Creative Concepts - New Fine Dining (Limited) by Huy Do

A venison skewer from The Willows Inn on Lumni Island, featured on page 15.

AUGUST 2018 | ISSUE 60 | THE INDUSTRY CONCEPTS YOU NEED TO KNOW

BACKGROUND

WHY IT MATTERS

Chefs John Shields and Karen Urie Shields’ culinary visions come to life at Smyth and The Loyalist, two unique venues located in the same building in Chicago’s West Loop. Upstairs at Smyth, an open kitchen with a wood-fired hearth comes into view as guests experience intricate tasting menus that range from 7 to 18 courses. The husband-and-wife duo seek to create a welcoming yet refined environment at Smyth, while also serving up pristine courses that both innovate on and preserve the integrity of fresh, local produce. In contrast with Smyth, guests who venture downstairs to The Loyalist will find a more casual environment with craft cocktails and a la carte bites.

Smyth has achieved the “very tricky balance between culinary excellence and unaffected informality,” the Chicago Tribune’s Phil Vettel writes. Indeed, everything about the restaurant was designed to toggle the balance between refinement and restraint. From the warmth of the wood fire in their display kitchen, the wildflower vases atop bare wooden tables, to soft Oriental rugs lining the floor, the restaurant’s interior design aims to evoke warmth and comfort. For a less rigid atmosphere, the hospitality at Smyth is also pared down: according to The Infatuation, there are no synchronized movements or lengthy explanations of courses when they arrive. With the Shieldses’ technique and respect for ingredients, the food at Smyth is simple yet complex in flavor and evokes intrigue without the smoke and mirrors. After years honing their craft alongside farmers in rural Virginia, the Shieldses maintain their connection with nature by partnering with The Farm, a 20-acre establishment south of the city. The customized herbs, flowers, and produce grown at The Farm inspire the creations at Smyth. Expect plenty of surprises, from dishes with unconventional preparations like a barbecued cucumber with grilled nasturtium and yuba to a savory brioche donut dressed with aged beef jus. If there’s one dish Smyth is known for, it’s chef Karen Shields’ egg yolk dessert, in which an egg yolk cured in velvety black licorice molasses rests atop a mound of frozen yogurt meringue. The offerings at The Loyalist are designed to be more casual, but still include dishes like lamb neck, black currant, and shallot tart, as well as a wide array of seasonally-driven cocktails. And one can’t mention The Loyalist without mentioning the famous ‘Dirty’ Cheeseburger, elevated with a short rib and chuck patty and an onion-infused mayo (the burger even has its own Instagram account!). While Smyth and The Loyalist have built out two separate complementary-yet-contrasting concepts, operators can strike a similar, smallerscale balance by offering a casual happy hour or bar menu alongside more upscale fare to provide customers with both choices.

DATASSENTIAL’S CREATIVE CONCEPTS: NEW FINE DINING

1. Sea lettuce, lovage, and oyster emulsions. 2. Egg yolk soaked in salted licorice with frozen yogurt meringue. 3. Lemongrass sundae with salted black licorice and pickled blueberries. 4. Sea lettuce cookies with an oyster emulsion and nasturtiums. 5. Braised squid, lamb jus, wild fennel. 6. Coconut crisp tartlets with chocolate mousse brûlée. 7. Half-Demon cocktail: Japanese whisky, chamomile, dry sherry, génépy, red clover bitters.

DATASSENTIAL’S CREATIVE CONCEPTS: NEW FINE DINING

After an early career as a derivatives trader, investor, and entrepreneur, Nick Kokonas ventured into the hospitality industry by opening Alinea with chef Grant Achatz in 2005. Since then, Kokonas and Achatz’s partnership has given rise to the Alinea Group and the many restaurants under its brand, from Next to The Aviary. Kokonas is also the founder and CEO of Tock, a ticket-based reservation and table management system.

