Restaurants are more than the person that owns them.  The hardworking chefs, sous-chefs, managers, servers, dishwashers, bartenders, and farmers keep the restaurant going, writes Craig LaBan for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

LaBan featured 16 rising stars at the region’s top 10 restaurants, including Michael Millon from Lansdowne, executive chef at Lark Restaurant in Bala Cynwyd.  

The 38-year-old credits his time at A Voce in Manhattan under Missy Robbins as his most important work experience before he came to Lark.

“It was the first job I ever had that I thought every day I wasn’t good enough. I just kept pushing and after about two months everything clicked. That kitchen broke me down and then built me back up,” he said.

His favorite kitchen tool is the wooden pasta table for its calming influence, and a broom, which he’s been using going back 25 years.

Millon earned praise from Lark owner and chef Nicholas Elmi, who worked with him side by side for the first three months of Lark.

He described it as the “most fun I’ve had cooking in a long time,” describing Millon as hysterical and serious at the same time.

Read more about Michael Millon and his work at Lark Restaurant at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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