Meet Chef Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita

Award-winning Chef Holly Smith opened Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, Washington, in 2000. A James Beard Best Chef Northwest 2008 winner, the Maryland native attended Baltimore International Culinary College before moving to Seattle in 1993 to work for Tom Douglas at the Dahlia Lounge. Founding Cafe Juanita provided Holly the freedom to combine her love of Northern Italian food with her commitment to local, organic, and sustainable Pacific Northwest products.

Chef Smith recently spoke to me for Food, Wine, Travel readers.

What was the impetus for starting your own restaurant back in 2000?

I wanted to create a restaurant I wanted to go to something personal. I wanted the chance to create and have creative control over the whole experience.

Why the focus on Northern Italian cuisine?

I wanted to focus on a cuisine, and had always felt an affinity and respect for Northern Italy. I began researching when I first started a business plan about two years before Cafe Juanita opened, and that research got me hooked.

Photos: Cafe Juanita © Lara Swimmer; Chef Holly ©Robin Marie

By LM Archer

How do you go about choosing your food and beverage purveyors? Which comes first, the products, or the menu?

My gut is to say that the ingredient comes first always. Usually, I am dreaming about an ingredient I expect to see in the next month or so, and then it goes from there.

We are fortunate to be in an area where we have so many farmers, and great native products. I also think everything from our eggs, great pastured lamb, and organic wheat for our bread - all make the Pacific Northwest a stellar place in which to cook, and to eat. We try to work with people with the same motivation, to find and share the best products possible, and support artisans.

I am always interested in getting as close to the source as possible, and we buy many things directly from the producers whenever we can— making for a fresher product straight to our door, versus stopping at a broker in between.

How did winning the James Beard ‘Best Chef Northwest’ award in 2008 impact your culinary career?

I have been very lucky. Since that win, I’ve been fortunate to cook with the Beard Foundation at charity events around the country, as well as the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, and other events. So, exposure is one benefit.

We have since been nominated many times for ‘Outstanding Restaurant in the US,’ ’Outstanding Service in the US,’ and ‘Outstanding Chef US.’

Each of these nominations always creates a buzz, which I assume correlates to some increase in business, although I couldn’t say how much.

Cafe Juanita excels at the art of being ‘at table.’ What sort of choreography goes into running a James Beard award-winning restaurant?

We try to think of every detail, and discuss it from all angles. In normal times, 28 people work in our modestly-sized home. From the moment you make a reservation, to the door closing as we say good night, we care about every bit of your experience.

Our team works together to question everything we are doing every day, striving to improve the tiniest processes for refining, improving, and making the experience great for our guests. We continue to build in redundancies to catch mistakes, and triple-check ourselves.

We touch the guest so many times from the reservation, confirmation, and our daily fresh talk where we go over every reservations notes with staff, to the hand-off from host to server, and then server to kitchen - each of these communications have been tweaked and discussed for the WHY, so we are all on the same page, and working towards the same goal.

For me, it is also important that my team all know that they are empowered and trusted to take care of a guest - always.

How has COVID-19 impacted your restaurant?

We closed on March 13—four days before the state mandate to close. Over that weekend, I created an online store for the pickup concept At Home with Cafe Juanita that I had been planning to open in the event of a closure.

We had begun to stockpile filled ravioli, gelato and sorbetto, so I took what we had in food inventory and wrote a menu. We had our first pickups at 2:30 PST in the afternoon on the first day of state-wide closure on March 17t. I had to lay off 21 staff—but kept them on insurance— ultimately applying for and receiving a PPP (Paycheck Protection Program loan) in the first round. We’ve had to lay most of them back off but we do have nine people employed now.

I decided about two months ago that I would not reopen for in-house service until we are postvaccine. This has been graciously supported by the whole team - during PPP we paid them to stay home, and had them take online classes with our wine director.

My goal in the beginning—and even now—is to offer a Cafe Juanita experience at home. So, you are not taking a dressed salad or a hot dish home, but we have made it so an 18-ounce veal chop with patate al forno ripiene, chanterelles and local French beans is ready to enjoy in about 15 minutes at home, heating instructions included. Guests have been celebrating special occasions, and even baking bread!”

Anything else that you think is important for readers to know about Cafe Juanita?

I hope that people see that what we offer is tied to our experience. I have always been committed to learning - from people, and from events. I have no doubt that we will be a better restaurant because of this pandemic. I know I have learned so much through this already. It is a horrible thing, but we will grow.

