The Team

Probably the biggest thing that freaks me out on a daily basis revolves around happiness.  As a chef, we have a duty of making sure the guest is fulfilled on several different levels, whether it is satiated palates or comfort sitting in off white lighting.

Regardless, a chef has several other responsibilities and one of the most challenging for a young toque like myself is keeping a good team together.  You must be an artist, craftsmen, savvy business person and psychologist/psychiatrist at once, which makes recognizing the hard work logged on by cooks occasionally lost on the shuffle.

But luckily, I’ve assembled a great squad this fall/winter season, and they all bring something special to the table.  That makes me happy everyday when I get to work.

One of the best things I ever learned as a cook was under the tutelage of Graham Elliot Bowles while he was the Chef de Cuisine at Avenues in the Peninsula Hotel Chicago.  Elliot pushed us to be creative.  He didn’t want us to plate the same dish twice.  He gave us a sheet with seasonal ingredients a few weeks before each major menu change and wanted us to come back with ideas to contribute to the 4-star restaurant he had built the foundation for.

I always appreciated this about Elliot and I don’t think I truly comprehended the value of these exercises until I took over an upstart place for myself.

It falls in line with something that I learned while toiling away in journalism school some 10 years ago:  Everyone needs a good editor.  And that’s precisely what Elliot was for us at Avenues.  It was his food, his words so to speak, but he allowed us the privilege of figuring out the framework for successful cuisine (on any level I might add) and chefdom in general.  We’d shoot a story idea to him and he would refine it, expand on it, or go on his own brilliant tangent to bring the idea to the level that makes it something special.

We don’t have a pastry chef at Chaise Lounge, so I really like to have fun with the desserts.  This is where I also like to get the crew involved.

Here is a case in point.  This is a picture of Kristin Miller, one of the newer additions to the back of the house team, showing an Almond Cake that she worked on for a few days before finalizing the right recipe and total dish.  It’s a great feeling to know that the team is interested in creating and learning and not just pulling a shift at a restaurant.

Most importantly, I think that this makes them happy, knowing that they are getting something more out of their experience at Chaise Lounge.

Kristin with Almond Cak