DATASSENTIAL: What was the fine dining industry like when you first opened Alinea with chef Achatz? Were there rules and conventions that you had to learn, follow, or break? KOKONAS: This would require a very long answer, much of which is written in “Life, On The Line,” a memoir Grant and I wrote. When Alinea opened, we questioned every aspect of the dining experience - both why something was done a certain way and how it could be done differently or better. Really basic things were asked (such as “why do fine dining restaurants have white tablecloths?”), and the answers were often surprising – for example, white tablecloth was often there to hide the quality of the tables underneath. It wasn't about luxury. So then we said, could we do this differently while still providing a luxurious, great experience? The answer, of course, was yes. We asked more questions: Why is everything served on a plate? Why is every utensil on the table at the start? Why does the host ask you for your name as opposed to knowing who you are beforehand? On and on. D: We’re interested in the evolution of fine dining. How would you say the industry has changed since you first opened Alinea, and what do you foresee happening in the near future? K: The biggest change is that the element of surprise is now really hard to achieve. The internet and ubiquitous social media mean that when a diner goes to a destination restaurant they tend to know what to expect - from the food to the dining room to the experience. This means that a sense of wonder – something we work hard to achieve and maintain at Alinea - can quickly be lost. It also means that when new techniques or ideas are created, they propagate quickly across the dining world and are copied. This is true throughout the arts, and fine dining is no different. D: There seems to be such an ebb and flow for fine dining restaurants – some shutter while some find longstanding success and others shift gears to transform into more of a casual dining experience. Can you offer commentary on what makes fine dining successful or what’s worked for you? K: There are two things at play here: the art of a great fine dining restaurant and the business of that restaurant. A lot of chefs, sommeliers, and general managers are knowledgeable about great food and service, but have no idea how to manage marketing, HR, insurance, payroll, benefits, and other ongoing business requirements. If run as a great business, the restaurant can reinvest in constantly improving the guest experience. At Alinea we voluntarily chose to completely rebuild and recondition the restaurant in 2016 even though it was having a record year. Now we are poised to do nearly double the revenue we did back then, and we have continued to push the dining experience in new directions. So it needs to run not just for the art but also for the commerce. This balance is something that we are constantly evaluating at our restaurants. (more on next page) DATASSENTIAL’S CREATIVE CONCEPTS: NEW FINE DINING

Tock's mobile and web interfaces.

D: I’d love to also learn a bit more about Tock. Can you tell us about your inspiration behind Tock and how it’s performed and evolved?

K: Tock began as a way for me to reduce no-shows and partially-seated tables at my own restaurants. This was an enormous problem at Alinea. With over 110 no-show diners per month, the restaurant lost in many ways – not only the $560,000 in annual lost revenue, but also food waste, the labor required to reschedule people, and the missed opportunities for diners who wanted to come but could not. What began as a system for my own restaurants is now a company that employs 52 people and works with restaurants across 20 countries and 100 cities. Tock’s comprehensive system not only reduces no-shows, but fundamentally improves and changes a restaurant's ability to provide great hospitality by tracking guest preferences, frequency of dining, and much, much more. D: Other than providing an improved reservation experience, what other ways has Tock changed the way restaurants interact with and provide hospitality to guests? K: Nobody wants a confirmation phone call anymore. When we all have a cell phone in our pocket, such a call can be invasive. So all guest communication, from confirmations to reminders and checking for dietary preferences or asking for guest feedback after service, can all be automatically done through email or text. These preferences and responses surface back to the restaurant staff in ways that makes it easier for them to do what they want to do, which is create great experiences. It should all be transparent, fast, and seamless. D: Finally, how do you see technology impacting fine dining going forward? K: It will become easier for diners to find amazing dining experiences, customize them, and pay for them. The focus will be less on how to get in and more on the experience itself.

Interview has been edited for space and content.

DATASSENTIAL’S CREATIVE CONCEPTS: NEW FINE DINING

BACKGROUND Majordomo, chef David Chang’s first foray into the Californian foodscape – which, by the way, is also the name of Datassential’s upcoming foodservice experience – is a distinct departure from the rest of his Momofuku empire, showcasing upscale, refined food in a much more dynamic, casual atmosphere. Described by Eater’s Bill Addison as a “dialogue with Southern California,” the cuisine at Majordomo is a complex blend of pan-Asian, European, and Southern American flavors and techniques.

WHY IT MATTERS Back in 2009, Chang declared on stage at a food event that Bay Area chefs were only “serving figs on a plate” and needed to do more with their food. Less than a year after Majordomo opened, the restaurant menued what seemed to be fruit on a plate, while actually the dessert featured chilled sugar cube melons and two frozen varieties of finger grapes, sourced locally. Irony aside, the new fruit plate exemplifies the spirit of Majordomo: food that, while simple in format, is refined in its preparation and showcases the Southern Californian treasure trove of produce that isn’t as readily available at Chang’s other locations. Majordomo’s opening is often linked with the release of Chang’s latest Netflix show – titled “Ugly Delicious,” the show examines the notion of culinary authenticity, challenges conventional standards that define good food, and emphasizes that even dishes that don’t appear meticulously plated can still be delicious. For that reason, the precise tweezer-plating one might find at Momofuku Ko is absent at Majordomo – instead, guests will find rustic creations in which complex flavors help carefully-sourced ingredients shine in their purest form. Majordomo’s bing bread, a Chinese-inspired griddled flatbread, is a prime example of Chang’s renewed philosophy. While the recipe is of Asian origin, the bread is served piping hot alongside a condiment Chang calls chickpea hozon (chickpeas fermented with koji and blended, topped liberally with spicy sesame oil) in a manner reminiscent of Middle Eastern flatbread and hummus. Another Majordomo staple is Chang’s gochu jeon, stuffed and fried Korean peppers, that deviate from tradition with the inclusion of Benton’s sack sausage from Tennessee and a buttermilk dipping sauce. Cultures and cuisines continue to converge throughout the menu – a giant boneless chuck short rib, braised with Asian pear and daikon, gets a healthy topping of melted French raclette. “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder,” Chang emphasizes in a video with First We Feast, and what you get atop Majordomo’s rustic walnut tables (no white tablecloths here) is proof that fine dining comes in many forms. Majordomo’s kitchen, according to Jonathan Gold, “is brilliant at engineering pure food lust.” 25

