Some people can flat out cook. We are all not created equal. Some people are just gifted when it comes to cooking. If you live anywhere near Memphis you have to try Justin Young’s cooking at his new Raven & Lily restaurant on the town square in Collierville. Justin is an amazing chef and his food is outstanding.
Justin isn’t an overnight success. His culinary training combines a wide array of experience. He grew up cooking. He went to culinary school in at Johnson and Wales in Charleston. He worked in several white tablecloth restaurants between South Carolina and Memphis. He spent a year working at a 3 star restaurant in Lyon France. Justin has also worked on and off for Erling Jensen in Memphis for years.
Yes I am biased, Justin also worked with me at Kraft Food Ingredients. At Kraft, he was our executive chef and I got to see Justin combine the art and science of food. As stated above, the guy can flat out cook.
Justin opened his first restaurant in Oakland Tennessee a few years ago. The restaurant was a success, but the location was a bit of a challenge. The new location is on the square in Collierville and closer to a much larger customer base.
The menu at Raven & Lily is eclectic, it ranges from sandwiches to steak and seafood. Every nuance will delight his customers. Justin describes his menu as Modern Southern. Everything is very innovative and outstanding. I like to ask Justin for a tasting menu and just sit back in enjoy. Another reason why the tasting menu is great is that I wind up trying things that I would never order and wind up loving them. For example, his shrimp and grits are great. For me, shrimp and grits are cliché and never my favorite. Justin’s shrimp and grits are really special.
Justin makes a bordelaise sauce that is to die for. He gave me the recipe many years ago and I make it every year around the holidays. It is a production to make, but boy is it good. In Justin’s words, it is like candy for a kid, you can’t get enough of it. You could put this sauce on anything and it would taste great. It is worth a trip to Raven & Lily just to try the sauce.
Check out the Bordelaise Sauce recipe
One other thing about Raven & Lily, it is very affordable. They don’t have a liquor license yet so it is BYOB. Bringing your own wine keeps the cost down. Everything is reasonably priced. Look at this way, you can get the best white table cloth restaurant quality food at about half the price. Go there soon before and I can influence my former student on how to price.
This reminds me of an unrelated story:
- I was playing golf with my buddies a few years ago when my friend Jim hit a bad shot and went into a rant cursing himself and the golf gods.
- His playing partner Newman waited for Jim to regain his composure and encouraged Jim to not get so mad saying: “After all it is just a game”.
- Jim came back explaining that the piece Newman was missing was the fact that he was a “very, very good golfer”.
- After a more than pregnant pause, Newman countered with:
- “Ah-hah! That is the data I didn’t process
Again, the “Ah-Hah moment” story is completely unrelated, but I saw Newman today for the first time in years and I love the story.
For supper clubs, if you are up for a bit of work, try the bordelaise sauce. Otherwise, check out Raven & Lily in Collierville. The chef can flat out cook.
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