Fairview CC’s Executive Chef says this is the most valuable piece of career advice he’s ever received.
Chef’s Thoughts is sponsored by barillafs.com.
Jeff Perez, CCC, has been the Executive Chef of Fairview Country Club (Greenwich, Conn.), since 2002. As a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he has served as President of the Club Chefs of Connecticut and was the Featured Chef at the renowned James Beard House in 2015 and 2016. He is also a regular guest on WGCH Radio in Greenwich CT.
- You’d be surprised to learn that I am a certified sommelier.
- If I could trade places with one chef, it would be Jonathan Waxman.
- One of my most memorable meals was at Guy Savoy in Paris. I had the artichoke soup with truffled brioche, and it was unbelievable.
- My go-to drink is Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc.
- My last meal would be caviar and champagne.
- My worst culinary creation was a purple potato soup with bleu cheese.
- If I could change one thing about my club it would be to make the members show up for their reservation times.
- My favorite junk food is chocolate.
- If I wasn’t a chef, I’d love to be a weatherman.
- I knew I wanted to be a chef the first time I saw a guest smile when they ate something I cooked.
- The most ridiculous member or guest request I’ve ever had was to cook a filet mignon, medium rare, for a member’s poodle.
- I love being a club chef because I love the interaction with members and guests.
- When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m working out on my Peloton.
- My biggest mistake when I first started as a chef was not delegating enough and overworking myself.
- I cook a scrambled egg, steamed vegetable and salad dinner at home, but I’d never cook it at the club.
- If I could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, it would be Julia Child.
- The most valuable piece of career advice I’ve ever received was work hard and be honest, and good things will happen.
- My favorite celebrity chef is Jacques Pepin, because his story is amazing.
- The most important thing in my kitchen is my staff.
- I want to learn more about traditional Mexican cooking because the layers of flavor are so complex.
- My favorite ingredient is saffron. Truffle is the most overrated ingredient. Fennel seed is the most undervalued ingredient. I detest okra, and I can’t live without garlic.
- I don’t like to brag, but I’m almost 60, but I look much younger—must be the EVOO facials.
- My most embarrassing moment in the kitchen was as a newbie, I used a head of garlic in one portion of escargot when the recipe called for one clove.
- I’d like to see more club chefs get more involved with a professional chef organization.
- My favorite cookbook is The New York Times Cookbook by Craig Clairborne.
- My favorite kitchen hack is using a flatted #10 can as a diffuser under a pot of béchamel, so it doesn’t burn.
- I am motivated and inspired by researching, eating and traveling to different countries.
- The hardest service of my career was on St. Patrick’s Day in 1987. A line cook and myself did more than 500 covers in one hellish day after everyone called in sick.
- The most popular item on my menu based on sales is the cobb salad.
- I’d lose my job if I took the veal chop off the menu.
- The ability to supervise and cook simultaneously is the most important quality in a sous chef.