Justin Swain likes to teach cooking classes — but he keeps a few of his recipes secret.Credit: Rex 1516Rex 1516 is one of those restaurants that elevates Southern food and makes comfort feel refined. Executive chef Justin Swain is a huge part of what makes this place so successful. If you can’t find him in the Rex kitchen, chances are he’s teaching a class, racing on two wheels, buried in a cookbook or avoiding crowds on a Monday night. The dude stays busy.You taught your first class at COOK last month. How was it? Do you like teaching cooking techniques?I do. Because I retain so much minute information about everything I do, it’s nice to pass it on even if it’s just a few tips and tricks. The environment at COOK is great. People get really excited. I try my best to translate to working in the home kitchen. Of course, some of the small things you have to keep to yourself, recipe-wise.You’ve done a few collaborative and competitive cooking events, too. What draws you to these?Before I was a chef I was a competitive cyclist, so I’m really competitive at heart. Getting together with other chefs is always something I love doing. You can bounce things off each other. Even if it’s a cuisine you’re not strong in, you can get some great idea or tips from someone who handles that kind of cooking.You do a ton of Southern cooking. How did you get into that?When I first started cooking my first job was with Regis [Jansen, chef] at a place called 1601. He taught me a whole bunch about Southern cooking, like what makes étouffée so good, what goes into a gumbo. He passed a lot onto me. And I went through a lot of cookbooks. I have a ton of them. Chefs have a hard time moving because they own so many cookbooks.There’s still a little summer left. Any quintessential Philly things you want to do before the season’s over?I like to go to Morgan’s Pier and sit around. Mondays are the best because I’m off and no one’s over there so it’s quiet.
