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Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Rapoport’s Restaurant Group. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
Rapoport’s Restaurant Group: Meet the Chefs
Rapoport’s Restaurant Group has been delighting diners in South Florida for over 30 years. While RRG leader and veteran restaurateur Burt Rapoport, as well as his restaurants Burt & Max’s, Deck 84 and Max’s Grille, are very well known restaurants in Palm Beach County, the brains behind the current cuisine offerings might not be so familiar.
I thought it would be fun to go behind the scenes with these culinary professionals and get to know a little bit about them outside of the kitchen. Time to take off your chefs hats, gentlemen! Let’s meet the men behind the menus of Rapoports…
Meet the Chef: RRG Culinary Director, Patrick Broadhead
Fun Fact: Chef Patrick started as a line cook at Max’s Grille in 1995, where he worked on and off for 15+ years, eventually becoming Executive Chef. In 2006, he became Executive Chef at Burt & Max’s, and now holds the position of culinary director for the entire group, overseeing and supporting all of the restaurants’ chefs. I met Patrick for the first time back when I was working at the Publix Aprons Cooking School when he came in to do a cooking demo!
SW: What would be the first song on the soundtrack of your life and why?
PB: “19 Something” by Mark Willis. This song is basically a recap of my upbringing through the late 70s and 80s, from Star Wars to the Dukes of Hazzard, but I would never want to be Roger Staubach. Terry Bradshaw was my hero! I also grew up in a small town and spent most of my existence trying to escape, only to realize that those times were as good as it gets.
SW: If someone offered you a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
PB: Barcelona, to begin a culinary tour of Europe.
SW: What advice would you give your 15-year-old self?
PB: Be smarter with your money and invest in real estate.
SW: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
PB: Play professional baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals.
SW: Finish the sentence: When I’m not in the kitchen, I am ________________.
PB: Loving family life with two young boys and my beautiful wife.
SW: Finish the sentence: In ten years, I will be ______________.
PB: In Burt’s shoes.
Meet the Chef: Burt & Max’s, Anthony Rodriguez
Fun Fact: Chef Anthony started his chef career in Lantana, but joined the Rapoport’s family shortly thereafter. He worked as a sous chef at the former Bogart’s Bar & Grille and Henry’s. He left Rapoport’s for a bit in 2011, starting as a sous chef at Josef’s Table in Boca, which was named Best New Restaurant by Boca Raton Magazine that year. He was promoted to Executive Chef and worked there for four years before becoming a private chef on Palm Beach Island. He’s now come full circle, returning to RRG, as Executive Chef for Burt & Max’s.
SW: What would be the first song on the soundtrack of your life and why?
AR: “La Perla” by Calle 13. It’s speaks to my upbringing with Puerto Rican culture and very much makes me think of my mother.
SW: If someone offered you a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
AR: Italy. I would spend my time there trying local cuisine and visiting historical sites.
SW: What advice would you give your 15-year-old self?
AR: Watch the company you keep and focus on your studies.
SW: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
AR: I wanted to be a chef! Although a close family member told me I couldn’t, because chefs have to come from bloodlines of chefs. I also remind them they told me that every time I see them.
SW: Finish the sentence: When I’m not in the kitchen, I am ________________.
AR: With my children, as being a chef takes up a lot of your time and I have to make every moment count.
SW: Finish the sentence: In ten years, I will be ______________.
AR: Leading a brigade of young chefs aspiring to rise in the ranks of the culinary world, and vetting young men who are trying to court my daughter.
Meet the Chef: Deck 84, Addam Actis
Fun Fact: Chef Addam started his culinary career at the Sundy House, where he was sous chef and eventually was promoted to Executive Chef. He then made his way to RRG, where he was a sous chef at Henry’s, the former Bogart’s Bar & Grille, Deck 84 and Burt & Max’s. At one point, he opened his own restaurant in Delray with a colleague, and yours truly hosted a couple of fun events there! Although it unfortunately did not make it, Addam found footing with RRG again and was Executive Chef at Burt & Max’s last year before coming back to Deck 84.
SW: What would be the first song on the soundtrack of your life and why?
AA: “These Days” Foo Fighters, my favorite band, and a song that I can listen to over and over. It just makes sense.
SW: If someone offered you a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
AA: Somewhere with an abundance of nature. Whistler [British Columbia, Canada], Colorado, Iceland.
SW: What advice would you give your 15-year-old self?
AA: Be much more disciplined, sooner. Develop your organization traits early on.
SW: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
AA: Professional baseball player, an astronaut, or a fighter jet pilot.
SW: Finish the sentence: When I’m not in the kitchen, I am ________________.
AA: Dog stuff… Catching up on shows, movies, and sports.
SW: Finish the sentence: In ten years, I will be ______________.
AA: I do not think that far ahead, ever.
Meet the Chef: Max’s Grille, Mike Casari
Fun Fact: Chef Mike has worked in some impressive environments. He worked under Chef Art Smith, who was at one time the personal chef for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama, and at Joanne Trattoria, a restaurant owned by Lady Gaga’s family. He first joined the Rapoport’s Restaurant Group working at Deck 84, then the former Rappy’s, then moved to Burt & Max’s, and now leads the kitchen at Max’s Grille.
SW: What would be the first song on the soundtrack of your life and why?
MC: “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, because I feel like my life as a chef is a crazy train ride that just keeps on moving along, especially this past year.
SW: If someone offered you a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
MC: Dubai. I would like to see the food and night life scene in this beautiful part of the world.
SW: What advice would you give your 15-year-old self?
MC: Appreciate the hard times because it makes the success sweeter.
SW: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
MC: A chef.
SW: Finish the sentence: When I’m not in the kitchen, I am ________________.
MC: Hanging with my dogs or golfing with my friends.
SW: Finish the sentence: In ten years, I will be ______________.
MC: Enjoying life.
As you can see, each and every one of these chefs has been part of the Rapoport’s family for years and years — and even if they’ve left, they all came back! There is a reason that RRG was named the number one medium-sized workplace for South Florida Sun Sentinel’s “Top Places to Work” 2020, and also received the ‘Leadership’ specialty award for the mid-size category. RRG prides itself on being the premier restaurant company in South Florida, and if you haven’t already heard the news… The family is growing! Look out for more information soon about the newest RRG “child,” coming October 2021.
Make Rapoport’s Restaurant Group Your Top Choice for South Florida Dining
Burt & Max’s is located at 9089 West Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. Online ordering is available and reservations can be made on Open Table or by calling 561-638-6380. The restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30am-3pm and dinner Monday through Thursday from 4:30-9pm, Friday and Saturday from 4:30-10pm, and Sunday from 4:30-8pm. Brunch is served Saturday from 11:30am-3pm and Sunday from 11am-3pm.
Deck 84 is located at 840 East Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. Online ordering is available and reservations can be made on Open Table or by calling 561-665-8484. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 12-9pm, Friday and Saturday from 12-10pm, and Sunday from 11am-9pm. Brunch is served Saturday from 12-2pm and Sunday from 11am-2pm.
Max’s Grille is located at 404 Plaza Real Mizner Park in Boca Raton. Online ordering is available and reservations can be made on Open Table or by calling 561-368-0080. The restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30am-3pm, and dinner Sunday through Thursday from 5-9pm and Friday and Saturday from 5-10pm. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday from 11:30am-3pm.
