This content was created by Dennis Littley. This content was uploaded by Dennis Littley. This is a YouTube interview titled "McLeod House in Inverness interview with Chef Michael Kulow" (published Dec 6, 2015). It records an on-site conversation between host Chef Dennis Littley and Chef Michael Kulow at the McLeod House in Inverness, Florida, discussing Kulow's background, how he came to open the restaurant, its size and seating, menu choices (notably sea bass, veal/shrimp piccata, classics), and the local community and dining atmosphere.
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All right, hi, I'm Chef Dennis Littley and we are at the McLeod House in Inverness, Florida. I'm here with Chef Michael and Chef Michael, what is your last name? Why don't you tell me?
Kulo.
Kulo. And how long have you been at the McLeod House?
I've had the McLeod House now for 6 years.
6 years.
Yeah.
And did you change the menu when you came?
Well, actually it had been 4 restaurants before I got here. I'd actually decided to open a restaurant as a, I don't know, gift to myself, my retirement restaurant, so to speak.
Yeah.
And I'd asked the Board of Health to find me one that was going to be highly negotiable.
Okay.
And so they'd been in and out of business so much that I came in, we started doing our thing. We're a little different for Citrus County. I think there's one other restaurant in the area that really does kind of what we do in the sense of having chili and sea bass and filet mignons and, you know, that type of stuff we do. So, but it worked, you know.
Wow.
We're here 6 years later.
And a gift for your retirement. Some people wouldn't think opening another restaurant would be a gift of retirement. They would—
well, you're a chef. Yes. You're never going to stop cooking, are you?
No.
No. So that's what we do.
And I know it is what we do, and that's— and I guess that's enough being said. But you came from another restaurant, and I think you said in St. Pete before?
Well, I'd owned another restaurant in St. Pete.
Okay.
I actually came mostly from the hotel business. I came out of the Hyatts and Marriotts, and I worked for a company called Continental Companies out of Miami, had the Pier House in Key West, Florida, and that was probably— the Pier House in Key West, Florida was probably the highlight of my career in many ways. So it was high-end food, biggest budget I could possibly have. I could I can have whatever I want from anywhere in the country. Nothing held me back.
It was nice. Those are good times. A lot of other responsibilities usually come with that though. It's like the golden goose. They just don't hand you money because they like you.
Yeah, it's 6 AM until midnight.
But in our younger days, it's something we can do and look back upon. But it sounds like you've got yourself a nice operation here. And how many seats do you have?
Well, we have 38 inside, 38 outside. So for dinner, it's almost always inside. Weather here is okay, but you know, there's always something— rains or bugs, whatever it may be. So the outside isn't quite as good to us as we'd like, but the 38 inside is for dinner especially.
That's very nice, and sometimes more of an intimate setting leads to you being able to do— have more control on what you do. Because, you know, we all have these grand ideas of bigger rooms and more covers, but with that comes a lot of other things you don't necessarily think about. So with 38 people, you can really provide them some very intimate, hands-on service where it's geared more towards personalized and really making each meal special.
And that's changed with us over the years. We started off, you know, we're We're basically triple what we started with. So we're kind of at our max at this point. Not a lot further we can go unless we rebuild. Probably won't do that. We like what we do. We'll stay right where we're at and enjoy it.
I can see that. And you know, you've got a nice town. Inverness is a good size. It's got a little bit of a Main Street. It's got a homey feel to it. And it sure beats the heck out of a big city life, you know. There's a lot to be said for some going in every now and then, but for actually working and spending most of your time, this would be the place to do it.
You know, I came here for a parade in downtown to watch my son in a parade, and I sat there having my coffee at a local place down here, and it was actually that day where I said, boy, what a nice place to open a restaurant.
Wow.
So that's what got it started, to be honest.
And St. Pete is not really a bad place to be either, but this is really kind of More personal and quiet.
This is country. Yeah, it is.
It is, and it's beautiful, and they seem to really have an affinity for nature.
Oh yeah.
You know, I've been spending time on the water and spending time on the trails. I went and saw the manatees today. So all this is in Citrus County, and honestly, I had never really thought much about Citrus County up until I got invited to come up here and see it.
Yeah, me too. 13 years ago. Yeah.
So, you know, it's amazing where people don't know about it, and you would think that more Floridians would find out about this and come visit. So I'm looking forward to dinner with you tonight. What are you cooking up? Anything off the menu tonight?
Well, tonight our features are chili and sea bass and a veal piccata, veal and shrimp piccata actually. Very nice. Both loved items here. The sea bass is probably our hottest item. I put that on the menu about 3 years ago, and now if I'm with We're in trouble.
Yeah, don't you love how that happens?
Oh yeah.
You find a good special, then you have a hard time getting it off the menu because everybody comes in for it. If it's not broke, don't fix it.
No, no, leave it alone.
Alright.
We have the same menu for 6 years now.
Well, you know, there's nothing wrong with that as long as you interject a few specials here and there.
Sure.
And change some of your side dishes. You know, it's all about comfort, and people find comfort in coming back and knowing they can get that same thing. The okra cod or that same sea bass. You know, it's— we eat because we come to places because we feel a connection. And knowing that they can get that food is part of the magic of coming in. Now granted, you know, some places are all about changing and flash and fusion, and it's like, every now and then to me that just like gets a little confusing. And I don't want that. I want to know I can come in and get what I want. If I want that sea bass, I know you you're going to have it for me, you're going to make it for me.
And we're old school. Yeah, we're not going to be the, you know, we have the crème brûlée and the chocolate torte and, you know, a lot of classic things.
Yeah, you know, and there's nothing wrong with that. I do some shows and I've been revisiting classics and people look at them sometimes like, oh my God, I forgot all about that. That was wonderful. You know, why don't we do more of those? And classics do have their place. And, you know, I'm thinking we may be old dogs, but we still know how to cook that food. And people still enjoy it. So there's no reason not to make it, and I'm looking forward to dinner tonight.
