IN HIS COLUMN PORCINI EXECUTIVE CHEF:STEVEN SANSONE, INTERVIEWS LOCAL CHEFS INTERVIEWS ARE BI-WEEKLY BEGINNING 3/31/2010 - 9/30/2110
Published in Philadelphia's "Weekly Press and Review" *check archives*
Chef Steve Sansone Porcini/Chefs forum author
Chef Adan Saavedra:Paloma Restuarant
Chef Patrice Rames: Bistro St. Tropez
Chef Ben Puchowitz:Matyson Restaurant
Feature Chef: Andrew Brown, New Wave Cafe
The continuing themes of these interviews are based around chefs who live and develop their craft in Philadelphia. I have found that there are three classifications of people who enter the culinary field. These individuals either enter the business because they need the quick money to go to college, others are romanced by the glamorous television cooking shows and they just like to eat. The last, are those who have it in their blood, like they were born to create and live the restaurant life. The latter, being the perfect fit for Chef Andrew Brown, currently head chef of the New Wave Café, located at 3rd and Christian street.
Chef Steve Sansone: Tell us a little about how you started up in the restaurant business.
Chef Andrew Brown: I started dishwashing illegally, at the age of 14 down Sea Isle. By the time I was 15, I was on the line, illegally. I worked in a huge “slam house”.
C.S.: Hmm, I never heard a restaurant called a “slam house”, what exactly is that?
C.B.: A restaurant where we did 500 covers (number of guests) sometimes up to 1000; yea that’s what we called it. We just got slammed all night long. I worked there for about four years during the summertime, until I went to college at St. Joes. I continued to cook through college and got a souse chef job at a nice Italian place in the suburbs. I decided to bag it and really go for it; I got hired at White Dog in about 1997. In about three months I got promoted to souse chef.
C.S.: What I remember about the White Dog back then, is that they were important times in the restaurant scene. They were making their mark with some different kind of approaches to food.
C.B.: When I got there they were really trying to push for what they are and what they strived to be. At that point, they stopped using all factory produced meats. It was nice, I was meeting a lot ranchers, cattle and chicken farmers, people like that. It was about twelve years ago. I left for a few years and came back as the executive chef for the next four years. When I was 32, I had a national job and a publicist. I got to travel to Europe and Monaco; I was going to James Beard awards and conferences. I was at the point where I was saying to myself, “Who the hell do I think I am!?”, but I knew what I had, I was real lucky.I wasn’t really cooking though; I wanted to get back to my roots, to cooking again.
C.S: From all of your experiences you must have developed your philosophy at an early age, what is it?
C.B.:To come into a place and make a difference is the core of my philosophy. If you don’t continue to try to make yourself, your restaurant, or your staff better, why even do it? The owners, Sam, Al, and Nate have had the New Wave for 25 years; they are not resting on their laurel, that’s what I dig about them. Anybody can sit back, but they just want to get better and that’s what I’m about too.
C.S.: I look at Philly having a restaurant family tree that reaches back into the 70’s. Do you have people who’ve worked under you who are now chefs or owners of another restaurant?
C.B.: Definitely, some work in catering, others are opening their own restaurant and a few have moved on to become executive chefs!
C.S.: What is the focus and concept of your cuisine right now?
C.B.: I shudder to use the term “gastro pub” but it does work. This is the first gastro pub they opened in 1985.The whole idea is to do everything from scratch. It’s more than just bar food. Our meats are humanly raised. Even when we make an item as simple as chicken fingers or mozzarella sticks we use fresh bread crumbs and cheese. Use of local products and sustainable seafood’s are the direction we’re moving towards .I’ve working here at the New Wave for about six weeks, the menu is new but I did keep some of the old favorites on. All the entrees are mine. We get all farm deliveries; I’ve been dealing with these guys forever.
C.S.: When you’re through at the end of the day what do want your guest to feel and take with them?
