Inside the Kitchen: Seven Questions with Chef Aaron Brooks of Sunny’s Steakhouse

It used to be steak, but I had so much of it. Then it was pizza, and I think I tapped out on that too. Honestly, I don’t know the meal itself, but to me that isn’t as important as the people you share it with. Whether it’s an amazing steak, a beautiful piece of fish, or some killer crudo, it’s more about the people and the environment. You could stick me on a deserted island, on a beach, and I could eat anything as long as I can share it with my kids, my wife, and my friends.

I was 17 years old when I came into the industry. I was working at this big hotel, and there was a chef who came into the kitchen every day. He was big, loud, full of personality, and sharp-looking. He was Austrian, but he grew up in the Canary Islands and had an amazing palate, and he was an amazing cook. He would come in every day and make me take a shot of espresso and eat black olives. I had never experienced flavors like this before. 

At home in Australia, we drank instant coffee with milk and sugar because that’s what my mum drank. So now I had access to these bold, strong flavors that were so intense. After a while, I realized they were intense for a reason, and I came to enjoy them. As a young Australian kid who hadn’t had culinary experiences like this before, I was so intrigued and wanted to try even more new things. That’s the moment when my entire mindset on food changed.

Fine dining isn’t about tweezer food or buttoned-up service—though it can be! I think it’s about intuitive service. How it feels as a patron: from the food that’s served to you, to the service style, to your interactions starting at the host stand, to the moment when you walk out the door. I think it all comes together to be fine dining if it feels well-tuned to you as the consumer. It doesn’t have to be stuffy. What we’re doing here at Sunny’s is my version of fine dining. The tweezer food and the chef tasting menus are cool and fun to experience every once in a while, but this is how I want to spend my money when I go out for a nice dinner.

For me, I think 20 or 30 years from now I’d like Sunny’s to be seen the same way Miami sees Joe’s Stone Crab—an institution you must visit when you come to the city. My wife always gives me a hard time because every time we go to a new place, or I travel for work, I have to visit the institution. Maybe they aren’t always the flashiest or greatest places in each city, but they have longevity and community around them, and that’s what I hope we’re creating. I want Sunny’s to be something people look back on years from now and say, “Yeah, that’s the spot.” I was recently in New York with a sous chef, and we went to Peter Luger Steakhouse for lunch. It’s just one of those places you have to visit, and I’m excited to think Sunny’s could be that for Miami someday.

It might sound cliché, but it starts with great products that you treat well—and you also need to be in tune with where you’re at. I’d say my food is climate- and culture-based. Growing up in a climate similar to Miami taught me to pull from the cultures and flavors around me. We’re near the ocean, and it’s hot, so I make dishes that are lighter, with brighter flavors, pickled elements, and preparations suited to where we live. I love cooking like this. When I did a stint in Boston, it was tough because the food was heavier, more meat-and-potatoes. I learned a lot while living there, even though the approach was simple: meats and stews in the winter, seafood and vegetables in the summer.