Throughout the world, food is a keystone—a touchpoint of humanity through which we express our love of life and each other, and rejoice in the act of gathering together to experience the artistry and emotion that goes hand in hand with eating a delicious meal. Food is a language that transcends barriers. It joins us together in ways that go beyond the need to speak. For chef Michael Sichel at Raw & Juicy, this love and joy that food brings is the guiding star that drives him to create a menu of incredible locally sourced dishes each week in Alys Beach.
Michael grew up in a first-generation Italian family and was introduced to cooking at a young age. Despite the fact that many of the people around him didn’t speak the same language, they found themselves able to engage through the meals they created and shared with one another. “Many of my relatives didn’t even speak English. It would be me with my Italian grandmother and aunts, and we would just smile, and not be able to communicate with each other, but we would be talking through food.” This connection through food was born of love for one another, something that shaped his trajectory, and allowed him to explore who he wanted to be. He feels humbled and blessed to have experienced this kind of love-filled youth. “I was raised in a family with love and I can’t speak highly enough about how important that is. Because, when you’re loved, you really just feel like you can be yourself.” Through his family, Michael was able to recognize in himself a passion for cooking that has only grown over the years.
Despite recognizing this passion for cooking early on, it took many years for him to feel that he had truly found his path, and who he was meant to be. “I went to culinary school, I graduated college, and I just followed the path that I thought I was supposed to. But the thing is, you have to fi nd your own path. That’s what makes you feel most comfortable. I found who I was through food, but it was a long journey to get where I am now.” Indeed, before ultimately landing in Florida three years ago, Michael’s pursuits in learning the art of cooking provided him a plethora of experiences, took him around the globe, as he developed his skills as a chef.
On the path taken to “become himself,” as Michael puts it, he had the privilege of working with and for some of the best chefs in the country. He got his start in New York City, working for the acclaimed Alfred Portale at Gotham Bar and Grill (“Badass,” says Michael). Portale sent him out to San Francisco, and there he learned about a whole new way of cooking—a whole new way of living.
“In New York it’s all about speed. In San Francisco, though, things are slower. There was a deliberateness and intensity to things there—it shifted my mindset, and really made me want to be the best of the best.” After some time in California, Michael spent a few years in France, as well as London, Chicago, and several other cities renowned for their world-class cuisine. He even studied under one of the top pastry chefs in the country, En-Ming Hsu. He saw every experience as an opportunity to understand as much as he could, and implement that into his product. It wasn’t until he moved to Raw & Juicy at Alys Beach, however, that he went through a sort of renaissance, fi nally rediscovering his passion for creating food that went beyond just the technicality of the dish.
“I’m a very passionate person, and I think love is the beginning of that passion. Food is just the tool, the canvas. I’m a vessel. I developed my skills, and now food is how I’m able to show my talent, my creativity, my passion. Everything I create, I do through love.”
After moving around for so many years, it was somewhat by chance that this talented chef ended up at Raw & Juicy in Alys Beach.
“It was the pandemic’s impact on hospitality that brought us to 30A years before we planned on moving. We were very fortunate, because during that time we were really able to settle in and build a home down here. That being said, it did take a while before I found my people.”
It was in his quest to “find his people” that he serendipitously bumped into Jenifer Kuntz, the owner of Raw & Juicy. Michael says that he was immediately in awe of Jenifer. “She’s just an amazing person. She has a great vision, and is very passionate. She gave me a platform to be able to perform and create.” Jenifer and Michael were both excited by their shared vision for the Raw & Juicy dinner service, but Michael gives the credit to Jenifer for being able to see it through to fruition.
“She’s really connected to the area, and it was through her relationships that we were able to bring the idea of a farm- to-table, veggie-forward dinner menu to life. Her friend, Summer Brown, has a beautiful farm. Goat Island Farm in Point Washington started as a smaller garden and has grown into a farm that can serve a few restaurants and the local people in the area. We’re very passionate about it. It gives me the inspiration for the menus I create weekly.”
For Michael, the farm is both where he collects his ingredients and what drives his creativity. “You go out there and you just take a deep breath. You’re completely removed from society, and it’s just this field of incredible ingredients. I smile every time I get there.” It was this access to fresh ingredients that reinvigorated him. “Imagine you have all this experience, you have all of this knowledge and then all of a sudden you have this library of fresh ingredients that you’re harvesting yourself and then that dictates what you can make for the week. That’s the fun of it all. That’s where it reverts back to the beginning. I look at what Mother Nature offers, and I get to figure out how to make it entertaining and delicious and inspiring.”
