MacDonald hard at work on Shine-to-Barsa transition

Shay MacDonald was raised in rural Pennsylvania with a family that was very interested in the culinary arts.

Instead of cable television, MacDonald and his father watched cooking shows on PBS. This led to his life-long devotion to food. After graduation with high honors from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Academy of Culinary Arts, MacDonald went to work at Charleston Place hotel. MacDonald is looking forward to the opening of Barsa, a new tapas restaurant by Drazen Romic of Lana Restaurant.

Q: You and two of your siblings went to culinary school. What do you attribute that to?

A: I think we all had artistic abilities that we wanted to direct in some way. My brother and sister are nine and seven years older than me, so, when they made the decision to go to Johnson & Wales (University), it opened a new world to me at a much younger age.

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about the vision of Barsa?

A: It's hard to say. Drazen can see it all in his head, and we are starting to see it come to life. But overall, I'm thinking pretty relaxed. Deep leather seats, warm colors, cold beer and soft jazz. There are still some ideas to be ironed out, but as far as the menu goes for Barsa, it will be tapas. I like to have fun with flavors and ingredients, and I want to have fun with tapas. I'm hoping the atmosphere and the food blend together into a comfortable mix.

Q: How long were you at Shine before it closed its doors?

A: Two months, nonstop.

Q: That must have been disappointing for you. How did you take the news?

A: It hurt. I felt bad for the owner because he had a dream that he was quickly losing. ... It caused lots of stress on my personal life.

Q: How did you transition that into the job at Barsa?

A: Well, luckily Romic was looking into buying into Shine right at the end. He asked if I would stay on after Shine. The hard part was trying to find work and a paycheck to live off of until the legal issues where wrapped up, and that seemed to be a never-ending issue for a couple months. It was hard for everyone just waiting to see if and when we would have a restaurant to go back to. But now we do.

Q: Is this your first experience with tapas?

A: It is. It's hard pulling back from complete plates, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to having fun with it and making a smaller plate stand for something big.

Q: What is it you hope to achieve in the new restaurant?

A: Obviously, to make it successful, but also make the building successful and add to the growing Upper King area.