As he climbed the ranks, Highlands Falls CC’s Executive Chef says this is the best advice he ever received.
Chef’s Thoughts is sponsored by barillafs.com.
Shawn Olah is the Executive Chef of Highlands Falls (N.C.) Country Club. Prior to this post, he was the Executive Chef of Tara Golf & Country Club in Bradenton, Fla.
- You’d be surprised to learn that I am almost never a food critic when dining out or at someone’s home. It’s a beautiful thing to be served a meal rather than always cooking.
- If I could trade places with one chef it would be Daniel Humm. I respect the talent he portrays as well as his continuous contributions to the community.
- One of my most memorable meals was at Ardent in Milwaukee, Wis. I visited shortly after Chef Justin Carlisle was nominated for a James Beard Award. We had a fantastic 13-course menu and wine pairing.
- My go-to drink at work would be Cuban coffee. After hours, it would be bourbon or pisco.
- My last meal would be a Miyazaki A5 steak with bone marrow butter and fresh brioche.
- My worst culinary creation was a candied carrot pie.
- If I could change one thing about my club it would be renovating and redesigning the flow of the kitchen layout.
- My favorite junk food is mint ice cream.
- If I wasn’t a chef, I’d love to be a professional divemaster. I’ve always been a scuba diver and spearfisherman, but something about living on “island time” has always intrigued me.
- I knew I wanted to be a chef when I met my mentor, Manfred Brauer. I grew up cooking with my grandmother, but this was my first exposure to the European culture of cooking and it was like nothing I had ever considered.
- You’ll never see tofu on the menu at my club because I think it’s a cop-out for a chef to “accommodate” a vegetarian meal by swapping the protein for tofu.
- The most ridiculous member or guest request I’ve ever had was clam chowder, but with no shellfish because the member had a shellfish allergy.
- I love being a club chef because I get to know my membership and they get to know me. That relationship was what I missed most during my hotel days.
- When I’m not in the kitchen I’m with my family.
- My biggest mistake when I first started as a chef was thinking I could do it all.
- I cook frozen chicken cordon bleu 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 Ferran Adria.
- The most valuable piece of career advice I’ve ever received was as an apprentice: “If you cannot anticipate every need of the Executive Chef, the next cook will.”
- My favorite celebrity chef is Marco Pierre White because his love was for the food and the craft, not the publicity.
- The most important thing in my kitchen is my staff.
- I want to learn more about craft cocktails and how to create them.
- My favorite ingredient is demi-glace. Truffle oil is the most overrated ingredient. Citrus is the most undervalued ingredient. I detest oyster stew, and I can’t live without wine.
- I don’t like to brag, but I have an awesome two-year-old son, a great wife who puts up with us, and a young German Shepherd.
- My most embarrassing moment in the kitchen was actually prior to starting in the kitchen. I was still FOH at that time and the F&B manager played a trick on me, having me show up in a tuxedo vest and bow tie. I was then hazed by the pastry chef.
- I’d like to see more club chefs break out of the traditional club fare and into more modern representations of cooking while maintaining respect for the fundamentals.
- My favorite cookbook is, “Ideas In Food” by Aki Kamozawa & Alex Talbot.
- My favorite kitchen hack is using rice in blended soups as a thickening agent, keeping them gluten-free.
- I am motivated and inspired by my peers and mentors. To see the industry constantly evolving helps give me the drive to consistently evolve and improve in my own techniques and operational structure.
- The hardest service of my career was when my Executive Chef left suddenly just before a 550-person plate up. I was the only one in charge of the kitchen and I was young in my career and not yet refined in firing times during an event of that size.
- The most popular items on my menu based on sales are the chardonnay poached pear salad and the candied pecan ball with hot fudge.
- I’d lose my job if I took fish off the menu.
- Determination and attitude are the most important qualities in a sous chef.