C.B.: To come into a place and make a difference is the core of my philosophy. If you don’t continue to try to make yourself, your restaurant, or your staff better, why even do it? Sustainable and organic foods are not a new concept. Chef Andrew and others have been practicing this philosophy for over a decade.own back yard. They weren’t brought to our town by new comers, these visions emerged right here in our
Feature Chef: Adan Saavedra, Paloma Restuarant
By:Chef Steven Sansone, Porcini Restaurant
When preparing to interview a chef, I try to outline the questions I feel will capture the essence of his skill. Also questions that you the readers might find interesting .Well that is not the case when I’ve realized I have the fortune to talk to a “hidden master”. The lists of question get tossed out the window and you sit back and listen to their story. Owner- Chef Adan Saavedra says he is a shy man, but his cooking is completely the opposite. Bold Mexican flavor combined with classical French techniques derived from the little known “Mexican haute cuisine” was developed when the French invaded México and of course brought along their culinary masters. The result, a legitimate cuisine is born, and Philadelphia reaps the benefits of having a chef who is dedicated to resurrect and keep alive a lost cuisine .You can find him at Paloma Resturant, 763 south 8th St. Chef Steve: Your cuisine sounds like it is cutting edge and a contemporary stretch but is totally validated in the history books.
Chef Adan: Most of the people of México have forgotten this cuisine existed for many, many years after the invasion of the French in 1865.This is why we celebrate “Cinco de Mayo”. In Puebla we battled the French who were commanded by Maximilian .We did beat them but they did return and stayed for some time after. At this time French chefs were using Mexican ingredients. Most people think that Mexican food is about tacos, no one really paid attention to our other “unique cuisine”. I never really dreamed about attempting to blend French and Mexican. While attending the restaurant school here in Philadelphia in 1991, I had the opportunity to do my apprenticeship either at La Truffe or Ceboulette . I called La Truffe and the chef, Tom Davis and he said, “It is fine if you come in but we are not able to pay you”, that is when I got involved with French cuisine. Le Bec Fin was the hot spot at that time but to me, it was ridiculously expensive but it was a good experience. I thought to myself that one day I wanted to make a restaurant like Le Bec Fin.
C.S.: Were you aware of the French influence on Mexican cuisine back then?
C.A.: Yes I was, one thing that really got me into this cuisine was back then they were really attacking Mexican food. There was all fat and rice and beans, so I decided I was going to let the people know that we have classical cuisine in Mexico as well. That’s the traditional cooking in México. So with my wife behind me I opened up on Castor Ave. in 1999.That was the beginning of a dream which sometime I would say tuned into a nightmare (chef laughs at himself.) Even today it is very difficult to convince people that I’m not here to hurt you with spices I am here to introduce you to spices.
C.S.: What do you hope will draw the customers to the different food you do at Paloma? C.A.: The food is a little unique, and I try to do what is best for my customer. And I hope they have something to remember, to tell someone they had a unique experience.
C.S.: Is the French technique or the authentic Mexican products more important to the cuisine.
C.A.: It’s a perfect balance. They go so well together. Some time the dish changes slightly, because of the ingredients. Every pepper is not the same. But you have to take those chances with this food, that you might get a pepper that is a little more or less spicy. It’s unique.
C.S.: Is there a signature dish that really shows off the way these two cuisines blend. C.A.: Let me try to relay this combination to you .One item my customers tell me to never take off the menu is the mushroom flan. Many years ago we made a corn flan at La Truffe, and I said to myself, I think mushrooms will go great in this dish and I’m going to make a cilantro pesto, but instead of pine nuts I’m going to use pumpkin seeds. And the main herb I use is epazote (a fragrant wild herb) a very Mexican spice. It s is one of the first dishes, and it will be on the menu forever.
