This week, Columbus Underground is taking a look at some of the amazing young talent in the kitchens of your favorite local restaurants.
Alexander Silverman is an outgoing young chef who has already chalked up experience working in the kitchen at Alana’s, The Clarmont, and can currently be found cooking up gourmet hot dogs at Dirty Frank’s. Some of that patented Columbus humility shines through when Alex begins to discuss his career. “Even though I am certified through the American culinary federation, I wouldn’t compare myself to chefs who have been in the business for years”, he said. “Like many things in life, that is a term you have to earn during your lifelong course of work. “
Name:Â Alexander M. Silverman
Age: 23
Training Experience: Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts, Pennsylvania Culinary Institute
Kitchen Experience: Pantry and Prep Cook at Alana’s Food and Wine, Cook at The Clarmont, Catering at the Jewish Community Center, and Barbecue Cook for Smokin Joe’s Ribs
Current Job: Cook at Dirty Franks Hot Dog Palace
Favorite Style: American Comfort Foods
Favorite Cuisine: Italian, Greek, or Moroccan
Favorite Technique: Grilling Meats and Vegetables
Favorite dish to make: “I’ve got too many favorites to name, but if I had to narrow it down to a few, they would include Spaghetti Bolognese, Asian Chicken and Broccoli, St.Louis Style Ribs, and of course… Hot Dogs.”
Favorite food to eat: “I believe in trying anything twice because the first time you always make assumptions, so I would say that I enjoy all types of foods. When I was in kindergarten I told my teacher that my three favorite foods were pizza, hamburgers, and Pad Thai… and I’d say that’s still true.”
Least favorite food: “I really don’t like making forcemeats, galantines and terrines. They take a long time to make and I don’t really enjoy the taste or texture of the finished product.”
Favorite kitchen utensil: “The most important tool, and probably my favorite, is a classic French chef knife. Life would be extremely difficult without it. My least favorite tools are can openers and Santoku knives.”
Favorite cookbook: “I would like to list a lot of classic cookbooks here, but I can’t. I don’t have the money to spend on cookbooks, so instead I find a lot of recipes online. Some of my favorite recipe sites include allrecipes.com, epicurious.com, and recipezaar.com.”
Favorite Columbus restaurant: “I can’t give just one answer, so I will try my best to give a few categories. Favorite Asian would be Bangkok Grocery & Restaurant, favorite Mediterranean would be The Mad Greek, my favorite comfort food comes from Tip-Top Kitchen and Cocktails and my favorite upscale dining spot would be Alana’s Food and Wine.”
Your Inspirational figures: “My Mother, who inspired me to cook. Chef Alana Shock, who was the first culinary master that I worked for. The experience seeing her create dishes forever changed my view of what it is to be considered a chef. Elizabeth Lessner and Cameron Mitchell are also two local restaurant entrepreneurs that I aspire to emulate in the future.”
Your Dream Job: “My Dream Job is to own and operate a successful restaurant in Columbus. I would really like to do something with barbecue and jazz in downtown Columbus. I think those are two things missing from a vibrant and growing downtown. If a restaurant of my own doesn’t work out, I would really like to build restaurants and do conceptual design for a company that expands and builds food service operations. I really enjoy creating menus and creating ambiance.”