Interview with Chef Matthew Kirkley
Chef Matthew Kirkley, a Baltimore native, has been in kitchens most of his life. He started his career at the Striped Bass in Philadelphia after graduating from culinary school. Soon after, he was gracing some of the best kitchens in Chicago and Las Vegas: NoMI, Four Seasons Chicago, RIA at the Elysian Hotel and Joël Robuchon at the Mansion at MGM Grand. He is returning to L2O which he helped open in 2008. We caught up with Chef Kirkley to find out about his new position, love of food and even a little about his life.
FriendsEat: First of all, congratulations on being the new head chef of L20. How do you feel about being the new leader in the kitchen?
Matthew Kirkley: I’m very excited. We have put a really strong team together and I am looking forward to 2012.
FE: When did you realize that food was more than just sustenance; that it was a love, a desire?
MK: When I was sixteen and I was drawn to the cookbook section of a Borders in Baltimore. It was The French Laundry Cookbook, and it blew me away.
FE: Can you tell us how did you get into the culinary business? What steps did you take to get started in the industry?
MK: When I was fifteen I took a job at The Melting Pot as a bus boy. However, because I was underage I could only work until 8pm, so it made more sense that they would move me into the kitchen where they could give me a task list that I could be done with earlier. I really enjoyed it, then upon high school graduation, embarked in going to culinary school. My first job after that was Striped Bass in Philadelphia.
FE: What is your strongest childhood kitchen memory?
MK: My mother’s Pennsylvania Dutch Potatoes.
FE: How would you compare your kitchen growing up and your kitchen today?
MK: The difference between my family’s four electric coil stove top and L2O’s kitchen is quite dramatic!
FE: Who are your biggest culinary influences?
MK: Yannick Alleno, Bernard Picolet
FE: How would you describe your style of cooking?
MK: It’s elegant, subtle, very ‘watch-makery’. I don’t like more than three key flavors on a plate. Above all it has to taste good.
FE: What is your signature dish?
MK: What I have nicknamed “the Jackie Chan“: Scallop with foie gras, chanterelle, argan oil.
FE: Where do you get inspiration for each dish? Do you ever get a Chef’s equivalent of “writer’s block”?
MK: Inspiration comes from all over the place, day-to-day. Sometimes my inspiration starts with the product and then moves to technique, other days it’s in reverse. As long as I keep seeing new ingredients from purveyors or researching with old french cookbooks, ‘writers’ block tends to not be an issue.
FE: Name a person or a few people who you’d love to work with, why?
MK: Henry Rollins, I’m a fan of strong personalities with a sense of conviction.
FE: What does it take to survive in a professional kitchen?
MK: Perseverance, thick-skin, determination, drive, sense of humor (maybe the most important trait).
FE: Three things that you can’t live without.
MK: My wife. Reading. Coffee.
FE: Do you have any favorite kitchen tool? What is it and why?
MK: Little rubber spatula, it gets into all the nooks and crannies.
FE: What kind of leader are you? How do you make sure things work properly in your kitchen?
MK: Leading from the front. More discipline through disappointment than ineffective yelling.
FE: What expectations do you have of your culinary team?
MK: We keep very high standards with our team, and we have an innate understanding that we are only as good as our next plate and our next service.
FE: What do you do when you’re not working?
MK: Usually sleeping, reading.
FE: What should guests look forward to from you and from L20 in the next few months?
MK: A lot. We will continue to explore the sea, we will continue making L2O warm and approachable.
FE: Any interesting changes on the menu that you’d like to share with us?
MK: A new canape program called “Fruits of the Sea”. They are adorably cute. And we are switching gears to the winter season, which happens to be my favorite for fish.
FE: Lastly, any advice for the novice cooks or aspiring chefs?
MK: Put your head down and work as hard as you can.
FE: Can you share a recipe with our community?
