The Executive Chef of Centre Hills Country Club says these are the four most important characteristics of a line cook.
Chef’s Thoughts is sponsored by barillafs.com.
John Zeggert is the new Executive Chef of Centre Hills Country Club in State College, Pa. He has spent more than twenty years working in private clubs and resorts and cooking across the country and around the world with a focus on seasonable, regional, and sustainable cuisine.
- You’d be surprised to learn that I am a painter, sculptor and photographer in my spare time.
- If I could trade places with one chef, I wouldn’t. I might go back and do a few things differently, but in my experience, it’s an industry that is reasonably easy to learn from others and apply it to whatever you want to achieve.
- One of my most memorable meals was a chef’s tasting based on the themes of surrealist Salvador Dali. The event was 8 months in production. I had a blast.
- My go-to drink is an old-fashioned or chartreuse on the rocks.
- My last meal would be my mom’s fried chicken Sunday dinner.
- My worst culinary creation was shrimp confit. I still say there’s a nugget of brilliance somewhere in the concept, but I couldn’t get it to work no matter what I did.
- My favorite junk food is cronuts.
- If I wasn’t a chef, I’d love to be a fishing guide.
- I knew I wanted to be a chef when I saw the reactions of people when I got serious about the craft.
- You’ll never see lava cake on the menu at my club because for the most part, if it’s on a national chain dessert menu, it’s time to move on.
- The most ridiculous member or guest request I’ve ever had was a steam allergy.
- I love being a club chef because we need to have extensive culinary knowledge and be able to properly teach it.
- When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m usually at my canvas working on my next piece.
- My biggest mistake when I first started as a chef was failing to learn how to balance work and professional life. I still struggle with it.
- I cook ramen waffles at home, but I’d never cook them again at the club.
- If I could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, it would be Paul Bocuse.
- The most valuable piece of career advice I’ve ever received was “You can’t be afraid to fail. Failure is often more important to learning than success.”
- My favorite celebrity chef is René Redzepi or Josh Niland. I tend not to pay too much attention to celebrity chefs, but I greatly appreciate what those two gentlemen have done for our industry.
- The most important piece of equipment in my kitchen is plastic wrap.
- I want to learn more about foraging in this area because I just moved to town.
- My favorite ingredient is whatever is at its seasonal peak. Bacon is the most overrated ingredient. Produce is the most undervalued ingredient. I detest eggs benedict, and I can’t live without German thyme.
- My most embarrassing moment in the kitchen was either forgetting to order ketchup for a 4th of July BBQ for 800 people or dropping and breaking every plate needed for a wedding in front of the GM & the Club President moments before plate-up.
- If I could have one superpower, it would be to fly.
- My favorite cookbook depends on what I’m looking for. For plating presentation, it would probably be Alinea. For historical reference, it would probably be Fabulous Feasts (Medieval Cookery and Ceremony) or A Taste of the Mediterranean. For fiction, it would be The Third Plate and Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World.
- My favorite kitchen hack is the next one I need to learn.
- I am motivated and inspired by teaching and watching the development process of younger generations.
- The hardest service of my career was a welcome event for new students, their parents, faculty, and all alumni for a college in southern New Jersey. It ended up being a 36-hour shift for me where my staff and I fed about 30,000 people with 7 satellite locations, various action stations, and a roaming food truck.
- The most popular item on my menu based on sales is soup.
- I’d lose my job if I took the Italian grinder off the menu.
- Humbleness is the most important quality in a sous chef.
- My go-to breakfast is three pancakes topped with creamed chipped beef and two over-easy eggs, and black coffee.
- When hiring, nothing kills a resume fastest for me. These days, I’m just looking for someone that wants to learn, shows up on time & is manageable.
- My biggest professional pet peeve is intentional, repetitive ignorance.
- I will always purchase puff pastry dough instead of making it from scratch.
- The most important question I ask during the interview process is “Do you have any questions?”
- The best excuse I’ve ever been given for calling off work is, “I’m sorry, Chef. I’m too high and I don’t feel safe to leave.”
- The best culinary gift I’ve ever received was upon leaving a position, I was told there was an issue at the loading dock. When I got there to inspect, the entire team of 120+ cooks & stewards were there with silly string to bury me, give me cards, hugs & thank-yous. In that environment, I can’t tell you what a success that was.
- The four most important characteristics of a line cook are neurotic, humble, eager, and attentive.