Valentines Day

a chef's perspective

I’ve been back at the restaurant for a month and a half now helping out, filling in as the Executive chef until Urban Hotdog Collective launches again in the spring. This week has been all about getting ready for Valentines Day. I sat down and put together a special menu with the word “sexy” in mind. I’ve been through this process almost every year since I was in my mid twenties and at this point it comes quite naturally. In my younger chef days it didn’t come so easily and always meant a tremendous amount of work and stress. Here’s a little piece I wrote about Valentines Day while we where still in the middle of COVID and the restaurant was socialy distanced, along with the dishes I created for this years menu.

Peppered Ahi Tuna, candy striped beet carpaccio, mango-champagne emulsion, micro beet greens, smoked sea salt

Valentines Day: A chef’s perspective

As a young Sous Chef, Valentines day presented me with the first big challenge of my career. The Executive Chef was out for the entire month of February recovering from foot surgery and I was tasked with creating our Valentines Day specials. I’d been helping to create daily specials for well over a year now, spending countless hours at the library reading cook books on my days off. ( the internet was not a thing yet ) but Valentines day was the day to do your best work. A higher end menu was called for and it needed to be extra sexy. I would write a five course menu and each course would have two items to choose from. The planning and execution put my skills to the test. I worked three, twelve hour days leading up to the big night and Valentines day it self was a sixteen hour day. It kicked my ass but the food was great and I had pulled it off. Over the years I have repeated this process many times, usually starting with a list of ingredients. Passion fruit, fresh berries, “tear drop” tomatoes, oysters, and ingredients with the words petit or baby in front of them.

Petit Lamb Lollipops, peach mostarda, pea tendrils, pomegranate-lamb demi, pistachio

Valentines Day is “one of those” holidays the we in the industry refer to as amateur hour. These are the customers that only go out to eat twice a year. The other one is Mothers Day which is the busiest day of the year in the restaurant business. I’m always a little disappointed with the sales. Although we are selling more expensive food, every table is a two top. So the table that fits four to six people on Mothers Day sits half empty on Valentines Day.

I wasn’t very experienced with the ladies in my younger days and there was always something a little depressing about the Valentines Day shift. All these happy couples staring into each others eyes was a little annoying for a guy who rarely had a date. Later in life when I had a partner I’d explain that I’d do something special with them after it was over. They always said they understood but when I’d come home exhausted, without flowers and gifts they were always disappointed.

Black Mission Fig Salad, watercress, arugula, raspberry-passionfruit vinaigrette, goat cheese crema

The days of working fourteen hour shifts are mostly a thing of the past for me but as seems normal in this time of Covid, we have two of our main chefs out with health issues this year. So here I am, working some long days to get us through the weekend. You put your head down and do whatever it takes to get the job done. Three years ago we suffered a tragic loss in our restaurant family. In early February, Rob, one of the owners slipped and hit his head on his driveway after work. He was in a medically induced coma and on February 9th they pulled the plug. Rob was an amazing leader, he’d been my friend for over twenty five years and we where all crippled with grief. Yet five days later Valentines Day still arrived. For three hours we put our grief aside and served a restaurant full of happy couples. That night gave a whole new meaning to leave your shit at the door. After service, when all of the happy couples had gone for the night we gathered round the bar and raised a glass to our friend. I miss you man.

“Surf & Turf” Petit filet, Stilton bleu cheese, bacon-onion jam. Roasted monkfish, lobster butter sauce. Herb roasted fingerling potatoes, baby carrots

This year is just weird. The restaurant is already socially distanced and at fifty percent capacity, so seating two tops will feel kinda normal. I put together a three course meal kit they can follow along with a video at home and assemble themselves. I love seeing the happy faces of our guests but am grateful for the reprieve this year. Lobster tails will be steamed and oysters shucked. Guests will feed each other chocolate dipped strawberries and the show will go on. I’ll be happy it’s over. A smaller, simpler menu will do the trick this year. This one evening, with all the expectations attached to it, won’t make our relationships any better or worse but getting out of the house and having a little fun will be good for people. For the first time in years I’m happy to be be a part of this special day.

Chocolate-Bleu Cheese Truffles, Stilton bleu cheese, Luxardo cherry, hazelnuts

Blood Orange Upside Down Cake, maple-bourbon whipped cream

It’s been quite the ride over the years. Happy Lovers Day!!