American chef!” In a remarkably short time, these words have become nearly as compatible as the pairing of “French” and “chef.” Our country has produced great cooks through the years, but from the introduction of restaurant dining early in the last century well into the final quarter of this one, the commanders of America’s prestige kitchens were European-born and trained. Other popular restaurants offered ethnic cooking of foreign lands, done by immigrants.
But the dramatic increase in dining out during the last 20 years changed all that. It created a demand for cooks and chefs that the immigrants (many fewer than in the past) could not fill. The opportunities tempted Americans newly sensitized to the pleasure and nutritional aspects of food. Some of these chefs became celebrities, stepping outside their kitchens to become owners, entrepreneurs and authors.
Now a second, or even third, generation of American cooks is rising to prominence. They have less to prove–the dining public is no longer skeptical about choosing American restaurants for special occasions. But they still face myriad challenges and possess a hunger to achieve.
It’s time to spotlight a half-dozen of the emerging stars in the Chicago area, young men and women who not only are creating notable food in their kitchens but also are seeking ways to redefine and broaden their roles.
KEITH LUCE, EXECUTIVE CHEF SPRUCE, 238 E. ONTARIO ST., 312-642-3757
Luce, 27, grew up on eastern Long Island. At 15, he was washing dishes and helping the chef at a small family restaurant. “It’s a fond memory now, but I hated it then,” he says. His grandfather, a chef, pulled strings for Luce to apprentice in several top New York City restaurants–with no pay.
“There are two things as a kid I said I’d never be,” he recalls, “a farmer or a chef. But the more I cooked, the more I kept wanting to learn more.” Cooking at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., he impressed Walter Scheib, who soon thereafter was tapped to become the White House chef for the Clintons. Scheib brought Luce along as his sous chef. “I learned to be more diplomatic,” Luce says, “to be a better manager. But I wanted to get back into a restaurant situation.” Spruce, a stylishly casual, contemporary restaurant, was to open earlier this week.
“It’s a very exciting time for young chefs,” Luce says. “The United States is beginning to have a firm voice in the international culinary world. There are no boundaries. Rules can be broken. But we must keep in mind there is always more to learn, especially in classical European techniques.
“I need to know more about everything. I can’t get enough learning.”
KEITH LUCE’S JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE SOUP WITH SPRING VEGETABLES
Preparation time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 servings
Cooking time: 30 minutes
For garnish, look for daikon at Asian food markets and produce sections of some large supermarkets; white radish can be substituted. Duck confit can be replaced with duck prosciutto, smoked duck breast or even top-quality bacon.
Soup:
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes), peeled, chopped
2 each, minced: shallots, garlic cloves
6 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
Rind of 1 lemon, yellow part only, coarsely chopped
Salt, white pepper
Garnish:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup each: julienned daikon, celery, leeks, carrot, red Swiss chard
3/4 cup (about 2 ounces) julienned duck confit or duck prosciutto
1. For soup, melt butter with oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over low heat. Add Jerusalem artichokes, shallots and garlic; cook and stir until shallots soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Add chicken stock and heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until Jerusalem artichokes are tender, about 25 minutes.
3. Strain solids from liquid, reserving both. Puree solids, thyme and lemon in a food processor or a loosely covered blender. Stir puree into reserved liquid; season with salt and pepper. Pour soup through a fine mesh strainer back into a clean pot. (Soup may be made ahead to this point. Cover and refrigerate, along with julienned items.)
4. At serving time, reheat soup. For garnish, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Cook daikon, celery, leeks and carrot over medium heat until just tender, about 2 minutes. Add chard and confit or prosciutto; stir until chard wilts, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
5. To serve, ladle soup into warm soup bowls. Spoon garnish on top.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories……..215 Fat……………….11 g Cholesterol…….12 mg
Sodium…..1,975 mg Carbohydrates………18 g Protein…………12 g
PAULA DEMUTH, CHEF THE GREENERY, 117 NORTH AVE., BARRINGTON, 847-381-9000
DeMuth has followed the most atypical route of any of the chefs here. Born in Chicago to Yugoslav immigrant parents, she had her first restaurant experience waiting on tables at a local diner at age 12.
DeMuth, 41, is a self-trained cook who worked in a series of neighborhood restaurants in the city and suburbs and gradually learned all areas of the kitchen. She helped open The Greenery in 1987 under chef/owner David Koelling and was appointed chef six years ago.
Now she functions on two levels.
“There are the day-to-day chores, ordering, receiving, managing people, making things work in a positive way, showing enthusiasm and hoping it shines through,” she says. “Another part of my role is to educate people by exposing them to diverse foods. Eating habits are changing drastically and that’s really exciting for me.”
Because of her Mediterranean heritage, she loves to cook with olive oil, capers, tomatoes, beans and grains. “In my youth I was a strict vegetarian, so I think about those foods in broader terms than as side dishes.”
PAULA DEMUTH’S AVOCADO AND JICAMA SALSA
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Yield: About 21/2 cups
Serve under grilled or broiled fish such as halibut or salmon.
2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, finely diced
1/2 cup peeled, finely diced jicama
1 tablespoon finely diced onion
1 medium tomato, seeded,diced
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra-virgin preferred
1 tablespoon each: tequila, fresh lime juice
1 to 2 tablespoons rice vinegar,to taste
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce, Tabasco preferred
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover tightly and refrigerate if not using immediately.