MK: Lets do the ocean trout recipe
Ocean Trout, 60g portion, Top Loin, Cut into 3 tranches, cooked at 52C for ~15min
Duck Fat/Brown Butter Poach, 50/50 ratio
5ea Carrot Cabbage Rolls
8ea Savoy Cabbage Punches, green only, 1.5cm punch, dressed with duck fat, FdS
1leg Pigeon Confit, picked
45g Pigeon Consomme, poured tableside
Recipes
Carrot Cabbage Rolls
Carrot
Horse Carrots
Cut the carrot to 2cm length, then punch the carrot to 2.2cm diameter cylinders using
a ring cutter. Then punch the cylinder with a 1.5cm diameter cutter cylinders to form
carrot tubes. Blanch the carrot in salted boiling water for 2 minutes and shock in ice
water.
Cabbage
150g Savoy Cabbage, 3.5 x .5cm julienne, rib removed from cabbage
6g Shallot, fine brunoise
30g Butter, whole
60g Pinot Gris
90g Chicken Stock, hot
30g Butter, Whole
In a large sautoir, sweat the shallot brunoise in the butter until soft. Bring a large
pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the cabbage julienne for one minute. Once
blanched, transfer quickly to the sautoir with the butter and shallot. Place to pot on
high heat and add the pinot gris. Cook rapidly down to sec, then add the chicken stock
and cover the pot with a lid. Continue to cook until the cabbage is soft without being
mushy. Remove the lid and allow the chicken stock to reduce by half. Add the butter to
emulsify. Transfer the cooked cabbage to a bowl over a large ice bowl and cool rapidly
to keep the green. Stuff the carrot punches with the braised cabbage to totally fill the
carrot. For service, steam off the rolls until hot and serve.
Pigeon Confit
24ea Pigeon Leg
5ea Garlic Clove, unpeeled
6ea Thyme, whole sprigs
20ea Peppercorn, Black
Duck Fat
Curing Mix (see below)
Season the pigeon legs with the curing mix and cover with plastic wrap, and set in a
cooler overnight. The next day, rinse off the salt from the legs with water and pat the
legs dry. Place the legs skinside down in an even layer in a large sautoir with the garlic,
thyme, and peppercorns. Melt a portion of duck fat and pour into the sautoir to cover
by a centimeter. Place a lid on the sautoir and cook in a 110c oven for 2 hours or until
the meat is tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Then
place in a cooler to chill. Allow to rest for 1 day before serving. For service, pick the
meat off in chunks, being sure to remove all skin and bones. Reheat the meat in duck fat
without heating too much, as this will discolor it.
Curing Mix
12g Salt, fine Baliene
2g Sugar, granulated
1g White Peppercorns, ground
1g TCM
Pigeon Consomme
Base Stock
800g Pigeon Bones, rinsed and dried for 1 day
75g Celery, medium dice
75g Carrot, medium dice
100g Onion, medium dice
75g Leek, medium dice
25g Garlic, unpeeled
1ea Bay Leaf, fresh
5ea Thyme Sprig, fresh
5ea Parsley, stem
3ea Star Anise, whole
300g Pinot Gris
8L Chicken Consomme
In a large rondeau, brown the pigeon bones on medium heat until the bones are well
browned and light in weight. Remove the bones and drain in a perforated pan. Return
the pan to the stove and add the celery, carrot, onion leek, and garlic and sweat slowly
until soft. Deglaze the pan with the pinot gris and reduce to sec, then add the chicken
consomme and bring to a simmer. Once at a simmer, add the bay leaf, thyme, parsley
and star anise and simmer for 90 minutes, covering the rondeau with a lid. Strain the
liquid through a chinois and chill.
Clarification
4L Pigeon Base Stock
600g Egg Whites
120g Leek, Julienne
In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add a touch of crushed ice and the
julienne and mix in the base stock. Whisk to incorporate the egg whites and transfer
the mix to a tall stockpot. Place on medium heat and slowly bring the liquid up, stirring
constantly. When the proteins begin to coagulate, stop stirring and allow a raft to form.
Cut a small hole in the raft to allow the liquid to vent and skim off any scum which rises
through the vent. Allow the consomme to simmer for 45 minutes. Then remove from
the heat and strain through a chinois lined with a coffee filter, making sure not to press
the liquid through the coffee filter. Cool and reserve. Season with salt to order.