Chef’s Round Table
A Peek Inside Some of Your Favorite Local Kitchens
When it comes to menu planning and creating specials, where do you get your culinary inspirations?
Elena: I feel like most of my inspirations come from a mix of what I’ve experienced while traveling, what I personally like to eat, what is in season, and taking into consideration what will sell based on the demographic of our part of town.
Kevin: A lot of my inspiration comes from my past. Everything from where I’ve been, what I’ve eaten, what I’ve seen, what I’ve smelled, and what I’ve experienced etc. I start by figuring out what I’m trying to create. Is it to fit the season, fit the concept, or trying to reinvent something? For me, when creating something, you always have to start with a basic idea that already exists and work from there.
Kendall: I enjoy cooking comfort food. When I create a menu for a private dinner or catering, I draw inspiration from comfort foods I feel the guest would enjoy. For the eatery, I created a lunch menu based on items I enjoy eating for lunch. Our meal prep menu is healthy home cooked meals, inspired by my childhood.
Joshua: The seasons. What is the best product available at the time? Then, from there, I can start thinking about actual dishes. It all starts with the product.
Tell us about sourcing ingredients needed to make your dishes taste as authentic as possible and whether you have to substitute when you can’t find a particular food. How often do you source locally?
Elena: There are several farmers that I deal with, some weekly, some just whenever they let me know what they have. As far as making something taste authentic, I typically stick to foods I’m comfortable with making and definitely letting local and seasonal foods be my inspiration for what I decide to make.
Kendall: I love using fresh vegetables! I normally don’t have a problem sourcing ingredients for my dishes. I’ve been known to cut fresh basil out of my garden when I can’t find it at the local stores. I often use Gulfport Seafood Market for fresh salmon and seafood.
Kevin: To me, being authentic is probably the last thing I’m worried about when creating a dish. Because at the end of the day, as long as the dish is delicious and beautiful, it doesn’t matter if it’s authentic or not (unless that is your goal). For me, anything in a dish can be substituted for another ingredient. This is why I’ve always loved cooking and why I’m still learning even after 15+ years of cooking. The possibilities in the kitchen are endless. At The Jones Assembly, we try to source locally as often as we can. If there is something that is being made or grown locally, we try to utilize it to our advantage. We source produce from multiple farms around the metro, get our milk from Marak Family Farm, and use cheese from Lovera’s in Krebs, Oklahoma.
Joshua: Sourcing is one of the most important things. You can’t make great food with subpar ingredients. We believe in it so much we raise our own animals. We also work with a lot of local farmers and producers.
How do you help educate your guests on what they are eating and encourage them to try things that are not familiar to them?
Joshua: Conversations. All of our animals are pasture-raised and finished. Explaining the benefits of this to the guest is a constant thing. As for getting them to try new things, you have to gain their trust. Usually, they have had your food before and that’s one way, but, I think something that is new has to have a familiarity to it for them to try.
Kevin: In my experience, the best way to introduce a food item that guests are not familiar with is to incorporate it into a dish that is familiar to them. For example, we have an octopus dish at The Jones Assembly that has grown to be very popular. We knew octopus would be a tougher sale for everyday diners, so we decided to serve it similar to a fried chicken wing. We deep fry the octopus and toss it with a sweet and spicy sauce. Once hearing how it’s prepared, guests are less intimidated by this unfamiliar ingredient. It remains as one of the more popular dishes at The Jones Assembly.
Kendall: For the most part it’s more of a trust thing. My guests trust my ability as chef and what I offer. Often guests come in just for the specials.
Elena: In the past, when I was at The Wedge Pizzeria, I would take samples around to tables (especially in the beginning) so they could see for themselves that things like figs and walnuts in fact do taste amazing on pizza, and if I had a local veggie I was proud of, I’d give them a little taste before ordering. As far as today goes, the counter service method doesn’t really allow for that kind of intimacy, so I just point out what I’m featuring as someone is ordering.
Which dishes are you particularly proud of? How do you keep your dishes relevant?
Kendall: I’m extremely proud of my shrimp and grits, burgers, soups, and the signature items on my lunch menu. I try to be consistent in my cooking. Whether catering for a large event, preparing a sandwich at lunch time, or cooking an intimate course dinner at someone’s home, I want my food to be pleasing every time.
Elena: I’m pretty proud of the lunch features that I create, especially when I have amazing produce to feature on them. My favorite menu item currently is The Sweet Jesus (grilled rye, thyme roasted cauliflower, mashed sweet potatoes, tomato, Gruyere, and a fried egg), because it is such a fun combo of ingredients that really play well together, and it also reminds me of a sandwich I had in LA (rye, roasted cauliflower, runny egg, and Gruyere) that was the inspiration for it.
Kevin: This is like asking me to pick my favorite child! I am proud of all of my dishes. They all have a story and have been created with memories from my past. I keep my dishes relevant by promising myself to never stop learning. Food is always changing and evolving. If you aren’t constantly learning and keeping up, it’s easy to get behind. Once you are behind, it’s hard to catch up. Constantly learning and constantly improving is what is most important to me when it comes to my cooking.
Joshua: Smoked + Roasted Pork Chop with 3 sister hash, apple butter, green tomato chutney. That dish screams Oklahoma to me personally. I think in order to stay relevant you have to constantly be pushing yourself and your staff. Studying food movements, menus, trends, and then applying what works and makes sense for your business.