Final thoughts from Chef Adan Saavedra: One of the things that drive me to work every day is the learning process. We learn something new every day. One thing I say to my customers when they tell me that a dish was great is that I hope you order it again someday and it tastes better than it did before. When the time comes I make a dish and say this is it, I won’t move it, I can’t do anything else to that dish is, the day I go home and retire. The point of cooking to me is you have to make every dish better every day. I sold my business last December and I didn’t think I would open again. But this is what still drives me to cook, and something come new into your life we as human beings tend to forget the problems we had before.(we end with a hearty chuckle!)
Chef Patrice Rames, Bistro St. Tropez Philadeldphia,Pa Fortune was bestowed on Philadelphia in 1985, when Chef Patrice Rames arrived. He seems to have been brought here by fate. His contributions to our dining scene have been imprinted for the past twenty-two years at his restaurant, BISTRO ST. TROPEZ, 2400 Market St. and in his latest venture, PATOU, 312 Market St
Chef Steve: Thank you for the opportunity to interview you, I have been looking forward to this. We would like to know about the earliest days of your culinary career.
Chef Rames: I started in the business when I was 16 yrs. old.After graduating restaurant school in Nice, France, I went to work all over Europe, the south of France and in Paris. Then I moved to England, for maybe 9 months, always in restaurants, of course. Then I went back to Paris when I was 21 and I worked with someone who had a restaurant in Chicago. I was supposed to go to Chicago for 6 months, and now I have been here for 28 years.
C.S.: What brought you from Chicago to Philadelphia?
C.R.:It was interesting, I never jogged in my life but the one day I did jog, my eyes were caught on this beautiful woman, she was from Houston, Texas. I went to visit her in Houston and stayed there for 9 months, I hated it. Not so much the relationship but the area, Texas was so different back then. I lived in the suburb; I had to take the highway because I worked downtown at a hotel. I am not crazy for working at hotels. Long story short, she was originally from Cherry Hill, NJ. So, we decided to move to Philadelphia, back to the city so I could be close to NY, I wasn’t planning on staying in the U.S. I wanted to visit, I wanted to travel. C.S.: In the middle 80’s, Philadelphia was developing into an exciting, fun city.
C.R.: Do you remember the night club Elan?
C.S.: I sure do! (It’s where everybody in the business and anyone who was anybody went). That reminds me of a few people we know in common like Lee, David Dalrymple, and even my brother Dave, because of the restaurant business and night scene. That’s one of the main reasons of why I enjoy interviewing chefs, I want our readers to know how the restaurant community developed and that there is a “family tree “that ties us all together.
C.R.: Of course, Lee worked with me for 15 years, I am sure we have many more friends in common.
C.S.:I feel the city seems to be changing from those times. Do you feel like we are heading in a different direction than from roots of the restaurant scene and is it a positive change?
C.R.: Yes its different roots. But what I think is interesting is that the public is only interested in what’s new and that’s sad, because you can only be new once. You can maybe try to reinvent or introduce new dishes. But I’m talking about the concept. I like to cook French food; I’m not going to close the restaurant tomorrow to cook Mexican cuisine because it’s trendy. Suddenly it doesn’t matter if you’ve been around 15, 20, or even 30 years, people only pay attention what’s new, what’s hot! I understand why. But I think it’s sad that restaurants that have been in business for 10 or 20 years and have actually shown consistency don’t get the rewards they deserve, it’s just not the case in the U.S. I asked my PR person if this can be talked about in Philadelphia Magazine; their response is that it is very difficult, the people are only interested in what’s new. Since every Monday there is something new, there is no chance to talk about it. C.S.: Although I don’t have an answer either, we now have this forum to talk about topics that usually aren’t addressed.
C.R.: Yes, and we have to keep on being consistent, we have our regulars, our customers. And I try to be as innovative as I can, but I’ll always stay true to my roots and traditions, to what I know and believe. You won’t see me doing “molecular” cooking, it’s not me.
C.S.: Most believe Asian- Italian fusion is contemporary but Marco Polo brought pasta back from China centuries ago. So, why don’t the roots of classical cooking interest the young chef anymore?
