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Craig Lieckfelt

@likefelt

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chef, writer, social advocate

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My friend Anthony was there for me when I was between work. It was around 2017. I’d left Detroit for Harlem, and in New York I built up some confidence, connected with people from Tokyo, and landed a job that brought me to Japan.

A month or two after I arrived, Anthony called. He asked if a friend of his could stay at my apartment. The friend was an artist from Brooklyn, coming to show some of his work. My heart said "Your friend was just kind to you in Harlem. Show the same grace to his friend, who is in a similar situation."

So I said yes, and I invited him in.

His name is Micah, and he proved to be not just a good friend but one of the most talented artists I’ve ever met — and a Japanese tea connoisseur.

Before Micah, I knew tea existed; after Micah, I began a journey that is tea culture. It's a gift that keeps giving. Watching tea makers perform their calling at the highest level has improved my day-to-day life. It has given context for what it truly means to set a new standard. by @likefelt

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11 hours ago

Pancake at @goldendinerny

It’s one of the best pancakes I’ve ever had — maybe the best. It lives up to the hype.

Making pancakes can teach us a lot about ourselves, our souls, timing, and mentorship — because at some point, every one of us moves from mentee to mentor.

We don’t live by bread alone. We need each other. We need to believe in each other’s dreams.

What I love about making pancakes is the mixing. It’s gentle, not thorough. The batter stays lumpy. Anyone who has made a lot of pancakes knows you fold rather than beat — and if stiff-peak egg whites go in, you fold them like a soufflé.

The result is consistent; fluffy, moist, memorable.

Mentorship narratives are usually ruled by the tyranny of how and readiness.

Preparation matters; timing matters more.

Believing in someone, knowing when someone is ready to start their journey to the peak is the name of the game; decision-making. I’ve seen countless examples where scrutiny of readiness overcooks talent until it’s inedible. The person burns out before they ever get to perform. For destructive mentors, that’s the point. That’s the tragedy.

Gentle mixing lets the pancake become the best version of its authentic self. It’s not about readiness. It’s not about the mentor getting to shine. It’s about the talent and their pancake at its most delicious — so that, for a moment, the guests can enter a different world, free of their anxieties and burdens.

That’s what the pancake at Golden Diner did for me. The honey butter syrup melting slowly into that open crumb — fuck, that was delicious.

Thank you.

Also, the service team — the staff made it such a beautiful experience, so I’m looking forward to my next meal there. by @likefelt

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6 days ago

Rain in New York this past weekend made me think about how much I love the rain — especially sunshine rain.

On Maui, it seems to happen every day. Try Hana Highway — scenery comes with a soundtrack — sounds of the jungle. Rainforest trees, hibiscus leaf & blossoms, wild ginger. Kids run free, run barefoot, run in the mud — mud oozes between toes — Kona, raindrops, & dust so the whole world sees. How fun is that?

The Hana Highway feeds you.

Aunty Sandy Hueu — a mother — makes world famous banana bread. Down the road is the fish shop. Poke that never misses. And of course, the macaroni and potato salad. Food on Maui is different. Like a leader who sees the world as neither worse nor better — only truthful — it’s authentically its own. I loved every morsel, every raindrop.

Drive the Hana Highway you’ll find what you crave

Love.

Love of family

Love of humanity by @likefelt

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7 days ago

food is my religion and the market is my temple

I've always loved a room that smells of cinnamon & rosemary.

My words have always come from what I've seen. I used to say, "I'd like my art to contribute to culture." Then I learned there's a greater gift — creating culture — and that became my obsession.

I was 21. A chef-instructor who had worked at elBulli shared a DVD he'd received there — Inventing Cuisine, in French with subtitles. I watched Bras, Gagnaire & Barbot explain what it means to be a chef with that responsibility — to create culture.

People used to ask me, "Do you go to church on Sunday?” I'd say no. "Food is my religion, and the market is my temple.”

I grew so I go on Sunday and I go to the market on Saturday.

Where would chefs be without the farmers’ market?

