by.
Natalie Cohee:
Absolutely.
V Spehar:
Okay. It is now time for the speed round. I'm going to ask you a bunch of questions. Don't think about it. Just throw out what your gut reaction answers.
Natalie Cohee:
Okay.
V Spehar:
All right. Here we go, Chef. What is the most under appreciated spice in the pantry?
Natalie Cohee:
Cumin.
V Spehar:
I love that. Do you cook at home?
Natalie Cohee:
No.
V Spehar:
No. Good. What's your most requested dish?
Natalie Cohee:
Barbecue ribs. Is there anything that you just won't eat?
It used to be cow tongue until my better half just made me eat tacos and without me knowing, and it was actually phenomenal. So now I can't say no.
V Spehar:
So we'll love her.
Natalie Cohee:
That's it.
V Spehar:
We're in.
Natalie Cohee:
Yeah.
V Spehar:
Is there anyone in your family who thinks they can out cook you?
Natalie Cohee:
My dad, 100%.
V Spehar:
Can he?
Natalie Cohee:
Probably on some things. He did teach me how to do all the grills. So he's a master of the Weber. Okay. Weber dead. If you could have dinner with one person dead or alive, who would it be?
V Spehar:
Gordon Ramsey. That'd be a good one. Is there a dish from your past that you wish you could have just one more time.
Natalie Cohee:
My mother's pork chops. Country fried pork chops.
V Spehar:
Okay. Very divisive question coming your way. What is your favorite Jimmy Buffett song?
Natalie Cohee:
Bama Breeze.
V Spehar:
Bama Breeze. Good answer.
Natalie Cohee:
It reminds me of being in Key West when I turned 21 down there, but it's completely not about Key West. It hones into my spirit of being in Key West being young. That's it. I like that song.
V Spehar:
I love it. Is a hot dog a sandwich or?
Natalie Cohee:
It's a sandwich.
V Spehar:
It's a sandwich. Oh, insane.
Natalie Cohee:
It is a sandwich.
V Spehar:
It's a sandwich. It's meat and bun.
Natalie Cohee:
Yes.
V Spehar:
Condiments. So Chef Natalie, I am so grateful that you were here with me today and we got to talk about Margaritaville and what Caribbean food is looking like, and Times Square. I have said that Jimmy Buffett is the fascia, the connective tissue, holding millennial children to their boomer dads. We could just put on Cheeseburger in Paradise and put all of our other troubles aside. I very much look forward to booking a vacation to Margaritaville Times Square, bringing my dad in and just escaping everything that's been going on post pandemic, during the pandemic. And I very much look forward to another Cheeseburger in Paradise at your restaurant.
Natalie Cohee:
Thank you so much. I'm so glad to be here and I'm glad to explain to New York and the fellow ladies out there a little bit about me and what Margaritaville has to offer. We're glad to be here. We're glad to give New York a little escapism and not so much honking. Listen to Jimmy Buffett, enjoy drink a Margaritaville.
V Spehar:
Less honking, more perfect margaritas.
Natalie Cohee:
Absolutely.
V Spehar:
I'll take it. Thank you so much, Natalie.
Natalie Cohee:
Thank you so much for having me.
V Spehar:
Thank you so much to Chef Natalie Cohee, the executive chef at Margaritaville in Times Square. It has been an absolute blast filling in for Kerry. And while this is my last show for a little while, I'll hopefully be back in the future.
Radio Cherry Bombe is a production of Cherry Bombe Magazine. Want some more Cherry Bombe in your life? Sign up for our newsletter at cherrybombe.com. Love this episode? You can find Radio Cherry Bombe interviews with other cool chefs, including Deborah VanTrece and Claudia Fleming wherever you get your podcasts.
Radio Cherry Bombe is recorded at Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Thank you to Joe Hazan, studio engineer for Newsstand Studios and our assistant producer, Jenna Sadhu. Thanks for listening, everybody. You're the bombe.
Harry From When Harry Met Sally:
I'll have what she's having.