1. Fried Skate Rice, scallion, egg, chili sauce. 2. Whole Plate Short Rib, served with beef rice, shiso, rice paper, ssämjang, condiments. 3. Bing Bread, chickpea hozon, uni. 4. Stuffed Peppers, Benton’s sack sausage, buttermilk. 5. Pacific 75 cocktail: yuzu sake, gin, honey, sparkling wine 6. Horchata Kakigori, rice pudding, dulce de leche cream. Majordomo’s menu has an entire section devoted to Bing bread, which Chang serves with condiments both savory and sweet, from spicy lamb and cultured butter to peach and foie gras.

DATASSENTIAL’S CREATIVE CONCEPTS: NEW FINE DINING

7. Pork Ssäm, smoked coppa, stuffed trotter, crispy pig head.

8. Bounty Bowl, ranch, Domojang (Chang’s house-made condiment based on doenjang, fermented soybean paste) .

ENGAGE ALL THE SENSES

“You eat with your eyes before you eat with your mouth,” the saying goes, but for fine dining establishments, it’s actually about all the senses. Incorporating elements that appeals to different senses can help create a more immersive, interactive atmosphere for diners. Vespertine has a unique soundtrack that adds to the ambiance of each of its dining rooms, and Atelier Crenn’s geoduck and sea urchin course is presented amidst a billowing cloud of dry ice that adds visual intrigue to the dish. Or take inspiration from Somni’s “Florets” course, where guests have to use their hands to pick out flower-shaped meringues disguised in a flower vase.

BALANCE TRADITION WITH INNOVATION

Operators are constantly reinventing traditions in the realm of fine dining, from unconventional dining experiences to reimagined ethnic cuisines. When thinking about adding innovative touches to familiar classics, don’t forget to keep the core elements of these traditions at heart. Somni’s reinvention of suquet, a Catalan lobster and potato stew, strikes this balance by pairing the traditional sauce with a lobster medallion and a croissant made from rolled potatoes – a format that deviates from classic preparation. A classic dish is a classic for a reason, and maintaining some aspects of tradition can help make the innovation more approachable to consumers.

HAVE YOUR FOOD TELL A STORY

At Datassential, we believe food has a story (it is our slogan, after all!), and in fine dining, having a meaningful narrative behind your restaurant concept can lead to an impactful dining experience. This story can be conceptual and imaginative, like Dialogue’s exploration of seasonality through its tasting menu. Or look to the reimagined Southern fare at Junebaby for an example of a heritage-driven concept. Either way, a memorable story can be a great way of connecting with your consumers.

“FINE” CAN BE CASUAL, INFORMAL, AND APPROACHABLE

Fine dining can often evoke images of crisp white tablecloths, methodical service, or overly formal dining environments. This is not necessarily the case, and many fine dining operators are finding success offering high-quality food in more approachable and casual atmospheres. Interior décor is one avenue into achieving this balance – look at Bavel’s brightly-lit converted warehouse space adorned with refreshing greenery. As for the food, Majordomo’s rustic yet complex creations, like its bing bread with fermented chickpea hozon, is proof that high-quality food doesn’t have to mean precise tweezer plating.

SOURCE LOCALLY, SUSTAINABLY, AND SEASONALLY

With the rise of Healthy 3.0, consumers are increasingly gravitating towards more locally and sustainablysourced ingredients – nearly half of consumers surveyed for this issue displayed interest in fine dining concepts that utilize produce grown in-house. If foraging (like the staff at Willows Inn) or growing produce on-site (like Smyth’s initiative with The Farm) aren’t feasible, take inspiration from Atelier Crenn, which forms close relationships with local suppliers and informs diners of where they source their ingredients. At the very least, basing your menus on in-season produce is a simple way of ensuring high-quality products while also appealing to environmentally-conscious consumers.

DATASSENTIAL’S CREATIVE CONCEPTS: NEW FINE DINING

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