Chef’s Thoughts with Todd Sellaro, Executive Chef of Elkridge Club

Todd Sellaro, Executive Chef, Elkridge Club, Baltimore, Md., wants to learn more about beekeeping.

Todd Sellaro, Executive Chef of Baltimore’s Elkridge Club, comes with an impressive (and shiny) pedigree. Prior to his current post, a position he’s held for more than seven years, Sellaro worked in the kitchens of a number of Platinum Clubs on both the east and west coasts, including the Jonathan Club (Los Angeles), New York (N.Y.) Yacht Club and the Harvard Club of New York City.

1. You’d be surprised to learn that I am an advanced novice at chess. I play nearly 100 games of speed chess a week, and only play at the highest computer level.
2. I want to learn more about beekeeping, because I would love to harvest the honey and serve it at the club.
3. One of my most memorable meals was when I was having dinner at Eleven Madison Park and they found out for the first time that they received 3 Michelin Stars. Chef Daniel Humm invited me into the kitchen to celebrate.
4. My go-to drink is coffee by the gallons.
5. My last meal would be my mother’s Beef Braciole.
6. My worst culinary creation was a beer-can cabbage with cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce.
7. If I could change one thing about my club it would be to redesign the pool kitchen.
8. My favorite junk food is Taylor ham, egg and cheese with ketchup on a Kaiser roll.
9. If I wasn’t a chef, I’d love to be a composer/conductor.
10. The most valuable piece of advice I’ve ever received was from the Executive Chef at the Harvard Club of New York City. He offered three simple words: Know your timing.
11. The most ridiculous member or guest request I’ve ever had was to cook a whole turkey for Thanksgiving, then break it down, slice it and put it back together, so it looked whole and uncut when they took it home to serve it.
12. I love being a club chef because I can be flexible with my creativity.
13. When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m at the gun range, fly fishing, hunting, skiing or racing my classic Corvette.
14. My biggest mistake when I first started as a chef was not supervising the production of 300 pounds of Maryland jumbo lump crabmeat for crab cakes. The meat got all mashed and broken up and had to be completely redone. It was an $8,000 mistake.
15. If I were stranded on a deserted island, I’d want these five foods with me: bread, cheese, butter, wild honeycomb, and grapes to make wine.
16. I cook fried pepperoni sandwiches at home, but I’d never cook it at the club.
17. If I could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, it would be with my father,  who passed away when I was 15.
18. My favorite celebrity chef is Thomas Keller, because I’ve been to Per Se on six different occasions and it’s always outstanding. He is the first and only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the prestigious Michelin Guide.
19. I want to learn more about beekeeping because I would love to harvest the honey and serve it at the club.
20. My favorite ingredient is foie gras. Saffron is the most overrated ingredient. Vinegar is the most undervalued ingredient. I detest laziness, and I can’t live without butter.
21. The rules of conduct in my kitchen are wear clean uniforms, no eating in the kitchen except for tasting, no music, be on time, everything must be labeled and dated, and if you don’t have a reason to be in the kitchen, stay out.
22. I don’t like to brag, but I became an executive chef at a very young age at a Platinum Club without a high school diploma or culinary degree.
23. My most embarrassing moment in the kitchen was when I lost a bet to my sous chef and had to eat a live cicada while the entire staff watched.
24. I’d like to see more club chefs get together outside of work and network.
25. My favorite book is The Flavor Bible.
26. My dream vacation would be helicopter skiing in Alaska or Switzerland.
27. My favorite movie/TV show is Amadeus and the History Channel.
28. My favorite kitchen hack is wrapping a wet towel around a plate cover, to keep the bowl from spinning when whisking.
29. I am motivated and inspired when I see my sous chefs leave my kitchen and go on to become Executive Chefs themselves.

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