Michelle Bernstein: “Why I Closed Sra. Martinez”

Michelle Bernstein is one of the country’s most highly praised chefs, and Miami proudly claims her as its own. With a career that spans over twenty years, Bernstein continues to take on new projects, and her recent collaboration with "Macy’s Great American Chef Tour" is set to air on PBS throughout the month of September.

By nature of her involvement with the Culinary Council, Michelle was asked to take part in Macy’s Great American Chef Tour. A 15-city culinary extravaganza that brings together fellow Council members including Rick Bayless, Cat Cora and Marcus Samuelsson, as well as regional chefs in each tour city, the Macy’s Great American Chef Tour will educate audiences about the importance of purchasing local ingredients. Since Miami is a foodie’s heaven, Michelle is able to draw not only inspiration from the environment, but also from its inhabitants.

“I was born and raised here,” she explains. “I’ve left a few times, but I keep coming back to Miami.  This is what inspires me, especially the people and the cultures. I have a lot of Haitian people who work for me at the restaurants and their food inspires me.  Obviously, the whole Caribbean style here in Miami is just fascinating. All of that seeps into our recipes, and our culture; the way that we dance, and the way that we live.”

True to both her Latin and Jewish values, nothing is closer to Bernstein’s heart than her family, which includes a blue-eyed boy named Zachary, her son with husband and partner David Martinez.  When she discovered the nine-month-old suffered from acid reflux, she took to the kitchen to create meals that would soothe his stomach.

“I made boniato for him one day and he stopped having reflux,” Bernstein smiles. “Next I tried green plantains, cooked heavily and puréed with fruit. Now, his diet is very controlled using calabaza and malanga. He isn’t having the problems with acidity anymore, and he loves to eat.”

Boniato, a sweet potato with cream-colored flesh that originates in the Caribbean, calabaza, a gourd similar to pumpkin, and malanga, a root vegetable with edible tubers, are available at Hispanic markets and in many larger supermarket chains.

“It’s been amazing how food can cure and I find that to be very Latin, yet also very Jewish at the same time,” she says, referring to her mixed ethnicity.  

The new mom is trying to create a world for Zachary that is surrounded by happy memories of food.  When asked about her earliest food memory, she instantly recalls a seven-year old version of herself; one that begged her mother to let her re-create an escargot dish she enjoyed at a local French restaurant.

“For my birthday, my mother actually bought me snails and the shells, butter and parsley! I remember I ate so many of them that day that I’ve never eaten them again in my lifetime!”

Since spending time with her family and keeping it interesting when it comes to food are very important principles in Michelle’s life, on June 29^th, 2012 she announced she and David had decided to close down Sra. Martinez, their beloved tapas restaurant in Miami’s Design District. The decision affords her more time with Zachary, and the ability to take on new projects.

"I’m in the middle of a lot of possible changes," Bernstein explains. “I am looking at a couple of new spaces and, hopefully, by next season we’ll have some new announcements to make. Michelle Bernstein is ready to reinvent herself."