C.R.: If they read a cooking book that was printed 30 years ago, they will see that dish has already been done, but now there’s only been a little twist put on it. I do understand some people can master new techniques and do it well, but they already have a good base. I think that what is happening a lot is that some people think it’s cool, and they go into those crazy experiments but they really don’t understand basics like the “mother sauces”. It is the main problem now for the young cooks that are coming out of school or want to recreate a dish they have seen on a cooking show. To me, it’s difficult to attach a high level of cooking if you don’t understand the basics.
C.S.:Do you think we are going to eventually lose the taste and the flavors of the classics? And, are there cooks underneath your wing who show interest? C.R.: I hope not. There are a few people who work for me that I hope my influence will catch up with them later on. I think they have learned from me to cook with your instinct, to cook with what you like. That’s all I can do.
Interview Chef Evan Turney,Varga Bar 2
Located at 941 Spruce St, Philadelphia39.946173 -75.1577 in the heart of a vibrant neighborhood, Chef owner Evan Turney of Varga Bar with his Americana twist menu and a large selection of local crafted beer, conjures up a lively modish bar scene. A graduate of the Restaurant School at 22nd and Walnut St. Chef Turney is prime example that Philly has trained extraordinary chefs, and offers fertile ground to practice their art. I find him one of the most interesting chefs in center city.
Chef Sansone.: You obviously have an extremely rigorous schedule. You’re here early on a Monday and you’re not even open for lunch. Thanks for your time. You’re also involved with two other restaurants Mercado and Valanni, the latter being the first or the three spots if I’m correct.
Chef Turney.: That’s right, we just celebrated our ten year anniversary at Valanini , we opened Mercado five years ago and Varga will be one year May 18th (nods his head with a grin )..One year.
C.S.: So from the inception of Valanni were you the executive chef?
C.T.: Yes, my sister and I opened Valanni together, she’s a chef also. Then she left to open Lolita and Bindi (just to name two of the many places she owns) after that I took over and we opened the other two restaurants.
C.S.: Sounds like it runs in the blood. Are there any other family members in the business?
C.T.: My grandfather, he passed away in ‘87 had a place in a small Wisconsin town called The Spot .It was the hot place to go, you would see everybody there. I remember going there as a little kid and seeing him come out of the kitchen. He gave the place to my uncle; my other uncle also had a restaurant, I was like a short order cook there. I came here in ’97, it was the year of the 30 inch snow storm in one day, and I was on a train coming in here. After that I eventually went to school and here I am.
C.S.: It’s incredible what you put out of such a small kitchen.
C.T.: So you’ve seen it.
C.S.: I’ve see parts of it .What kind of equipment do you have in there.
C.T.: I’ve got one double door convection oven, with six burners, two fryers a flat top and a small grill. I jack hammered the floor out and put little salad station. I squeezed it in somehow.
C.S.: I know you’re huge on keeping the quality up. You’re so resourceful,to be able to produce such ambitious high quality food with little equipment, it’s just astounding! I assume your tough on your purveyors.
C.T.: Yea absolutely. I had black bass come in at Mercado, and when I weighed it, it was two pounds short. A lot of chefs won’t do that and the driver will tell the fish cutter. Some will try to get away with it. I’m always on the phone with one or the other. We have to insure quality and availability and keep the cost down for our guest. After all their coming to my house.
C.S.: There are so many things that happen behind the scenes that you don’t hear about in a typical restaurant review. Try and walk us through your average day.
C.T.: When I wake up in the morning I try to spend some time with my girl friend. Then I jet over to the bar and start prepping. Here’s the thing about this kitchen, you constantly are prepping .I have teams of guys including myself always in motion. Our ovens are filled with Confit duck wings all day, and the lunch tickets star rolling in. Then right into dinner and heavy bar business with no break. Not out the door till 3am. At the end of the each day I look at what worked and what to change. I can lose lot of sleep going over the day.
