Gillian Clark

Good evening folks, Sorry for the delay today. My oldest was performing at a National Night Out in SE. We're just getting back. And ah me...my two days off end tonight. To answer your question Hill, I often have people call me and tell me they have a wheat, an onion, a garlic allergy. There are some things that we can change or I can do something (an alteration) to accommodate that. I am lactose intolerant and allergic to raw apples and pears (they spray something on them)...so I am sympathetic to that. I think it is a good idea to call the chef at least 2 days in advance during a time that won't be busy...say 10 am. And if he or she agrees to take care of you, be sure and show up. I've heard many stories where a chef has prepared a special meal for a party in a similar case to your friend's and the party didn't even call to cancel. That ruins it for everyone.

Will Burnham Wood invade Dunsinane?

Don, LOL...That's pretty good. But, "Be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck 'til thou applaud the deed." I'd hardly consider myself in the leaque with Carol and Ann. Carol opened her first place while I was a young line cook at Cashions. She has much more cheffing under her belt than I have. She had the place on K, then further up town in Cleveland Park, then Greenwood up in the old Indian Place, now Bucks. I'm really just starting. Carol has always been in that sense my big sister. As cooks we'd heard stories of Carol coming into the dining room and fussing out customers. I always thought that she was just very passionate about what she was trying to do and a little over worked, stressed. She had investors she needed to please and really no one on her side. I got to really know her better when I became friends with a member of her staff at the Cleveland Park store. She can be demanding and abrasive...but aren't we all to some degree. She feels she needs things a certain way for them to work for her, for her to be successful. And she has always had more people to answer to than I've had. Ann Amernick is a different story. She always held this aura for all of us. When she came to do pastry at Cashions we rolled out the red carpet for her. It was not long before we all started calling her TGO (The Great One). She also has really high standards and she does beautiful work. But she works really hard. She jogs a billion miles before work...one morning she fell....her finger was the size of a rolling pin. I told her it was broken. She kept right on working. She became TGO Fe. Say what you will about her being difficult, I have a lot of respect for her. At Bucks, with the new management (James) Carol has someone working with her that knows her and can help her channel her energy. I think we all need someone like that. This is a really hard job. We want things to be perfect. And we put that pressure on ourselves 16 hours a day. Not many people do that for a living. As far as me being a witch or the one that starts with a B. I hardly think so. No one thought that until "the letter" appeared. And then because I was defending Carol for having standards...suddenly I was the black version of Carol Greenwood. Hardly. I explained in the letter to Tom that Carol had standards. Maybe hers are at 12 feet...but mine are probably at 8. I will take the peanuts out of the dessert special if I can. But if I can't, I'll tell you why. I won't tell you to go to Burger King...although that is a phrase mumbled by many a line cook when the waiter reads us the litany of menu exceptions for a allergic, dieting, or picky customer. (I've sung the jingle behind the line when I was cooking). I wrote that letter to Tom because his chat (which I read often,) was beginning to sound like that consumer show FIGHT BACK...and Carol was the bad company. Sure, I've never witnessed any of the things she allegedly said to upset customers, but I don't doubt that she became visibly upset by some of them. However, people were going to Greenwood to start a fight. I simply tried to explain things from the Chef's point of view. Some people applauded it. I was not always a Chef. I cooked for my father in law many times and he'd empty the salt on whatever I made before tasting it...that drives me crazy. And I'm sure if I turned my nose at Eunny Jang's chicken with lemon that she has pictured here, she would not just smile at me and take it back to the kitchen and make me a jelly sandwich. We spend hours on concepts and putting things together and honing skills. I can't tell you how many perfectly au poir fish has come back to me in my career. Even my employers at Evening Star just thought I didn't know how to cook duck...."she just can't get it right...it looks so medium rare..." they'd whisper shaking their heads in pity. I publicly shouted at a server who went back to the table and apologized for my Eggs Benedict, "Sorry, she poaches the egg so that it's runny." No, that's what Eggs Benedict is...I didn't invent it. These are the things we put up with. Yes, I make substitutions...but there is a limit here. We have nothing on our menu above $20...that means numbers are tight. That side of kohlrabi is more expensive than the mashed potatoes...I can't sub it. You get me. Many took exception to my analogy using Herbert von Karajan and Zubin Mehta. I'm not comparing myself to von Karajan. It was an analogy...(look it up). Why would you hear Mehta conduct the 3rd Symphony of Beethoven? Von Karajan's is much better...he is a better interpreter of Beethoven than anyone. But you go and insist he's playing it incorrectly....shorten those 16th notes the way Karajan would. No he's Mehta...he interprets it differently. That to say that Carol's Pork Chop is not at all like mine. Why go to my place and think it is going to be the same? Your mother makes the best meatloaf you've ever had. Don't come to CK and expect your mother's meatloaf. And yes...if you scrape off the mushroom sauce, I will roll my eyes. And when you pour a bottle of ketchup on it, I will sigh. I won't stop you. But my open kitchen is a blessing and a curse. I see everything. But why can't Carol, Ann and I call ourselves von Karajan? I can't see why even the misinterpretation of my analogy angers so many. I am the Herbert von Karajan of what I do. Herb was great, don't get me wrong. His crab cakes aren't nearly as good as mine. He could not make Hollandaise to save his life (sorry). And he'd slap his mother after eating my shrimp and grits. Would you eat at my place if I didn't feel that way? Now...I can't lead an orchestra. But I am von Karajan at what I do everyday. And he would think so too. What all of us have in common is we believe we are the best at what we do. If I can't cook something perfectly...it is not on my menu. I become an expert at it. I work and work until it is perfet. There is a lot of trial and error in this business. And when you learn how to pronounce it perfectly, nothing is more irritating than someone telling you with their bottle of ketchup that you've got it all wrong. That's all its a feeling. Some of us act on it. You can put whatever you want to the food when it hits your table. Back in the kitchen with me, its mine. I care about the food....how it looks and how it tastes. Beware the chef that says, "Sure, I've got a bottle of ketchup back here...let me pour it over everything I'm about to serve you." Would'nt you rather have me back in the kitchen putting it all together? Certainly if you're on Atkins or lactose intolerant, I'll take care of you. But an extra steak (this happened) instead of mashed potatoes....NO. And I don't make grilled cheese sandwhiches for kids no matter how much you beg. My daughters are 11 and 14. They eat what I eat when we go out. How dare you have the steak and give them grilled cheese? They have to learn to eat green beans and spinach and real food eventually. Don't they? If you're not interested in making them have the dining out experience too, get a babysitter. Now do any of you really disagree with what I've said? I don't think its that far in left field. Just that Ann and Carol and Gillian have standards. All chef's do. Some are higher than others. There are lines that each of us have drawn in the sand to make the business work for us. Mine is not nearly as far out as all of you think. But because we are women, I guess we are not to have a line at all. Bet you know where Gerard's and Yannick's lines are. And at $30 for a plate I'd let you have a little truffle oil on your chicken breast. Does that answer it for you, Rocks?

