Loss Leaders

Alex Stupak’s ‘Push Project’ Won’t Make Any Money, But That’s Hardly the Point

Oysters, for strength!
Oysters, for strength! Photo: Melissa Hom

Over at First We Feast, Empellón Cocina chef and co-owner Alex Stupak explains that his ongoing “Push Project” dinner series — the second installment of which begins tomorrow and continues Friday — is meant really only to profit the creative process. “You’re basically making the decision to throw your livelihood into a state of anarchy for a week,” he writes, explaining the rationale of planning, sourcing. and cooking intense menus with a visiting chef that cannot possibly turn a healthy profit. So why do it? “This will sound strange,” writes Stupak, “but I think one of the key ingredients to a long career of creativity and progression is a healthy dose of destruction every now and then.” [First We Feast, Earlier, Earlier]

Alex Stupak’s ‘Push Project’ Won’t Make Any Money, But