C.S.: It isn’t the food channel is it (we both let out a good chuckle).
C.S.: So chef, to end on a fun note, tells us your 5 course dream menu. (He takes his time contemplating)
C.T.: Well, I went to Charlie Palmer’s, the one in New York. He had a 10 course rhubarb tasting menu. One of the courses was candied rhubarb with Foie Gras .Then the server brought over a carved out passion fruit and poured out a rhubarb passion fruit sauce over the dish. It was probably best meal I ever had. Even though I like to splurge once in a while, the way I choose a place to eat is to go for what I’m in the mood for. I’ll eat in a hole in the wall if the food is good.
Pete McAndrews ,Moda Mia
Culinary student Cassidy Sansone
Dan Tursi, Day by Day
Feature Chef: Ian Mororney, Pumpkin Restaurant1713 South St., Phil.Pa. 215-555-4448 By Chef Steven Sansone
As down to earth as his fresh local ingredients, owner, Chef Ian Mororney, embodies the new era of the “farm totable” philosophy. Products from local farms are integral to his cuisine, allowing his menu to vary from day to day. He credits constant research and his core of talented cooks to the final success of his dishes. In my view, his humble attitude is an enormous part of the formula for longevity of a small restaurant. The result, clean, colorful plates of ingredients at their peak of flavor, no doubt the way his farm purveyors envisioned there harvest to be used.
Chef Steve: Simply, how did you begin the restaurant business?
Chef Ian. : I started making pizzas then I got a job at To the Moon in Syracuse, NY.At my interview the chef, Tony, asked me if I knew how to make a bed of lettuce. I said to him, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. He hired me on the spot, because I didn’t lie like most people do.
C.S.: So he wanted to mold you?
C.I.: He tried; I worked there about six months. Then I moved here in 1998.My Dad owns “Little Fish”. Basically, John taught me what was right and what was wrong. In the beginning, I made mistake after mistake and if they asked what kind of cuisine I did, I would say that I did “South Western style” . C.S.: What style would you say your food is now?
C.I.: If you look at our menu, I try not to get silly about where things are from. But with fish, I want people to know that we source out fish from relatively local places. And the beef is all humanely raised and pastured with no antibiotics. I don’t want to be preachy, so I don’t list where everything is from. I am really not into that. I hope that people trust that I would use the freshest local ingredients available. Still, there are things that aren’t local, like artichokes. I (explicative) love artichokes; I almost always have them on the menu when they are in season. Our market, which is run by my wife Hillary, is a little different; the idea of what we do transformed itself. The market is almost 100 % local. What we are trying to do is to create a sense of community. We live on 15th and Bainbridge and work in this neighborhood, that’s what we’re really trying to cultivate rather than be local product pioneers.
C.S.: What would you say the definition of a chef is, being that you are self taught?
C.I.: Chef is chief, which means you are in command of a brigade of people. People ask is Chris your sous chef or is James your sous chef. In a small restaurant like this, we’re all chefs, and sometimes we’re doing dishes and taking out the garbage. For better or for worse, here, it’s probably a lot different from most kitchens, I never learned in a corporate or a restaurant setting. We talk about the menu, we say what we want to do, what we can afford to do. Chris will say, “I want to do an eggplant soup” and I’ll say, “Sure make it”. We taste it, we like it or we don’t like it.
C.S.:As you work together for a long period of time, do you feel like you know how to compliment each other’s dishes?
C.I.: Absolutely. A professional chef and a professional restaurateur need to execute something day in and day out perfectly. I look at it a little differently, I have more of an Italian ethic, and nothing here is ever forced. A lot of what we do is based on inspiration and really just loving the moment of the dish. Not everything has to be the same every time. When we’re working on all cylinders and everything is right, most of the dishes are a labor of love.
It’s important for us to remember that the restaurant scene in Philadelphia was built on small neighborhood restaurants. To support small restaurants, is to keep part of our community’s culture intact. Let’s not get sucked into the big corporate restaurant philosophy that can make our city into a generic place to live, work, and eat.
