BACK OF THE HOUSE

BACK OF THE HOUSE CHEF IN MOTION

Aubergine chef Justin Cogley gets out of the kitchen

BY KATHRYN MCKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY BY KODIAK GREENWOOD

Justin Cogley comes across as a low-key kind of dude, boyish and softspoken, but within him, there’s a restless spirit barely contained. e 37-year-old executive chef at Aubergine at L’Auberge Carmel has already racked up an impressive string of awards in his five years there, and for most people in his profession, that would be enough.

But Cogley continues to strive, not just in his profession, but also as an endurance runner and triathlete, as a husband and father, and as a fundraiser for worthy causes—all in his precious spare time. His quest: that balanced life that is so notoriously elusive in the restaurant world.

A look at social media reveals the wide breadth of Cogley’s contributions to different events just this year, ranging from a quick trip to Seattle in April to help Monterey County promote its culinary tourism offerings, to a 300-mile ride down the California Coast in June with Chefs Cycle, an organization that raises money to fight child hunger. Cogley brought in $8,885 for the Relais & Châteaux team, which contributed more than $32,000 overall.

Like many chefs in the area, Cogley cooks for his share of fancy food and wine events, like GourmetFest and Pebble Beach Food & Wine, but he also volunteers his time cooking for athletic races as well, providing vitamin- and protein-packed fare like spicy chicken burritos with quinoa and roast pork shoulder with raw kale salad; in April, he

Culinary artists and their inspiration: is page, Justin Cogley at Aubergine. Opposite, clockwise from upper left, Yulanda Santos, squash blossoms, Dan Williston, and Cogley riding in the Chefs Cycle.

Roasted Abalone, Seaweed and Roasted Green Tea

served up suckling pig and shrimp for participants at April’s Sea Otter Classic cycling festival in Monterey.

Amidst everything else, Cogley was able to compete himself in two Ironman triathlons and three half-Ironmans last year, but in 2016 he says he’s been trying to cut back a little on his extreme sports schedule.

“I was told by my family”—wife Laura and their kids, ages 4 and 6—“that I raced too much last year,” he says wryly, rubbing his closecropped sandy hair.

In the world of fine cuisine, Cogley has made his mark with locally foraged and sustainably sourced ingredients, celebrating the best of the Central Coast by selecting such delicacies as sablefish, wild sorrel, seaweed and huckleberries for tasting menus that change constantly and deliver succulent surprises in small courses. His imagination and attention to detail helped garner a five-star rating for Aubergine from Forbes Travel Guide in 2014. Named best new chef by Food & Wine magazine in 2013, Cogley earlier this year was also named a semi-finalist in the James Beard Awards for the third time.

Cogley’s always been a hard charger in his quiet way. A precocious cook from elementary school years, when he made soufflés for his parents’ dinner guests, he originally set out for a career in something completely different—figure skating. “We’d commute an hour each way for practice,” the Pennsylvania native recalls, from the time he was 10 or 11. He rose to world-class status in competitive pairs skating, and then put in a four-year stint with Disney On Ice, touring in Asia, Europe and Australia. e best part of that, he says, was sampling cuisines and cultures of other countries. “It opened my eyes to what else was out there” Cogley says, and these international influences still inform his dishes to this day.

But living out of a suitcase got old after a while, and in his early 20s, Cogley enrolled at the Western Culinary Institute (now called the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts) in Portland and turned his attention back to cooking.

He went on to work for famously hot-tempered chef Charlie Trotter at his critically acclaimed, eponymous Chicago restaurant for four years. As chef de cuisine for the last two, Cogley was responsible for menu creation, special events, and instruction and management of the culinary staff.

What he learned there in terms of work ethic was invaluable.

“(Trotter) was always trying to perfect his craft, and was never happy with it,” says Cogley. “He pushed us to be better.” An exacting taskmaster and creative genius, Trotter was known for fits of temper in the kitchen. is “culinary boot camp,” in the words of the Chicago Tribune, also produced extraordinary young chefs who absorbed Trotter’s drive to innovate.

For himself as an executive chef, Cogley has chosen a more Zen path for managing his staff. “ere’s a balance of how to treat people,” he says.

