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Interview with Chef Matthew Kirkley

  • Blanca Valbuena
  • December 22, 2011

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?

Interview with Chef Matthew KirkleyMK: 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.

 

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