Feature : Chef KonstsantinosPitsillides, Kanella Restaurant
My first introduction to Konstantinos Pitsilledes began with a question from the Cypress, Greece born chef; did you do your homework? In our business we can always learn more, I knew this was an opportunity to do just that. I would learn not only about his cuisine, but the real spirit of a man driven by his dream, looking for perfection, all the ingredients we look for in a true professional chef! I sat down with the chef and his wife, Caroline, at their restaurant Kanella, which is located at 1001 Spruce St. Philadelphia.
Chef Steve: Tell us about the training and education that led you to where you are today… Chef Konstantinos: I went to school in Europe and learned the French classics, the old fashioned way, doing everything from scratch. It is all about the sacrifices you make, at times I would work for free in my spare time. I have four degrees in hotel management and one in chemical engineering. Now, I channel all my energy into my own cuisine.
C.S.:Is it common among the Greek culture to learn from family as well?
C.K.: No, but you learn the attitude, approach, and the graciousness toward cooking in Cypress or Greece, I am from Cypress. In Cypress, we use a lot more spices than Greece because we are more near the Middle East and we have been colonized so many times by different nationalities that everybody has left their own mark. The French, Italians, Arabs, and Greeks were all there; so you can imagine how versatile it is. So what I do is just use tradition and recreate old recipes without even changing them and one of the reasons I’m doing this is because when my customers are eating they can reminisce about what they use to eat 20- 30 years ago. That’s what we’re doing here, simple, nothing else. Then again, simplicity is not easy to achieve because you naturally always want to experiment but you have to stay disciplined. Sometimes you take the radicchio and you want to turn it into stuffed radicchio. I don’t do that, every ingredient has its own properties and I try not to touch that. When I came to America five years ago, I discovered there was a niche for my food. I worked here for three years just to check the market and I realized it was time. We opened up, we have been here for 2 ½ years and have had great reviews. We have a lot of stuff going on but at the same time I take it all day by day. I remind myself that we are only new and you have to be established for 7 or 8 years.
C.S.: When someone comes into review your restaurant, what do you think their criterion should be?
C.K.: First of all, they need to be able to go into the spirit of the restaurant. The soul of the food is here, they need to be able to know more or less, what to expect. According to few other people, this specific restaurant may not be for everyone. Why? Because that is the way it goes. I like my fish and shrimp whole, with the head on. I like to use the insides of the animal and the secondary cuts of meat. People might ask, why don’t I have a filet of beef, chicken breast, or something really predictable and I say the same thing, “You can do that at home”. What’s the point of going to a restaurant? To have an experience.
C.S.: I agree with you 100 %. You have to first understand that there is an individual behind the spirit of the restaurant. It is not a particular formula; you can’t just come in and expect things to be a certain way. Can I ask you and your wife, the pros and cons of working so closely together?
Caroline: I think we work very well together, we probably work better here than at home (she glances at him and laughs). C.K.: We like being a “mom and pop” restaurant. It’s tricky working with family because first you have to be able to separate your responsibilities and not step on each other’s feet. We try to be open minded as possible to each other’s suggestions.
Caroline: In a way I am very forceful and passionate but my goal is to support his dream.
C.K.: You have to have good people around you; my wife is my best and worst critic.
C.S.: Is there anything you would like to say to the readers?
C.K.: I don’t really have a lot to say, I express myself through the cooking, and I feel for my profession. All I want is for people to come eat my food and be happy. That’s it. At the end of the story, that’s all that matters.
“Concision, strength, and simplicity” are the guidelines that Chef Konstantinos follows to keep his cuisine consistent and authentic. When dining at Kanella, keep your mind and spirit open and you are sure to have a true food experience.