When we return, it is even more important that we are very clear that the health and safety of the team must come first. I have always strived for this, but we can always be better. We are expensive, but not only do we buy the best products, we are generous with them - and my staff have full medical and dental and supplemental insurance, 401k and paid vacations. This needs to be the norm, not the exception. There are different ways to impact this outcome that don’t shortchange employees or the business.

RECIPE

Cafe Juanita Belgian Endive Salad

Serves 4

4-6 heads Belgian endive (dependent on size and appetite) 1 cup walnuts - lightly toasted and cool. 1/4-1/2 cup anchovies, best quality, drained of oil. 3 lemons (washed,1-ounce juice, zest of most all) Optional - avocado. Extra virgin olive oil

Walnut Anchovy Salsa

Pulse walnuts in food processor quickly to break up into even small pieces.

Rough chop anchovies on cutting board, then add to processor. Pulse quickly until walnuts and anchovies are same size. Note: Do not turn into a paste.

Add 2 ounces olive oil and pulse to combine. Taste and add chopped anchovies if necessary, for seasoning.

Remove into a bowl and add olive oil as necessary to be able to drizzle salsa. Add generous amounts of. micro-planed lemon zest.

Taste and add salt if desired. Note this salsa varies with different anchovies, quantities are variable accordingly.

This can stay refrigerated two-three days. Add additional zest as needed.

Herb Citronette

1-ounce lemon juice (use lemons from above ingredient list and make walnut salsa first, so you harvest zest before making citronette) 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. ½ cup packed mixed herbs (whatever you have and love: flat leaf parsley, basil, chervil, tarragon, mint, and chives.) Approximately 3 ounces extra virgin olive oil. Kosher salt to taste. Make a loosely emulsified vinaigrette. Adjust to your taste. This will provide balance to the dish, so adjust acidity as necessary.

For the dish

Remove approximately 3/4 of an inch from the root end of 3/4 of the endive and begin to separate each leaf. Hold in mixing/salad bowl. Keeping root end intact, cut remixing endives in half lengthwise.

Heat a sauce pan over medium high heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Add endives cut side down. Turn them over and season in pan with kosher salt. Turn them back cut side down. Season the backside. Cook until deeply caramelized. Remove from a pan onto a lined sheet tray or plate caramelized side up and cool. Remove root and separate leaves.

Combine fresh and roasted Belgian endive and dress with herb citronette. If desired, add avocado pieces now and then arrange on a plate. Finish with a generous drizzle of the walnut anchovy salsa.

www.cafejuanita.com

Photos (left-to-right): At Home with Cafe Juanita; Cafe Juanita dessert ©Junko Mine; Cafe Juanita Orecchiette ©AntoinetteBruno

Q & A with Karuna Long at Seattle’s Oliver's Twist

by Nancy Mueller

Every neighborhood needs its own version small shared snacks. We are primarily a cocktail of “Cheers,” a local bar and eatery where bar and a large percentage of our revenue is just everyone knows your name. Happily, that. However, I put together a think tank with tucked into a cozy section of Seattle’s Phinney my four employees along with a few regularsRidge neighborhood, lies mine, Oliver’s Twist. turned-close friends and we brainstormed the Without doubt, the global pandemic has been mandated by Governor Inslee. devastating for those in the bar and restaurant

changes brought on by the pandemic?

evening after covid-related closures were industry, including Oliver’s Long story short, we all proprietor, Karuna Long. agreed that pivoting to Yet with grit and a Cambodian take-out determination and the program was worth a loving support of family and shot as we’ve held friends - “Thanks, Mom!” - previous Easter “pophere’s the tale of how this up” dinners featuring speciality craft cocktail bar the food of my family’s is transforming its brand heritage and they have through the food and been wildly successful flavors of Long’s cultural and well-received. heritage. After that meeting, I took a couple of weeks Karuna, what’s your title off and spent time with and role at Oliver’s my brothers, Routhana Twist? and Ritche (our prepI am the owner-operating cook) and we hovered manager. I am a craft Chef Karuna Long @KarunaLongPhoto all over our mom at her cocktail bartender by trade, home as we took in but since the pandemic every morsel that she began, I’ve been thrust into the role of chef and could teach us. We spent a lot of time cooking with my brother, Routhana Long, who is documenting every recipe she was able to show us my Sous Chef. My parents are from the as she didn’t have any finalized recipes for her Battambang province of Cambodia and escaped dishes. We had to portion them out to scale since the heartaches and destruction caused by the she cooks by taste, as most traditional Cambodian Khmer Rouge in the beginning of the 1980s. parents do. Since the pandemic, my love for my How has Oliver’s Twist adapted to the dishes have come forth into a new light.

