Q&A with Donut Expert Chef Max Santiago

Aug 1, 2018 | Interview | 0 comments

Q&A with Donut Expert Chef Max Santiago

MEET CHEF MAX

Meet Chef Max Santiago, The Donut King and founder of the craft donut craze in Miami. You may know him from The Salty Donut, but he’s been making pastries and collecting awards for over two decades now. Get to know him even more in this candid interview.


Lots of exciting ventures ahead for Chef Max, so be sure to follow along his personal account @chefmaxsantiago. His secondary account, @madfordoughnuts, covers donut inspirations from around the world.

Expert: Max Santiago

@chefmaxsantiago | Miami, FL

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#donutlife @sugarfactorydonuts #donuts #nyc #lovemyjob

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I’ve been drawing and sculpting my whole life. I didn’t grow up making cookies like a lot of chefs did; my mom did all my cooking for me. I come from a Latin household and we grew up eating mostly Cuban food in Miami. Funny enough, I wasn’t exposed much to donuts growing up apart from Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme. My favorite dessert was a chocolate eclair, a pate choux pastry with a lot of cream in it. I didn’t know much about food and my parents over-cooked the crap out of everything! Half the stuff I didn’t know I liked until I got into the world of culinary.
 
I joined the Air Force at a young age, right out of high school. They put me into the World of Hospitality, and the area they needed the most help with was cooks. The recruiter told me, “You’re either gonna be a cop or a cook,” and at least he was honest with me…I’ve always given 100% into what I do so I just jumped in. I became the “overnight pastry guy” out there, in the middle of a camp. I ended up getting an Air Force Achievement medal and was part of a team that won the Hennessy Award*, a global U.S. Air Force competition. They flew us to Chicago and I got named as an excellent performer in the category.
 
I started in the savory kitchen, and I was really good at it, but I quickly picked up pastries because I was one of the few that had a good eye for detail. I wasn’t doing super fancy stuff in the Air Force, but I started already pushing the envelope because of my artistic side.
 
When I got out of the Air Force, I went to Culinary School right away at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Since 1998, I’ve worked the fine dining and five-star resort scene.
 
*Editor’s Note: The Hennessy Award program, named for hotel and restaurant executive John L. Hennessy, was established in 1957 to promote food service excellence in the U.S. Air Force. The competition is judged by the National Restaurant Association.

@chefmaxsantiago is my personal account covering my donuts, my desserts, and what I’m doing.

@madfordoughnuts is a tribute to all donuts around the globe. It’s the donuts that have given me inspiration.
I use donuts as a platform for desserts. I got famous for donuts with The Salty Donut, but I was an award-winning pastry chef making donuts long before.
Right before The Salty Donut, I worked as the Opening Pastry Chef for Michelle Bernstein, a James Beard Award winner, at The Thompson Hotel in South Beach. I was a single chef married to my job…I was working 14-18 hour days, sometimes more. That’s just how my life was. Even after all the awards and the accomplishments, I always felt like I needed to do something more.
I randomly got contacted by a couple doing “a pastry venture” in Wynwood and the time was just right to do something I loved. I wanted to have a regular work schedule, and I didn’t have to prove anything with my career anymore.
The Salty Donut was successful because it was the right timing — we were the first craft donut shop in Miami — with the right product and the right promotion. I learned so much about social media and branding, and acquired many friends in the Cell field of food influencers while I was there.

As Head Pastry Chef, I came up with the entire menu, hired and trained the entire kitchen staff, and designed the kitchen layout. I truly had access to every tool and every ingredient I could have ever asked for. I loved working there. I loved being home every night for dinner. Unfortunately, things did not work out between my partners and I so it was just time to do my own thing.

The Sugar Factory is great at attracting celebrities and generating buzz with their over-the-top presentations. I helped with their openings and trained other pastry chefs across the country.

Yes! This past year I’ve been really focused on building my own shop, set to open in the spring of 2019. We’ll be announcing the name of the shop soon, but it’s all about chef-driven techniques, all-day breakfast, and breakfast-for-lunch at an affordable price.
My official title is Culinary Director. As the owner, I want to build a business. Within three years, I plan on opening three to four other locations in Florida. Our flagship store will be in a high-traffic area of Miami, with the satellite locations in the backyards of the city.
You can expect donuts, sous vide eggs, sandwiches, and other savory foods — all made with donuts involved in some way — in a counter service setting, with some of the sandwiches available for takeaway. We’ll also have an incredible coffee experience.
*Editor’s Note: Here’s a sneak peek of the menu courtesy of Chef Max:
  • French Toast Breakfast Donut with maple bourbon syrup for $8
  • Eggs Benedoughnict: Two toasted glazed donut halves with your choice of candied bacon or local sausage; 60-degree soft-boiled egg with a house-made hollandaise sauce, and topped with fresh microgreens
  • Avocado Toast Donut
  • Pulled pork and eggs atop a funnel cake hash
  • Chef’s take on an old fashioned donut
  • A variety of vegan donut flavors
  • First-ever refried donut (more on that below)
  • A new recipe that combines the rich flavors of a brioche dough with a light, fluffy texture

The cooking shows are such great experiences, but they’re stressful! The hardest thing about these competitions is that you’re not in your own kitchen. Ovens don’t get as hot, or there’s a new machine you’re not familiar with, the rolling pin is a different model, stuff like that. No matter how much you prepare, there’s always something unexpected that comes up. I’m very proud of everything I accomplished and made it to the semifinals! It was amazing exposure for my new store.