Farm after farm presents its bounty, and each one is part of the whole body. Like the soul — many parts, one system. Time provides day provides night provides seasons — sunlight was there before that, and of course, the rain. All in harmony, so plants, creatures, & humans grow.

And it feels good to grow — to be fulfilled, a better-tuned instrument in an orchestra called humanity.

As you grow — listen and celebrate the players beside you doing the same. 📸 cred: Christina Holmes by @likefelt

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11 days ago

Who sits at the desk? Who waits outside?

Behind the scenes at Tsukiji smells fresh, something like early morning sea waves and cypress trees at the base of Mt. Fuji.

I was there with a chef, and a man who bought and flipped all sorts of fish to various restaurants, including sushi counters and izakaya stands; he was a salesman. Same day, a stranger told a story — for 38 years this particular desk sat empty — what surrounded the desk were puddles, mini pools of melted ice pretty much present every day — and during lunch break — bowls of petrified bonito made dashi for noodle soup — sashimi with scoops of rice — rice grown in puddles, cooked in puddles. There were many days that recorded the span of 38 years; scores of people walked past this desk — its two tablet top simply ignored, questions never raised.

Are we coming or are we going?

It made me nervous, like someone with two first names — why was there nobody at the desk? So I asked, “Could someone go outside — over there by the light, through the narrow door and see if he or she could get back to work?”

Tsukiji is a beautiful place to eat. by @likefelt

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20 days ago

1 of 3

Wisdom is all around — those who are unhoused, those in palaces. It's said everybody is the most important person you will ever meet, and the cracks many walk by are where you can find the Most High. Those who are hungry are angels in disguise.

I once called home a château where Voltaire spent a good amount of time. He said, "Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers."

Viktor Frankl said, "Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response."

God, thank you for our first responders.

God, thank you for bringing me to a rooftop in 2011, for a meeting to discuss a food festival. It was in TriBeCa, and I could see what was being built — New York's response, back then it was called the Freedom Tower, eventually giving way to the name One World Trade Center. I remember staring at that tower going up, thinking, listening, hearing

"that's what I'm talking about. Knock down our towers — look how we'll rebuild them. Taller. Stronger. More beautiful."

That moment was a permanent shift in my spirit, and I haven't been the same since.

It was well past midnight, and the workers were still building. That's the spirit of New York. We respond.

"The true measure of a human, of a community, is not how we behave in moments of comfort and convenience, but how we stand at times of controversy and challenge."

May I add, it's the most beautiful building I've ever seen. by @likefelt

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a month ago

2 of 3

Wisdom is all around — those who are unhoused, those in palaces. It's said everybody is the most important person you will ever meet, and the cracks many walk by are where you can find the Most High. Those who are hungry are angels in disguise.

I once called home a château where Voltaire spent a good amount of time. He said, "Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers."

Viktor Frankl said, "Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response."

God, thank you for our first responders.

God, thank you for bringing me to a rooftop in 2011, for a meeting to discuss a food festival. It was in TriBeCa, and I could see what was being built — New York's response, back then it was called the Freedom Tower, eventually giving way to the name One World Trade Center. I remember staring at that tower going up, thinking, listening, hearing

"that's what I'm talking about. Knock down our towers — look how we'll rebuild them. Taller. Stronger. More beautiful."

That moment was a permanent shift in my spirit, and I haven't been the same since.

It was well past midnight, and the workers were still building. That's the spirit of New York. We respond.

"The true measure of a human, of a community, is not how we behave in moments of comfort and convenience, but how we stand at times of controversy and challenge."

May I add, it's the most beautiful building I've ever seen. by @likefelt

2

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a month ago

3 of 3

Wisdom is all around — those who are unhoused, those in palaces. It's said everybody is the most important person you will ever meet, and the cracks many walk by are where you can find the Most High. Those who are hungry are angels in disguise.

I once called home a château where Voltaire spent a good amount of time. He said, "Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers."

Viktor Frankl said, "Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response."

God, thank you for our first responders.

God, thank you for bringing me to a rooftop in 2011, for a meeting to discuss a food festival. It was in TriBeCa, and I could see what was being built — New York's response, back then it was called the Freedom Tower, eventually giving way to the name One World Trade Center. I remember staring at that tower going up, thinking, listening, hearing

"that's what I'm talking about. Knock down our towers — look how we'll rebuild them. Taller. Stronger. More beautiful."