mom’s (Sophon “Kimberly” Long) cherished

At first, our future looked bleak considering the My brothers and I never got to meet our state cocktail laws had not yet been eased and our grandfather’s (both sides of the family) as they original food program was minimal with a lot of were executed back during the Khmer Rouge

regime. Growing up, all of our relatives and cousins on both sides of the family have always revered our mom as the best cook amongst all the adults across both families, so gaining inspiration from her seemed so natural, and she often credits how amazing her father was when it came to cooking. My brothers and I hope that we can continue to carry my parents’ legacy in the kitchen. It’s the closest we could ever get to feeling like we Chicken Curry knew our grandfather whom we never met.

Tell us about the new menu.

Our menu features the staple ingredient Kroeung ( pronounced krooh-ung) which consists of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, lime peels, palm sugar, salt, turmeric, raw honey, olive oil and soaked dried mild red chile. Kroeung is often found in a lot of dishes and the word literally translates to Coconut Milk Pork Bowl “ingredient.” How kroeung is used in various dishes will differ and often requires additional spices/herbs/etc to the kroeung, but the result and profile is astounding. Our menu also features a lot of gateway items that showcase Khmer cuisine and are still friendly to new-comers such as the Bobun (vermicelli dish traditionally served cold) or the Ka-ree (curry) and the Kha Sach Chrouk (braised pork belly). Our goal was to not just thrust the very traditional dishes that showcase the vibrant aromatics and pungent flavors immediately as we wanted to gauge our community’s interest as well as slowly guide them into our culture. As the Fall & Winter seasons loom, we are excited to bring on the more rustic, classic flavors of the staple dishes, soups and stews that have warmed the homes of so many Khmer homes.

What do you hope customers will take away from their experience with the new menu?

My hope is that not only would there be an appreciation for Cambodian food, but that folks would be interested in learning about the cuisine and its culture dating back to the Khmer Empire. A lot of folks love Thai and Vietnamese cuisine but have never had Khmer cuisine. I think that if folks came to learn that the Khmer Empire predates the aforementioned cultures, Khmer

(Cambodian) people, their cuisine and culture wouldn’t be so vastly underrepresented outside of the heavilypopulated Khmer communities. I’m hoping to be able to carry the torch to represent the Khmer culture through our food using a community fixture such as Oliver’s Twist as the very vessel to do so.

What’s your most indispensable kitchen tool?

A good stone mortar and pestle. If you are ever in a Cambodian household and they don’t have one, I might have to take away their “Khmer card”. =

What’s your idea of the perfect meal?

As my partner, Audrey would say, likely anything our mom cooks. In all honesty, a perfect meal that’s very well prepared as an easy answer but to me, any meal shared with those you love and enjoy your time with and allows for shared stories is perfect. Especially a meal that you and those that are about to enjoy it share cooking duties together. It’s something that I’ve always cherished growing up. You could never go a Khmer family gathering without seeing a kitchen with so many involved hands, from kids to adults.

What are your plans given all the uncertainty related to the pandemic?

I’m still taking it day-to-day, week-to-week. In a perfect world, I’d be open for operation and dinein so that folks can have a place to come back to and enjoy their staple cocktails and imbibe with their loved ones. However, I feel a large sense of responsibility to my staff, friends, family and the community by continuing to operate as best without putting anyone at risk of getting coronavirus. Before the pandemic, the plan was to open up a Cambodian restaurant next door to Oliver’s Twist sometime in 2021, but at the moment, it’s on hold.

With my new blog, I am just excited to use this newfound attention that Oliver’s Twist has helped grow with our Cambodian food by creating a space that folks can come to to not only learn about out culture, history and cuisine, but to also allow folks to connect with my personal experiences growing up Khmer in America and how it may or may not parallel my parents and their lives back in Cambodia.

I used to play jazz piano & trumpet as well as teach kids piano. The dream when I was younger was to teach elementary school level music. I sang in a lot of gospel choirs and the artistic side of me was heavily influenced by our dad being a fixture in the Khmer music community and our mother being a traditional Khmer dancer. I still hold onto a dream to put together a jazz/orchestra bandstand and curate all the classic songs from my parents’ youth back in Cambodia and put together a whole arrangement and concert event. I’m also aspiring to put together Southeast Asian Street Festival with the help of the Phinney Neighborhood Association sometime in the future to bridge the cultural gap between north and south Seattle.

For more information, visit www.oliverstwistseattle.com/. http://