John McClure interview, Part 2: Wrestling calves, baking cakes and Sith Lords in the dining room

Yesterday, Starker’s John McClure talked to Fat City about great street tacos, Southern cuisine and which menu in town is like a personal love letter. Today we discover why he needed to travel thousands of miles to go from a small town in Kansas to owning an institution on the Plaza.

It’s hard to imagine John Mclure as a little boy. The owner/chef of Starker’s Restaurant is a few inches north of 6 feet and has hands like cast-iron skillets. He is a blacksmith in chef’s whites. Then he starts to talk about the first cake he ever sold. His eyes light up. His voice starts to bounce up and down. And there, at the corners of the mouth, beneath an immaculately groomed fu manchu, is the happy smile of his childhood.