The garden and the ingredients he gathers there are, in every sense, an artist’s medium. As he describes it, what he is able to do with the food that he sources from mere miles away is unlike anything he has ever done or experienced before as a chef. “I’m doing something on a weekly basis that I’ve never done in my life before. I’m having fun, not being in a rut of cooking, but instead being inspired by cooking daily.”
The menu and dinner service at Raw & Juicy are truly something special, and folks are taking notice. From Vogue editors to Alys Beach homeowners to 30A visitors, it seems as though everyone has found inspiration with Michael at the helm of their dinner experience. With uniquely seasonal plates, everything revolves around what can be sourced from the farms in the area. The menu changes every week and features nine diff erent dishes, all individually created based on what the farms produce. Every Wednesday he visits the farm to see what’s coming in, and every Sunday he goes out to harvest. Based on what he can harvest, he creates the menu for the week. “I’m rooted now, I’m truly rooted. I think of myself as a steward—I have to be a steward of these awesome resources. It’s humbling and it’s also magnifi cent and everything about life is just amazing right now because I’m doing what I like to do with the most beautiful product I’ve ever seen in my life. Everything that I’m creating is produced within a 150-mile radius of my location. And the only thing processing my food is my hands.”
This close-to-home product is crucial to what Michael is able to create in the kitchen, and it goes beyond mere freshness. “I’m really inspired by the ingredients I have access to. I started to create palates and foods that are more like pieces of art. I really think that the food that I create— beyond just tasting good—is beautiful. It really is beautiful. It captures me. It’s like I see the essence of it. I see the colors of it. I see how it looks, I see how it tastes. I see so many things that contribute toward that plate. And then as the plate evolves, it becomes more and more interesting. So it starts off as a small little idea and then every day it grows and grows. And I never stop thinking about what I can add to the plate to take it to the next step or the next interesting thing.” He sees the beauty in the product, but also in the process. From the growth of the vegetable, to the relationships he cultivates with the farmers, his staff , and his customers—all of it plays a role in the beautiful plates he is able to create every week.
Although arguably the most important part of the puzzle, the ingredients are still only one piece of the full experience that Michael is curating. Going back to his roots, he sees the food as a means of connection. He wants everyone who dines with him to have a meaningful experience, not just to eat tasty food. “Something about the environment encourages you to tap into your own creativity a little more deeply. It’s more than just a performance. What we’re doing, it connects with people. I want to have a service where it makes people feel appreciated. I don’t want to rush people through. When you hit the door, when you hit the dining room door, I want to make sure you feel loved. The minute you walk through that door to the minute you leave. I feel so grateful to be able to deliver this beautiful sustenance. It feels like it’s a gift I’m giving them. It’s about doing our craft to the highest ability and doing it with passion and love.” And Michael makes sure that this experience is felt, down to the last diner—every evening, the last table to leave receives a standing ovation from the entire staff . “The whole staff walks out with them and we applaud them and thank them for coming to join us. And I tell my staff that it’s not only an appreciation of the customer base, but I want us all to applaud ourselves for A-plus service, for a job well done.”
Michael’s team is an integral part of the full, soul- nourishing experience he’s crafting. He wants every person who works with him to feel connected to what it is that they’re doing. He knows fi rsthand that a loving environment is what allows individuals to thrive, and from there be able to produce an experience that is unlike any other. “I just want people to understand what our mission is. It’s about caring about what you do, caring about the people around you and respecting each other. It’s about making ourselves happy, and right now we got it going on. I have the best team. We’re having fun and we’re putting out gorgeous food and I just run around the kitchen all day long, if I’m not cooking, applauding people for their eff orts instead of telling them what they’re doing wrong.” Michael’s talent is his cooking, but his ability to mentor and inspire those around him is a gift he was given that he is passing on to those lucky enough to be in his orbit.
From farm to table, Michael takes joy in what he is able to do in his role as chef at Raw & Juicy in Alys Beach. Although not originally from Northwest Florida, the area and the relationships he’s built here have inspired him to return to his roots to share with people the joy that comes from engaging with food as an act of love and communion. “I’m a part of something that’s more than just what I do for a living. Most people think cooking is a job, but it’s more than that. I’m a part of something. I get to engage with the farms and producers, I get to engage with the customers—I feel like I get to be a part of the community. And you almost feel like you’re part of something bigger.” Michael has put down roots in Alys Beach, and what has grown here is a work of art meant to be shared and enjoyed by all.