Hello IATstretch, I hadn't a clue that we were the second sit-down to open in Ward 4 when we started this project in January of 2000. I was renting a house around the corner and knew about the hundreds of bullet proof carryouts in the neighborhood that slipped menus in my mailbox. My daughter's and I moved from across the park and were always able to find a place not far for the Sunday dinner out (my night off). No place near the new house except for that McDonalds on Georgia Avenue. I saw the space months before the for rent sign came in the window and wondered if it was indeed a failed restaurant. The rent was so low, we could afford major renovations and it fit two other criteria. There was a basement and no second floor (new plumbing and ventilation are easier to install that way). I am also not ashamed to admit that I am a chicken. I would never have the guts to open my first place in Georgetown, Downtown, or Adams Morgan. I wanted to be the only game in town. I wanted to stick out like a sore thumb. We were lucky, however. Because this can be a good and bad thing. The early press coverage was great and got us over the first couple of weeks. I noticed early on that we could not survive on the business and potential customers within walking distance. Many of them are accustomed to the way things were for 20 years and don't mind the carryouts...in fact they prefer it. We needed business from surrounding neighborhoods. I may have been wrong to locate so off the beaten path. In the beginning we loaded up my daughters with flyers and dropped them off around Carter Barron, up 16th Street, up and down Longfellow and Kennedy. This helped a great deal. But we were not out of the woods. We hung on because we knew we would be reviewed. I had been reviewed at Evening Star, Broad Street Grill, and at Mrs. Simpson's (days before I was fired). I was on the critic's radar. Good or bad, we needed more press. After Tom's review in November and a couple of notices in Washingtonian Magazine we were on our way. But we also had the product to follow it up. We may not have handled the crowds as adeptly as we should have (young staff), but we had great food and no one could tell Tom that he was wrong about the donuts or my Hollandaise....they were amazing. Nonetheless, if this were my first Chef job I would not be doing Colorado Kitchen. I needed the name and the experience to pull this off. I think the neighborhood didn't really need the restaurant that much at the time we opened. Now more "dining-out" minded people are moving in and the neighborhood is changing. But I don't think more restaurants on Georgia Avenue or 14th Street is the key. Most of the immediate neighborhood population is still very content with the delis and Chinese spots. Much is changing, however. I am anxious to see what happens. All of those new condos and renovated homes are bringing in new people. We see them all of the time and now more and more frequently. I think these people are going to be looking for places to eat. And these are the people that are insulted by the bullet-proof glass that even adorns the Subway on Georgia Avenue. The hole in the sidewalk out front is not the new swimming pool. It is the Water & Sewer Authority finally responding to Robin's pleas. We've been bailing out a flooded basement after every rain because the storm sewer is over flowing and flooding our basement.

