This week, Columbus Underground is taking a look at some of the amazing young talent in the kitchens of your favorite local restaurants.
First up is Stephen Blake, a line cook at The Refectory who has spent nearly half of his life working in various kitchens around the city. A self-described hard worker, Stephen admits that he didn’t originally “pick” cooking as a career. “I have cooked professionally as long as I was old enough to work only because it was a way i could make money,” he explains. “These days I feel blessed, because now I realize it truly is a lovely way to make a living.”
Name: Stephen Blake
Age: 28
Kitchen Experience: 13 years of “on the job training” in various restaurants.
Current Job: Line Cook at The Refectory
Favorite style: “The classics. From there all else is built.”
Favorite dish to make: “Duck 3 ways – duck leg confit, cured breast and a little duck sausage. Served with sauerkraut and chive potato mousseline and a touch of demi glace. That’s from my previous employer – Handke’s Cuisine.”
Favorite food to eat: “Anything someone else makes. If the person cooking is psyched to make it, it will be fun to eat regardless of what the dish is.”
Least favorite food: “Anything over or under cooked.”
Favorite kitchen tool: “Nice heavy pans or a thin one if you need it in a flash. Or a knife and cutting board… maybe a slicer… like a mandolin. They make the job faster and more consistent. No, wait! A Forschner Serrated knife! That thing is good for everything!”
Favorite cookbook: “I’ve got too many favorites. It’s fun to take bits and pieces from different books. Although I could definitely give shout outs to Michael Ruhlman, Marco Pierre White, Georges Auguste Escoffier, Thomas Keller and James Peterson.”
Favorite Columbus restaurant: “Carabar.”
Your Inspirational figures: “Chef Asa J. Rodriguez and all of the people I have worked with in the past that were harder workers then I am. These are the people I wake up thinking about in the morning, and that pushes me to do the best I can each day.”
Your Dream Job: “I am living the dream! I have worked with a lot of people that have have a titled position that sounds fancy and gets them chicks. Just because you are in charge of a restaurant or kitchen does not make you a chef… or a chef that I would want to be. The type of chef I aspire to be should have much more experience and understanding of food and business. A great chef should respect their food and give it the utmost care.”