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Modernizing a Menu TJH Speaks with Ines Chattas, Culinary Director of UN Plaza Grill BY SUSAN SCHWAMM Ines, congratulations on your new position at UN Plaza Grill in New York City. Tell us a bit about your background. I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I lived there until I was 19. I moved to the United States after spending a couple of months in France doing internships, where I studied hospitality. I didn’t really have a plan when I came to the United States, but I ended up staying and I worked in Miami. Landing in the “kitchen” was a very happy accident. My background was in hospitality, with some culinary instruction. As soon as I started my career within the hotels, I started working in the restaurants inside of the hotels. My first job in a restaurant was as a hostess and supervisor. And then I was an assistant manager. I left the hotel world when I realized I was not cut out for that. I didn’t want to live the corporate life. I started working for an independent restaurant owner in a fairly well-known restaurant here in Miami; I worked there for 10 years. I have the blessing of having an amazing relationship with the owner. We became really, really good friends, and he entrusted me with his business and let me grow his business with his guidance and his mentorship. Essentially, I was able to learn about running an independent restaurant on somebody else’s payroll. I was very involved with menu creation. During crazy busy times, I would occasionally help with preparation in the kitchen if it was needed. When I left that restaurant back in 2010, I partnered up with a woman who had been my first boss at the Grand Hotel. We opened up a restaurant in Bay Harbour Islands; it’s been open for ten years. She had 30 years of kitchen experience and she didn’t want to be a slave of the stove, so when we opened, she said, “Kiddo, you’re going to come in
the kitchen and you’re going to learn. And we’re going to cover for each other, basically.” She’s a very fun, crazy, unusual Italian lady from Pisa, but she’s American. She’s been living here since ‘77, so she has good balance, and her food is amazing. At our restaurant, we wanted to do everything a little different than what other people were offering. For example, we offered a chicken sandwich with apple chutney and crunchy endives – a take on traditional Thanksgiving dishes. We became a favorite in the neighborhood, and we have some people who eat lunch with us literally five days a week. Soon, my partner moved to North Carolina, and I stayed with the business. I knew I had to step away from the kitchen and I hired some wonderful people to work in the kitchen.
in the kitchen is for Thursday dinners. I curate a different menu every week, so my dinner menus change weekly. I love all types of cuisine. I like to experiment with classics and offer old-fashioned dishes from a new perspective. Aside from the restaurant, I also operate two larger dining rooms and two private condominiums in Bal Harbour. Now, with my new appointment at the UN Plaza Grill, it’s just a new adventure in a different city with a different kind of customer with a different kind of product. It’s a learning experience, and it’s super-exciting. It really is a challenge.
Did you miss not being in the kitchen?
Yes, but let’s face it. Product availability has become so global. Of course, you always want to keep a seasonality. This time of the year, you’re serving more winter foods, more squashes, and in the summer, you go brighter. But the reality is that nowadays, you can get anything any time of the year. In terms of what people want, it’s not the same as in Miami, but at the UN Plaza Grill we want to bring in the feeling of the United Nations in our menu. We want to keep the soul of the more classic steakhouse, but also offer something a little different. We’re going to offer a menu where you can find some Asian dishes, you can find some Middle Eastern dishes, you can find some good Argentinean style of steak. I think people enjoy that – to find many cuisines within one menu. I think that’s a value.
Yes and no. For me, it’s super-therapeutic when I’m having one of those days when I’m like, “Ra, ra, ra, ra, ra,” and I can go in the kitchen and start cooking and get in the zone and forget about everything else. Working in the kitchen, you need to be 100% focused on what you’re doing. Your brain cannot be wandering to other thoughts. On the other hand, I don’t miss being every day in the kitchen – the heat, the pressure, the intensity on the body, especially being a woman. The more I work in the kitchen, the more rough around the edges I get, so it’s not easy.
What were your days like? They were long days, and our lunches were intense. At that time, we were a one-person kitchen. One person doing everything in the kitchen, so it was intense. Nowadays, the only days when I’m hands-on
You mentioned that it’s a different city. Are there different foods that your customers will be expecting in New York than in Florida?
The UN Plaza Grill is kosher, which is a change
