Good Eggs
Musings from a Michelin-starred retreat, frittata wisdom, and wines that actually work with breakfast.
Hello Friends—
“An omelette and a glass of wine.”
This phrase was made iconic by Elizabeth David, the fiercely independent food writer who helped drag postwar Britain out of its culinary gloom. While rationing still haunted kitchen tables, she wrote of Mediterranean sunshine, seasonal produce, and the quiet joys of the everyday luxury that can be found in a tomato or egg. Her writing didn’t just offer recipes—it offered permission. Permission to slow down. To pour yourself something nice. To cook something unfussy, and to take real pleasure in it.
In her world, a single egg dish and a modest pour wasn’t meager—it was elegant. It meant you had taste, and maybe more importantly, that you had time to enjoy it.
I thought about this a couple weeks ago at our annual company retreat for Gracious Hospitality Management—GHM, our parent company behind COTE and COQODAQ. Ten years ago, this company was just me and my three Korean big brothers: Simon Kim (our visionary restaurateur and CEO), Chef David Shim (our meat master, precision-driven and calm as a monk), and Wesley Sohn (our original front-of-house dude turned Director of Hospitality).
Back then, we didn’t know exactly where it would go—but we believed in good food, good wine, and the kind of hospitality that makes people feel seen.
Now? Our corporate team is 22 strong, and each of our four restaurants employs over 100 people. This was our biggest retreat yet—and let me tell you, hospitality people know how to retreat. There was whitewater rafting (fiercely competitive- at one point we deemed a bald eagle sighting as a sign that our team was ordained to win. We won.), endless snacks (critical), a little wild bear action, and a lot of late-night cooking.
But the moment that stuck with me most?
Not the big celebratory dinners, not the fancy proteins cooked over fire. It was breakfast on the final morning.
Our COO, Alex Muñoz-Suarez—a Cuban powerhouse of a man with EBITDA always on the brain, a hospitality heart, and the kind of outdoor cooking setup at his home that would make Francis Mallman jelly—took the lead. Also, pretty G to have a COO cooking for his whole team down in the scullery (I say this because it actually was a true scullery at the house we rented). He made a dish that was back by Popular Demand. It was the fan favorite of last year’s summit and this year, remained the same. He made a frittata. That’s it. Just a big, humble, glorious frittata. Eggs, vegetables, herbs, a little cheese. No tweezers, no sous-vide, no truffle shavings. Just good ingredients and someone who cares. It gave us all the permission to slow down, and enjoy one another’s company in the final moments of our trip.
After three days of sodium, wine, and deep woods shenanigans, that frittata felt like a lifeline. And in that moment, I realized: this is it. This is the thing. The Elizabeth David thing. The GHM thing.
Good people. Cooking for each other. Eating together.
On our retreat, we asked: how do you delight guests who already expect to be delighted? As Simon said, it’s like making a horror film—if the audience knows they’re supposed to be scared, you have to go even further to truly surprise them. It’s a huge task, and we have to do it hundreds of times, every night. So sometimes a little time away together gives us all the perspective on how to do this. Like creating micro-moments of theater and—in an isolated and tech-driven world—giving guests memorable goodbyes, takeaways, and follow-ups. Because true hospitality isn’t just about the food or service—it’s about leaving people better than you found them. That’s what we strive to do every night in our dining rooms. And honestly, it’s something anyone can practice—whether you're hosting dinner or just texting a friend back with intention. We all have the power to create moments that make others feel seen, surprised, and genuinely cared for.
Another one of GHM’s secret weapons is the Frittata King’s wife, Elizabeth Meltz. She’s hospitality’s hidden gem—not a dish or bottle, but a person. With 15+ years leading ops at Eataly and Tacombi, she now runs EM PATH, a consulting practice that helps hospitality teams work through conflict, culture shifts, and unspoken tensions. No buzzwords—just real talk, deep listening, and steady guidance that makes people feel seen and want to show up. Her work is part strategy, part therapy, part magic. Most restaurants don’t realize they need her—until they really do. And it’s that same philosophy—of caring deeply, listening harder, and showing up fully—that we try to bring to every table we serve. If you’ve dined with us, we hope you’ve felt it. If you haven’t yet, we’d love to show you what it means. Even outside of hospitality, that mindset changes everything. When we meet each other with empathy instead of ego, our homes, workplaces, and friendships all get better.
So what wine did we bring on the trip? And what would I pair with that frittata? And what exactly goes into a “Big-Swinging COO Frittata”?
So if you haven’t yet—subscribe. 👇👇👇
Subscribers get the goods below:
→ My go-to wine pairings for egg dishes, from brunch omelettes to hungover shakshuka. AVOID the sulfuric compound death sentence!!! Don’t embarrass yourself at brunch!
→ The actual recipe for Alex’s retreat frittata (yes, I made him write it down).
→ Some very sentimental photos from the trip that might make you want to quit your job and join our restaurant world. Yes, we are hiring.
Cheers,
VJ
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Bonus bits…
Things I’m Obsessed With Right Now (and You Will Be Too):
🔥 HOT GARLEEK GIRL SUMMER is here. Dan Barber’s new “it” vegetable just showed up on my doorstep and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Imagine the sweet creaminess of a leek... with a garlicky punch that grills up like a dream. It’s addictive. You’ll want to eat it straight off the grill like it’s corn on the cob. (FYI you can also snag the seeds and grow your own—I’m growing their tomatoes and cucumbers on our rooftop as we speak!)
🌞 This body butter bar = summer skin holy grail. Made by a former pastry chef turned skincare sorceress, this after-sun lotion bar is pure magic. I slather it on post-beach like like I am a piece of buttered, crispy toast.. I haven’t touched regular lotion since.