Trotter’s death in 2013 by stroke, linked to high blood pressure, was a wakeup call for Cogley. He resolved to make a difference in his health and ran the Big Sur Marathon the next year. Since then, he’s lost 35 pounds and has become obsessed with endurance sports.

What makes a meal worth the money you pay for it? at was on my mind when I stepped into Aubergine, where the prix fixe tasting menu is $150 a person. at’s correct—$150 for a single meal, an amount of money I could envision using to buy at least eight dinners.

Never having eaten a meal with such a lofty price tag, I felt a little unprepared and anxious. What should I wear? Was the fact that I was dining alone a bad thing? Would the wait staff be snooty? And “tasting menu,” what does that even mean?

So many questions.

Aubergine, however, turned out to be nothing like what I expected. From the moment I stepped in the door and was greeted warmly, I could tell it was going to be a special experience.

In the small, intimate restaurant—it seats only 24 diners at a time—there are four people waiting on you, which means you get a lot of attention. And they were endlessly patient with my questions.

And then there’s the food. e tastes, or small courses, are just what they sound like, and there are eight of them. Each stands alone as a little piece of art, a feast not only in terms of taste, but to the eye as well. Each one also keeps you guessing with surprising textures and flavors.

Because there are so many courses, and each is complex, the meal is a culinary excursion through myriad ingredients—more than you’d sample in years of dining out. For instance, one course alone combined smoked trout roe with fava beans, corn, mushrooms and the tiniest new potatoes. Another brought together red abalone with seaweed and herb purée.

Dessert courses show the same attention to detail and contain similarly unexpected elements. Aubergine pastry chef Yulanda Santos, who recently arrived from Big Sur’s Sierra Mar to replace Ron Mendoza, who is opening his own high-concept ice cream shop in Monterey called Revival Ice + Cream, loves to use one ingredient in different textures. An example is the layered creation I was able to try, which featured chocolate sorbet over chocolate crumbles, topped with cocoa paper and accented with mint gel.

Dinner at Aubergine is an evening to be savored, and so I did. Eating slowly and mindfully is an experience few of us take the time to do, and the experience was not just delicious. It was transformative, the way all great art can be. —KM

Aubergine Carmel • 7th and Monte Verde, Carmel www.auberginecarmel.com • 831.624.8578

Cogley now runs 60 to 70 miles a week, even when he’s traveling to cook. On one recent trip, he rose in the pre-dawn hours to sightsee while running.

It’s hard to imagine how Cogley fits this into his schedule, since he typically works 10-hour days five days a week at Aubergine. But the training, racing and simply enjoying being out in nature have themselves become sources of inspiration for his work as a chef.

“Travel, obviously,” sparks his creativity, Cogley says, but he can also be inspired on a family hike when he glimpses forageable foods along the path. He also pays attention to what people are talking about online, and, he notes dryly, “I still read cookbooks every once in a while.”

Most of all, being on the Monterey Peninsula—as a chef and an athlete—is enough to ignite his culinary imagination. Of long-distance running, he says, “70 percent of it is a head game. It gives you a lot of time to think.”

RECIPE: Find Cogley’s recipe for Salmon with Rice, Smoked Avocado and Purée of Zucchini at www.ediblemontereybay.com.

LEARN TO COOK LIKE A FINE-DINING CHEF

Want to improve your skills in the kitchen and learn from one of the best chefs in the region? Edible Monterey Bay contributor Camilla Mann has taken classes from Aubergine chef Justin Cogley and says he’s a “gracious, patient and encouraging” cooking instructor. Aubergine is offering four classes this fall; all are $100, and each is held right in Aubergine’s kitchen from 11:30am–1:30pm. You also get to sample the dish you learn to make. • Sept. 14: Chicken 101, including how to select, brine, roast, braise and carve. • Oct. 12: Farm-to-Table Rack of Lamb, supporting local, sustainable agriculture. • Nov. 8 : anksgiving Crash Course, featuring classic recipes and tips for a perfect holiday meal. • Dec. 14: Holiday Canapés and Cocktails, just in time for end-of-the-year parties.

Sign up by calling 831.624.8578.