Chef Q&A with Deborah Scott
of Island Prime in San Diego
At the age of 53 Chef Deborah Scott has already
had quite a stellar career in the restaurant world. After opening
her first restaurant, Indigo Grill more than ten years ago,
the renowned restaurant team of David and Leslie Cohn called and
invited her to become a partner. Since 1995 she has opened three
restaurants with the duo and has another in the works.
CMEplanner: You grew up in Virginia Beach. How did you
get into cooking?
Scott: My main
influence was my father because we'd go camping a couple of months
each summer and catch fish, oysters, clams and other shellfish.
Then we'd build a bit pit and have a cookout on the beach. Even
today my favorite way to cook is on the grill. We had so much fun
I decided to do it for a living.
CMEplanner: Your first restaurant, Indigo Grill,
was tiny. Island Prime, your latest venture, is huge. Have
you gotten braver or is it just that San Diegans are dining out
more often?
Scott: Well, when
I left Indigo Grill it wound up closing and when I opened
it again four years later it was four times the size. But there's
no question that Island Prime is a huge investment for me
because it's so big-370 seats. I was also worried about the prices
we charge at Island Prime but people seem to be very happy
paying $70 for a meal here. It's working. People are expecting higher
end cuisine.
CMEplanner: You do fusion cooking at Indigo and Kemo
Sabe while Island Prime is a high-end steak house. Do
you have a food philosophy?
Scott: I cook
things that I like and that are interesting to me. Also, I don't
do things that my diners can do at home. Ask yourself, why would
someone come here if they could do the same thing in their own house?
They wouldn't. So it's important to me to do things that are different.
CMEplanner: Are you already looking for restaurant number
four?
Scott: The Cohn's
and I are looking at another project on the eastern end of Harbor
Island but it will have to be a great location after Island Prime,
which has the most beautiful setting of any restaurant in the city.
CMEplanner: And do you have aspirations beyond just being
in the kitchen?
Scott: I don't
want to be just a chef. I love the front of the house too. I love
the whole aspect of the restaurant business. It's like having a
big dinner party every night.
* * *
Everything crusted ahi tuna with lobster mashed potatoes, wilted baby spinach with bacon and a pinot noir reduction paired with Fiddlehead Pinot Noir, "Fiddlesticks Vineyard," Santa Maria 2003.
Island Prime
880 Harbor Island Dr.
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 298-6802
www.cohnrestaurants.com
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