Right before Best Baker, I took a week off to practice timing and scenarios. Without that time, I wouldn’t have gotten as far in the competition.

I was asked to create a special donut with Richard from @baconarts in collaboration with @burgerbeast, owner of America’s only museum dedicated to burgers and comfort food.
That day @burgerbeast opened his remodeled @burgermuseum, including the second location of the iconic Walls ice cream shop. We gave away donuts at the opening and ran a donut-eating contest, hosted and won by @donutbragger.
We had a great turnout of over 200 people. For each paid admission to either the Burger Museum or purchase of an ice cream cone from Wall’s, guests received one of my donut creations for free. I ended up making the first-ever twice-fried donut: a 24-hour raised brioche dough dipped into a beer tempura batter then coated with Rice Krispies cereal and refried! It came with a caramelized honey and hot sauce glaze, and we topped it with a bunch of candied, thick-sliced bacon.
I’ll definitely have the refried donut on my shop’s menu. The cool part is we can use any crunchy item like Corn Flakes or Fruity Pebbles. It’s amazing!
 

🚨DONUT ALERT🚨 This is the amazzzzing one time artistic donut creation brought to you by @chefmaxsantiago and @baconarts for donut day! . Its a twice fried donut with rice crispy goodness with a honey glaze loaded with candied bacon with a light kick of heat. What a way to spend national donut day! . Check my stories for more of this litness and what went down yesterday with this and other bomb fun with @burgerbeast at the one and only @burgermuseum. Shout out to everyone that showed love! . Shout out to @khoappetite on winning this donut! . . . #nationaldonutday #chefmaxsantiago #burgerbeast #doughnuts #doughnut #kendall #donut #donuts #baconarts #bacondonut #f52grams #heresmyfood #feedfeed #buzzfeedfood #eeeeeats #beautifulcuisines #foodbeast #eater #buzzfeast #munchies #eatright #cheatmeal #cheatday #PHAAT #forkyeah #dessert #imhungry #sweets #makeitworldclass

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I’ve been traveling and doing more things for myself in the past year than ever before. My girlfriend and I decided to take a road trip and we wanted to stop at a few donut shops along the way. My business partner thought it was a really cool idea and mapped out a route for us.

I ended up making really good friends with the donut shop owners and now I’m repping all of these donut t-shirts from across the state. Everyone started following the trip on Instagram and I had a blast posting updates on the @madfordoughnuts account. It turned out to be great.

All of the donut shops were so welcoming and awesome, and I really had something positive to say about each shop. Having said that, my absolute favorite was @good.dough in Jacksonville. They are the definition of artisanal craft donut shop. Everything is made from scratch. They’re already doing an Avocado Toast donut and pushing the envelope.

Another shop I was blown away by was @valkyriedoughnuts, the all-vegan square donuts. I’m convinced vegan donuts are the next wave taking over culinary, and it’s here to stay.

Too many to name! Apart from Good Dough and Valkyrie, there’s Randy’s old-school donuts in LA. I love the @doughnutplant and @underwestdonuts in NYC, especially their chocolate cake donut.

 

The best donut shop in California is @donutfriend. They’re all vegan, but they don’t even advertise it. The donuts are friggin’ amazing! After that trip, I was super inspired to create a raised vegan donut that tastes exactly like a regular donut.

 

There’s also a shop near Orlando called The Glass Knife (@theglassknifewp). Their donuts always sell out early, but they do more than just donuts; they’ve got phenomenal cakes, fancy petits gâteaux, cookies, brownies, and a savory menu. No detail is missed. It’s one of the best bakeries in all of Florida, without a doubt. Their coffee program is insane too.

@five_daughters_bakery for their 100-layer donut.

I grew up watching wrestling, so I’d have to say The Rock. He’s one of my idols!

  • Yeast vs. Cake
  • Coffee vs. Tea
  • Vanilla vs. Chocolate
  • Thin Crust vs. Deep Dish
  • Fan of ranch? Not really. I also hate mayo unless it’s made from scratch.
  • Favorite City to Visit: LA or NYC
  • Favorite Movie: Pulp Fiction
  • Instagram account you’re loving right now: @cedricgrolet for his fruit-shaped creations and Rubix-cube dessert. @amauryguichon is another one of my favorites.

I would absolutely love to have my own show. I love to sing in the kitchen so I could be the rapping pastry chef!

I’ve been approached by producers before, but it fell through with scheduling conflicts. We’ll see what happens in the future.

I’m grateful for my family; they’re my support system. I’m also grateful for my relationship with God. I’m not religious, but I am very spiritual. Every day I wake up, meditate, and pray.

I’ve had the best time of my life these past few months. I can’t wait for my store to open!

Header graphic courtesy of Papp Photo.

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