Scott Feldman, the founder of Two-Twelve Management, is the Ari Gold of the restaurant industry. With a brash demeanor and a mouth that moves a mile a minute, Feldman – known to friends as “Scottie O.” – is considered the uberagent for celebrity chefs, negotiating deals for clients like Mario Batali, Tom Colicchio and Andrew Carmellini. And he’s earned a rep as a powerhouse who goes to the mat to get his clients what they need – even if it means renting a $10 million estate for an exclusive “Two-Twelve Access House,” just so they have a comfortable place to chill at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.
We sat down with the 39-year-old Long Island native at Carmellini’s A Voce to find out how he got his start and why he loves being part of the food chain.
What was your first job?
When I was 9 years old, working behind the bar at my dad’s Irish pub. Did I mention that we’re Jewish? From there I launched my own bartending business – I would go around to my parents’ friends’ parties with a suitcase filled with bartending equipment. Then in college I became a club promoter, and I started a T-shirt company. To this day my mother still uses the leftover shirts for rags.
What inspired you to start a business representing chefs?
The idea came after 12 years of working for American Express. I was the face of AmEx for the restaurant division, traveling across the country building relationships with some of the top chefs in America. I saw the rise of chefs’ fame in popular culture, and I saw a niche that wasn’t being served.
I think what we identified was not that chefs are celebrities – I knew that a long time ago – but that the world of lifestyle and hospitality is intriguing to consumers. And what we did was to get people to pay attention to it in a different way. Chefs are really just artists that are now being respected for their work, and in my opinion should be paid for that work.
What do you like best about your job?
I love hospitality and collaboration. Being able to create partnerships among some of the best brands is thrilling – not to mention I get to eat at the some of the world’s best restaurants. Plus, I get to negotiate with the power of a brand behind me, and I love that. I get to be the “no” guy, which is not always the worst thing. I said yes all my life at American Express. I was never going to tell a restaurant in Montreal they weren’t as important to us as Mario Batali. But now I make the best decisions for my clients, and if that means saying no, so be it.
What was the idea behind Two-Twelve Access House?
It’s an exclusive gathering of the best and brightest in the industry. There was no place at these events where chefs had a safe haven, where they weren’t being pulled or prodded. I went to Aspen three weeks before the festival, found a residence and said, “I’m going to convert this into a private lounge/club thing.” We printed up 100 passes, and had 150 people coming through a night. This year in Aspen was our third year.
What do all these top chefs do when they get together?
Friends or not, there’s a mutual respect and camaraderie. We did a poker tournament at the Access House in Aspen, which was a blast. And while there’s the occasional razzing of who lost to Mario or Bobby on “Iron Chef,” and the ever-looming “Did you see that review Wednesday?” these guys love what they do.
Do you always have a smirk on your face?
I was born with it – just ask my father. The truth is that it gets bigger when I talk about my job. Whether this becomes the most successful business or whether I write a book about starting a business and failing, I’ll be the happiest man alive that I did this. I’m having the time of my life.