Chef Ben Puchowitz, Matyson Restaurant In Philadelphia we know of young culinary whizzes, but it’s rare when we come across someone that displays the focus and discipline of veteran cooks twice their age. Chef Ben Puchowitz, the 26 year old phenomena, has these qualities; in addition he looks like he has the endurance to sustain the high level, Matyson restaurant at 37 S. 19th street requires.
Chef Steve.: Chef, thanks for coming on your day off. How long has Matyson been opened and how did you become the chef? Chef Ben.: In 2001 I was a freshman at Temple studying urban planning. At the same time I was working with my cousin Matt at Trust (restaurant) which is Alvez now. I just wanted a job while going to college; He taught me how to cook there. My father had a butcher shop called “Penn Center prime meats” the building Matyson is in now, he’s a butcher and still is at the restaurant. Matt, his wife Sonya and my father became partners and opened Matyson in 03’. I started on the line there and cooked for about four years. Then Matt left and moved to California, they felt it would be better to raise their family in the “sticks “of Napa Valley rather than an “urban city” like Philadelphia, also his wife was from there. I was still working at Matyson, but still looking for my next move. I got an internship at a small real-estate development company that did rehabs in North Philadelphia .My first day on the job I got rob at gun point, so I quit that day. A few days after that Matt asked me if I wanted to become head chef, to share the responsibility with my Father.
C.S.: So in a way you were predisposed to being in the food business. C.B.:I didn’t know! I thought I could predict housing costs in the future and I wanted to do rehabs and property developments. I thought there was a lot of money in that. During my time at Matyson I realized I couldn’t sit at a desk doing something I wasn’t comfortable with .I couldn’t see not being in a kitchen. It wasn’t until Matt asked me (to take over as chef),I thought that maybe this is just what I should do.
C.S.: Obviously he felt you were ready. Do you keep in touch with Chef Matt about the restaurant? C.B.: I had worked for fifty or sixty hours a week for four years with him. I saw so many things that went through his mind and he’s the only chef I worked for, so we have the same style. The only thing I think I do differently than he does is add a little more complex garnishes ,like preserved Myer lemon, it can change the whole dish. I also get a little more experimental with flavor combinations, like bananas and porcini mushrooms. .We create a new tasting menu every week, so I get to try a lot of different combinations. Matt isn’t involved any more, his name is still on the restaurant, his influence will always be here.
C.S.: I think it’s important for everyone to know how their food is brought to them at a restaurant each day. Give us quick synopsis of your work day.
C.B.: On Monday, before I go in I’ve already written the tasting menu, it’s all been prep-listed up. I get in around 10:30am, have a cup of coffee and get going. . My souse chef is doing the lunch shift and I’m strait tasting menu. It’s basically like iron chef where you are preparing a five course tasting menu except, instead of for four people it’s for seventy. I have two other prep cooks who come in at 1pm, and we just bust it out. . My cooks have to know exactly how I want the plates to look so we try different presentations. We try to get it done 100% and set up or line by 4:30pm .Then we put out a whole tasting for all the servers to sample and take notes on. We do sixty or seventy dinners, clean up and get out about 11:30pm.
C.S.:A lot or my food ideas come to me when I’m driving in my car or when I’m relaxing at 2 or 3am in. How and when do you come up with your ideas?
C.B.: To tell you the truth I think a lot about it just before I go to sleep, its how I get myself to sleep. In get up to write it down or I’ll do it in the morning. Other than that I have tons of cook books, on my days off, I read them for at least an hour. Also I follow chef like Charlie Palmer, Marcus Samuelsson (Aquavit) all Thomas Keller and a lot of French menus.
C.S.: What would you say you philosophy for cooking is?
C.B.: I don’t think my philosophy is totally developed .I would say keep your kitchen disciplined, all the cooks have to be on the same page , by that I mean if you peel a carrot and leave a little skin on and then the next ingredient you chop the wrong way, small mistakes along the way can ruin a dish. All ways think about being the best and making the dish your best. Small errors may occur along the way but in the end you will have a much higher quality product for the people to eat.
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