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Opening Day How a busy ACF Chef and Culinary Team USA member opened his first restaurant By Howard Riell
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decade-long career as a respected culinary educator and a place on the 2024 ACF Culinary Team USA apparently left ACF Chef Ted Polfelt, CEC, CCA, CEPC, AAC, too much free time — so he decided to open a restaurant. “It has always been a goal of mine,” Chef Polfelt says. “I grew up in the restaurant business, and I have always loved it. It has changed so much since I started, in a lot of ways for the better. I want to foster that same passion that I learned when I started, create an environment that I would feel comfortable for my own kids to work in, and create a good work-life balance for our staff. I want them to have great pride in what we are doing. I always kind of joke that opening this was like having a baby; there is no perfect time, but when it’s time, it’s time.” Called Brood Restaurant and Bar and located in Salem, Virginia, the concept is Southern-inspired modern American with a European influence. “When we were first designing the menu I wanted most of it to be naturally gluten-free,” Chef Polfelt says. “My oldest daughter has celiac disease, and I have always tried to teach her to eat naturally for her dietary restrictions.” The doors opened in July with ACF Chef Josh Wasky, CSC, CWPC, helming the kitchen on a day-to-day basis. The dining room seats about 40, and there is a two-seat bar with three cocktail tables. Notable on the menu are such dishes as chicken schnitzel with grits, collard greens, Alabama sauce and pickled mustard seeds; and braised short ribs with horseradish crumb, mustard jus, white cheddar mashed potatoes and broccoli with parmesan and lemon. The process took 10 months. “We were fortunate enough to fall into a beautiful space,” Chef Polfelt says. “The previous restaurant that was there, Blue Apron and Red Rooster Bar, was a staple in Salem, and
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was left in great condition. When we looked at the space we knew we had to do it, no matter the timing. My partner, Crenshaw (Reed), and I have opened several restaurants with our former restaurant group, so we already had a checklist and some experience with that part. My wife (Lindsay), who is also a part owner, handled a lot of clerical work that, to be honest, is not the strongest part of my game.” The previous owners had kept roosters in various places around the restaurant, so Chef Polfelt says that’s where the name comes from: “brood, meaning a family of chickens. Some of our family members worked there, and (that is) the connection that we wanted to have with the wonderful community of Salem.” Chef Polfelt advises colleagues who also dream of opening their own restaurants to make sure to “have the experience so that you know what ACF Chef Ted Polfelt, CEC, CCA, CEPC, AAC (left), opened hist first restaurant, Brood, in Salem, you are doing. It can be Virginia, with ACF Chef Josh Wasky, CSC, CWPC, a lot. I would just say do helming the kitchen (credit: Eli Schopp). the work: work for other people so that you can see different ways that people operate, from front of house, back of house, processing paperwork, etc. Then decide how you want to do it. But you cannot replace the experience of working in the industry with professionals. There is always something to learn. Be humble. If you don't have a passion for it, you are in it for the wrong reasons.”