Nutrition information per tablespoon:
Calories…………25 Fat………………2 g Cholesterol……..0 mg
Sodium………..15 mg Carbohydrates……..1 g Protein………….0 g
JOHN BUBALA, EXECUTIVE CHEF MARCHE, 833 W. RANDOLPH ST., 312-226-8399
Bubala says he was a precocious youth, doing part-time work at age 11 in a Glenview restaurant for $2.35 an hour. His real culinary career began somewhat later, with the Bennigan’s chain, and blossomed at the Boston Harbor and Four Seasons hotels in Boston.
When Four Seasons’ executive chef Michael Kornick returned to Chicago to open Marche, he convinced Bubala to come along as his No. 2. With a new restaurant to supervise, Kornick turned the executive chef title over to the 32-year-old Bubala early this year.
“We roast over a live fire like cooks did centuries ago, and it’s still necessary to do every detail at the highest level possible, especially in a volume restaurant like ours,” Bubala says. “We do the fundamentals, the classic techniques, really well.”
He believes an executive chef should possess “experience, to deal with cooks of different backgrounds; maturity, to encourage give and take instead of a dictatorship; perspective, to realize customer satisfaction is as important as the back of the house.”
The best aspect of his job in the short term is the exposure, he says, “and even some glory. But in the long term there’s a chance to do what was done for me, to develop young cooks and give them the knowledge and techniques to get a solid sous chef job.”
JUMBO SHRIMP WITH VANILLA BEAN SAUCE AND RED WINE SYRUP
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Adapted from a recipe by John Bubala, executive chef at Marche.
For syrup:
1 cup red wine
1 1/2 teaspoons each: sugar, water
For shrimp:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 cup Japanese-style bread crumbs, toasted
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Salt, white pepper
18 jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined
For vanilla sauce:
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 tablespoon pieces
1 large shallot, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise
1. For syrup, boil red wine in a small saucepan over high heat until reduced by half. Add sugar and water. Reduce heat; simmer until wine thickens into a syrup, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. (This step may be done several days in advance; reheat gently before using.)
2. For shrimp, heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix melted butter and garlic in a bowl. Mix bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper in a second bowl. Dip each shrimp in garlic butter; coat in crumb mixture. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake until firm but not dry, 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Make vanilla sauce while shrimp is cooking. Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan. Add shallot and cook over low heat until soft, 2 minutes. Add white wine, raise heat and cook until wine is almost evaporated. Use the tip of a sharp knife to scrape the soft beans from the center of vanilla bean into pan. Turn heat to low and whisk in remaining butter, a few pieces at a time, waiting until each addition melts before adding more. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm but do not place over direct heat.
4. To serve, spoon about 2 tablespoons of vanilla sauce into the center of each of six warm plates. Using a small spoon, drizzle red wine syrup around the sauce. Place three shrimp in center and serve at once.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories………605 Fat……………62g Cholesterol….200mg
Sodium……..140 mg Carbohydrates…..8 g Protein ……….6g
SHAWN MCCLAIN, EXECUTIVE CHEF TRIO, 1625 HINMAN AVE., EVANSTON, 847-733-8746
No longer a star-in-waiting, the 29-year-old McClain and his restaurant recently received a four-star rating from Tribune critic Phil Vettel. McClain’s first restaurant job, at 15, was as a dishwasher in Oxford, Ohio. Two years later he was in charge of the kitchen and a staff of 13.
McClain was in the kitchen when Trio opened in October 1993 and was promoted to executive chef two years later, after the team of Rick Tramanto and Gale Gand left.
One problem he didn’t envision was the loneliness of command.
“When you become a boss you become isolated,” he says. “I try keep learning by reading, research and going out to eat at other restaurants.”
He says he is still working on how to present himself to the public. “Realizing what I do counts and not fighting the image of people who were here” is another challenge, he says. “I give them credit, but I don’t like to be compared to them.”
STEVEN CHIAPPETTI, CHEF/OWNER MANGO, 712 N. CLARK ST., 312-337-5440
Now 28 and the only one of this group to be an owner as well as chef, Chiappetti grew up on the fringe of the restaurant business. His family’s Chiappetti Lamb & Veal Co. supplies premium meats to chefs throughout the city. Working for the company part time as a teen, he visited kitchens, met chefs and soon was hooked. His first job, at $4.25 an hour, was for the food service company ARA at Northwestern University in 1984.
“Money’s not the motivation for going into the food business,” he says. “It takes a long time to make a decent salary, and the big money’s still not there. You become a cook because you love food.
His goal? “To have a small countryside hotel, maybe in California, where I could care for the guests as well as feed them.”
MARY ELLEN DIAZ PRINTER’S ROW, 550 S. DEARBORN ST., 312-461-0780
Diaz, 35, grew up in a northern Virginia home where, because of her Spanish father and North Carolinian mother, cross-cultural dining was taken for granted.
“I think I’ve always wanted to cook,” says Diaz, who became chef of Printer’s Row in May 1995. “My first food-related job was at a wine and cheese shop. I was there before my shift, stayed after and went in on my day off. The pay was $125 a week. I thought that was great.” Diaz hasn’t changed. She spends her days off in nearby Mexican and Vietnamese markets shopping and then cooking.
She worked for a caterer and attended a cooking school in Maryland. But her father, who “wanted his kids to be attorneys,” objected. As a compromise, Diaz went to college and majored in economics, but was allowed to go to France to explore the culinary scene during vacation. She has returned to France several times since, studying at the Cordon Bleu cooking school in 1990.