To answer Chris' question about the liquor license. Yes, we just did all of that wacky paperwork and turned it all in. So around Oct. 1st you can enjoy a glass of wine or microbrew with your burger at the CK.

Frying? I had no idea it was so difficult for some. But I guess many people have soggy results. I have been obsessed with frying since I was a kid. My father had this ancient Dormeyer deep fryer with a frayed and sparking cloth cord that got plugged in to get good and hot for donuts. I guess, aside from the preliminary preparation of soaking in buttermilk, or egg wash & seasoned flour, oil temperature is really important. 350 is ideal and be brave enough to let it stay in there and fry. Clean oil is also key. Oil that is dirty or just old does not fry well. I've heard that Paul Prudhomme has a system in his place that changes the oil every hour...not filters, changes. We take it very seriously at Colorado Kitchen (the fryer is one of my favorite pieces of equipment). We use a separate fryer for the donuts with a special oil. Like so much in this business, I believe it is more science than art. I've looked in on kitchens where someone was lowering fries into what looked like tar in a basket covered with a net of crispy fried product from last month. Oil is not cheap...that 35# tub is about $20 to $25 wholesale. I suppose its an expense and labor issue. It takes me about an hour and a half to clean my fryer. I could go on and on about this topic. Frying well is hard and really separates the caring cooks from the ones who just don't give a hoot. I've seen and heard of double dipping and holding way too long. And if you are frying nothing but frozen product that ice lowers the temperature...so now you're frying at 250. Overloading the basket is also a bad thing...but very tempting to some. Gotta take the kids to camp...I'll be back. Gillian

Good morning everyone, Thanks for inviting me to eGullet today. Rocks, The secret to my Tartar Sauce, while often mistaken for a narcotic and even truffle oil, is simply that I start with really good mayonnaise. We make it from scratch with plenty of lemon juice....almost too much lemon juice. Then it is pretty much the standard (not much different from the mirepoix you'd find when you open a box of fish sticks and that little package falls out of the box)--finely diced shallots, capers, cornichons and parsley.

Todd hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately there was really nothing behind the name, or perhaps subconsciously. Here is the funny part for all the over-thinking on this thread.....it was the first thing that came to us, and it seemed to fit. As far as the Tom Sietsema letter and Candi Saigon article, which seems to keep coming up, I'm impressed at the general lack of understanding of the press. Candi Saigon made me a cartoon to set the record straight. And Tom didn't print my whole letter. My customers know who I am, and those of you that want to believe that I'm a raging bitch lunatic that won't change my food you'll probably never come here and see what I'm really like. But the customers that live in this neighborhood, who live in Centerville, Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Alexandria and eat at Colorado Kitchen 4 and 5 times a week know who I am. And the funny thing...they call me "Chef". See you all Monday, Chef