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When did you
start in the industry and why become a
chef?
I started
cooking in the summers in the Chicago area while I was
quite young -- at music festivals, frying chicken and
the like. When I started it was right at the cusp of
when being a cook or a chef was just getting respect and
recognition in this country. I mean the chefs I started
under were not the type of individuals you would want to
emulate; they were a brash, rather rogue bunch, but I
found the work itself to be
fulfilling.
Through prep
school and college I cooked and catered during breaks. I
liked the sense of order and having an environment that,
if you knew what you were doing you could control it to
a great degree. This was appealing to me and when I was
cooking it never felt like I was working. It was just
something I could get absorbed in and it brought me
pleasure.
Did you get
your passion for this from home and your Polish/Jewish
heritage?
Not really.
I mean we ate out a lot as a family. I always would
order the weird stuff though. For example, the folks
would order an omelet and I would order stewed prunes! I
liked the idea of being able to eat ‘outside of the box’
so to speak. I liked different flavors. As far as
being inspired by my Jewish heritage, well my folks
named me Christopher if that’s an indicator.
So, no not so much!
How did you get
from philosophy to the philosophy of
cooking?
I took
philosophy because I enjoyed learning, but I had no real
goals in that area of study. So when I graduated,
the cooking I had done caught my interest and I moved
forward with it. I moved to San Diego and worked for
Trey Foshee for three years and then I went off to
Europe and staged in France. I just soaked it up! I
eventually came back to the States and ended up in San
Francisco working under Daniel Patterson at Elisabeth
Daniel’s, and then Daniel Humm at Campton Place. My
first real chance to express myself in a way that would
draw attention though was a fortunate happening to be
the chef at a place called Chez TJ in Mountain View. It
was an ideal situation in that it was a small manageable
place close enough to the limelight where solid work
would be rewarded. The folks that owned Chez TJ were
good people and all I had to do was worry about the
food. We outgrew the place, but were able to garner two
Michelin stars in the process. After leaving there, of
course, I came here to Meadowood and again we received
two Michelin stars for our work here. Getting the stars
is very gratifying, but a lot of pressure at the same
time and for me, pretty fast moving for a ten-year
period.
Do you consider your cuisine
molecular gastronomy?
No. Some may
want to classify what we do as molecular gastronomy, but
it is really not. Some young chefs will say, ‘Hey, look
at this cool thing you can do with methylcellulose, and
then try and create something from that perspective. We
on the other hand will brainstorm what texture/flavor
profile we are looking for and attack it from that
angle. It may utilize some of the new hydrocolloids and
chemicals that are available or it may not. These things
are just tools to achieve an end and not an end in
themselves. As opposed to what really I define as
molecular gastronomy, our cuisine is evocative, not
provocative. We are not trying shock our guests
with tableside liquid nitrogen; we just use whatever is
at our disposal to achieve the best
results.
What is the biggest challenge
for you in this business?
Besides
having to miss everybody’s wedding? Well, it’s probably
getting from concept to plate in a very short period of
time, with two Michelin stars hanging over your head
knowing that you have to get it spot on. I mean, a lot
of what we conceptualize, I have no clear idea of how to
get it done. I think one of my issues as a young chef is
that I’ll put something on the menu before I’ve figured
it all out -- but I better by tomorrow afternoon, if you
catch my drift! Boiling it down, sometimes I wish
the stars were slower in coming because it puts a huge
amount of pressure on you, but it is what it is and
we’re grateful for it. I don’t recommend this business
for everyone as not everyone is cut out for it, but I
love the feel of the kitchen, I like wearing my whites,
and I feel a pull to the back of the house when I walk
into a restaurant. Even with all the pressure, this is
where I want to be.
Culinary
highlights:
- My first
review I ever got in the ‘Silicon Valley Metro
Whatever’, I can’t even remember the newspaper, but I
was thrilled! It was while I was at Chez
TJ.
- Receiving
2 Michelin stars at Chez TJ
- Putting
together my own dishes at Georges under Chef
Foshee
What chefs
influenced you the most?
- Christian
Morisset- I worked for him at La
Terrasse in
France
- Trey
Foshee
- Daniel
Humm
What was the
meat like in Europe?
It was
really good. The lamb was fabulous and the beef,
especially the entrecote was always really good. I’m not
sure what the breeds were.
If you could
keep only 3 culinary books, what would they
be?
- Michel
Bras Cookbook
- Joy of
Cooking
- The French
Laundry Cookbook
Favorite
kitchen gadget:
IPOD docking
station. I really
like the rare situation we have of cooking at this level
yet having the fun music we want in the
kitchen.
Most memorable
dining experience:
Pierre
Gagnaire
–It was my
first experience of cuisine at that level, a true
intellectual dining experience.
Favorite
‘elbows on the table hole in the
wall’:
A place in
France called Le Brulot – just
really fantastic food like entrecote steak, and pig on a
spit. Really simple but out of this world with no
pretense.
A food item you
hate to admit to liking:
McDonald’s
McRib- I don’t
think they make them anymore but they were so
good.
Three things in
fridge right now:
Ketchup, soy
milk, and French brie
Secret junk
food indulgence:
Chicken
wings
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Whether it’s whole Eden Farms Berkshire
pigs, Bill Niman’s Bolinas goat, or Martin Emigh’s Rio
Vista grass fed lamb, we are proud to provide Chef
Kostow with product that carries Michelin Star
weight!
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