Boss Bagels

A culinary journey around the world lands one chef right here in San Antonio and not to create a fine dining experience, but a quick service one that will make you forget you're in the South. I got the chance to see how it's done every day at Boss Bagel and this week's made an essay. The process of making the perfect bagel starts before the doors even open at Boss Bagel. Dough mixed and rolled out by hand. Then perfectly portioned and shaped by in-house bakers. This boiling technique is what, what's happening brother? Good, good. This boiling technique is what gives the bagel its chew. But once 7am hits. How was your Thanksgiving man? Good? Because when you get to see the executive chef and owner, Brandon Swallow, come to life with every familiar face. Good to see y'all. While he performs his dance between the boiling water and a wood fire oven. I wanted to do something that no one else was doing in town and in the entire state. Because when I opened this business there was not one wood fire place in the entire state of Texas. But to produce at such a high level, he had to recall his upbringing. My dad was on the field all the time so I was left with the ladies a lot in my southern family and I remember my nanny pulling me in picking beans and shucking corn and making mocked shoe and all these wild things and it just kind of took to me. And the lessons he learned from his dad in the field of football. Then I started to realize at a real high professional level that it ran much It was highly disciplined. They were really doing their job to make the ship run right. Inspired he applied to culinary school which would take him all over the country and world teaching and working in the fine dining industry. But it was after teaching at the Culinary Institute of America at the Pearl that he wanted to venture into something of his own again. I loved working with the students but this was calling me again and I had to come get back into the fire. Branding out his idea on his own before bringing it to life on southern soil. I would wake up at one in the morning every single morning. Every single morning for almost a year and I did bagels in my oven on a piece of tile woke my whole family up. Today Boss Bagel offers a wide variety of bagels, shmirs, coffees and artisan sandwiches. The journey, something he says he owes to his team on the front lines. I have to have a staff that has the same type of passion and talent that I have and that's what we do have. And swallow can't forget the folks on the sidelines. Okay brother I wish you luck man. See us when it's over alright? Who keep the passion burning. This is a magical city, it's truly magical. And yeah you see passion in my eyes. It's hard for me because it oozes out of me all the time man. You have to be. If you want to be a good chef you better have this. You better have some work ethic, you better have some discipline and you better have some passion and heart because you're going to need it. You will need it. I promise you all young folks thinking about this for a business. Go down deep bro. Go down deep girl. You're going to need it. I promise you. I just love his passion and the bagels are bomb. You can visit Boss Bagel in Alamo Heights or thanks to the pandemic they now do online deliveries and if you are flying out over the holidays maybe even stop in and see them at their spot in the San Antonio airport. I need him in my personal pep rallies. Right? What's your motivation? I know. I've been there it's great. It'so good. Now he's from South Louisiana I believe and I dare you to spell his last name. It looks Swallow. I'm When I first moved to Louisiana that was when I was Okay alright I'll trust you on that.