It’s a marvel that Tavel Bristol-Joseph ever finds time to cook at home considering the role he plays in 11 restaurant kitchens across Austin and San Antonio. He’s the pastry chef and partner at the Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group but splits most of his time these days between Canje, a Caribbean spot that landed on Bon Appétit’s 10 Best New Restaurants of 2022, and Pullman Market, the group’s 40,000-square-foot culinary hub with everything from a dessert tasting counter to a whole animal butcher. At home, his kitchen is as functional and ergonomic as those professional spaces, with a bit more room for fun. He’s got a wall oven placed to match his stature (he’s six foot five, after all), an extra-large fridge to fit both groceries and samples from work, and the internet’s latest gadget obsession (the Ninja Creami). And he isn’t afraid to play around with it. It’s a space tailored for creativity and for indulging in the more delicious side of bringing work home.
Small design details like French doors and clear, bright white fluorescent lighting are essential for Bristol-Joseph. “As a chef, when you go grocery shopping, you want to buy everything you see because you never know what you’re going to practice on,” he says. So it’s important that the refrigerator is spacious enough to fit everything that catches his eye at the store, alongside leftovers and in-progress dishes that may show up on the menu at one of his restaurants.
With five-burners and a powerful 16,000-BTU unit in the center, cooking in large pots for large crowds is effortless. It’s also just right for searing steaks, which Bristol-Joseph exclusively makes in a scorching hot cast-iron pan.
Yeti Cast-Iron Skillet 12
Thinner and lighter than a standard cast-iron, makes for a skillet that feels more like you’re handling a frying pan. “It’s unlike any cast-iron I’ve ever used,” Bristol-Joseph says.
Bosch Single Wall 30″ Electric Oven
Installing a wall oven was a game changer for Bristol-Joseph. “I’m accustomed to the classic oven that’s underneath your stove, but having the oven on the wall, it’s a little bit taller than your regular oven, so for a tall guy, it works perfectly for me,” he says. While this model has an array of broil and convection baking modes, it’s also got a proofing setting for a seamless final rise of homemade bread dough.
Ninja Creami XL Deluxe 11-in-1 Ice Cream and Frozen Treat Maker
Bristol-Joseph’s 16-year-old daughter, Charvel, became fascinated with the Creami on TikTok and talked her father into experimenting. “I’ve used a Pacojet in restaurants for a long time, but I didn’t see the sense in a $4,000 piece of equipment for the house” he says. Ninja’s machine mimics the Pacojet’s high-powered micro-purée technology, letting the family whip up silky-smooth watermelon-lime sorbet at home.
