Chef de cuisine Valérie Muccio’s station at the grill in the new Kevin’s on Penn will be visible through the windows to passersby on Linden Street. Customers who book the “chef’s table” near the kitchen’s built-in wine rack also will be able to watch her and others cook.
Some of what they see will look familiar to customers of Kevin’s in Kingston. Both are part of the Friedman Hospitality Group.
She and executive chef Matt Gilbert are both veterans of Kevin’s.
Chef de cuisine Valerie Muccio, left, and Executive chef Matt Gilbert prepare for the opening on Kevin’s on Penn. (CHAD SEBIRNG/STAFF PHOTO)
They brought part of the menu with them. Steak and seafood are staples and the carryovers include shrimp and scallops with a sambuca blush sauce for $37, espresso martinis and crème brûlée.
Executive chef
Gilbert remains the executive chef at the Kingston restaurant. Owner Rob Friedman would not have launched Kevin’s on Penn without Gilbert and general manager John Lahr. “They love what they do; they love a challenge,” Friedman said.
Gilbert joined Friedman Hospitality around a decade ago, beginning as a sous chef at the Beaumont Inn near Dallas.
His self-taught career began when he was 15, working at The Highlands at Newberry Estates. He later worked at Connor’s Grillroom, also in the Back Mountain.
Chef de cuisine
Muccio will be in charge of the kitchen on a daily basis.
Cooking was where she found a home after what she called a hard upbringing. The Crestwood High School graduate hopes to be the kind of LGBTQ+ role model she lacked in her own life.
Before joining Kevin’s, her previous regional work included the Huntsville Golf Club, the Harvest Seasonal Grill and Bistro 174.
The 18 or so months she spent as sous chef at Kevin’s in Kingston was the best job she ever had. She intends for the new Kevin’s to have the same accepting atmosphere and passion about food as the Kingston restaurant.
“We fostered such a beautiful working environment where everybody was so passionate about food and they were so adamant on growing and learning and being the best versions of themselves,” she said. “And I know I inspired them, but they also inspired me.”
Muccio is excited about talking with customers at the chef’s table.
“I’ll come talk to you guys, see what you guys like, and kind of go from there,” Muccio said. “Get a little creative and make this more of a fun, special occasion thing.”
It is a place for the staff to ramp the creativity and try out things for future menus. “This is really where our ideas could go crazy, and that’s the fun part.”