That moment was a permanent shift in my spirit, and I haven't been the same since.

It was well past midnight, and the workers were still building. That's the spirit of New York. We respond.

"The true measure of a human, of a community, is not how we behave in moments of comfort and convenience, but how we stand at times of controversy and challenge."

May I add, it's the most beautiful building I've ever seen. by @likefelt

1

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a month ago

Thursday 1 of 3

I'm in my tenth year living in New York, and when I walk out to do my daily errands, I still get this overflow of joy.

The words "God, I love New York" pour out of me, and I pay attention to that — it's a profound sense of belonging.

In those moments I have no anxiety, no fear, just gratitude. I let this beautiful mind do its thing. I marvel that I can't be anxious and grateful at the same time.

Each day there's something new that's a treasure — a seed the sun shines upon so it grows, with water, and the might of human hands to mill that grain into bread. Daily bread, that we get to eat.

How awesome is that?

How did the bagel form?

They were created by Polish Jews in the 1600’s, because they were cheap to make, didn’t spoil quickly, and had a unique chewy texture. In the same era when Jewish people were banned from most professions, we were allowed to bake because it was viewed as low-status work, and when we came to America, we brought our bagels with us.

What makes a bagel Jewish?

The recipe we practiced through many difficult years became a sign of resilience and community, and it developed into something undeniably delicious. by @likefelt

3

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a month ago

Thursday 2 of 3

I'm in my tenth year living in New York, and when I walk out to do my daily errands, I still get this overflow of joy.

The words "God, I love New York" pour out of me, and I pay attention to that — it's a profound sense of belonging.

In those moments I have no anxiety, no fear, just gratitude. I let this beautiful mind do its thing. I marvel that I can't be anxious and grateful at the same time.

Each day there's something new that's a treasure — a seed the sun shines upon so it grows, with water, and the might of human hands to mill that grain into bread. Daily bread, that we get to eat.

How awesome is that?

How did the bagel form?

They were created by Polish Jews in the 1600’s, because they were cheap to make, didn’t spoil quickly, and had a unique chewy texture. In the same era when Jewish people were banned from most professions, we were allowed to bake because it was viewed as low-status work, and when we came to America, we brought our bagels with us.

What makes a bagel Jewish?

The recipe we practiced through many difficult years became a sign of resilience and community, and it developed into something undeniably delicious. by @likefelt

5

0

a month ago

Thursday 3 of 3

I'm in my tenth year living in New York, and when I walk out to do my daily errands, I still get this overflow of joy.

The words "God, I love New York" pour out of me, and I pay attention to that — it's a profound sense of belonging.

In those moments I have no anxiety, no fear, just gratitude. I let this beautiful mind do its thing. I marvel that I can't be anxious and grateful at the same time.

Each day there's something new that's a treasure — a seed the sun shines upon so it grows, with water, and the might of human hands to mill that grain into bread. Daily bread, that we get to eat.

How awesome is that?

How did the bagel form?

They were created by Polish Jews in the 1600’s, because they were cheap to make, didn’t spoil quickly, and had a unique chewy texture. In the same era when Jewish people were banned from most professions, we were allowed to bake because it was viewed as low-status work, and when we came to America, we brought our bagels with us.

What makes a bagel Jewish?

The recipe we practiced through many difficult years became a sign of resilience and community, and it developed into something undeniably delicious. by @likefelt

6

0

a month ago

wed 1 of 3

I first had a pierogi in my grandma's kitchen, at most family gatherings, especially during the holidays. There always seemed to be pierogis — usually sauerkraut, potato and cheese — served with fried onions and sour cream.

At this past pop-up @thenednomad my interpretation of a pierogi was served with lobster sauce.

I made the stock with a traditional technique; I had access to a roasting pan, which gave me more surface area for the onsen sort of simmer.

I steeped the stock with sour fruit; with the sweetness of the sea it was a match made in heaven. by @likefelt

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a month ago