Chef James Slattery of A Land Remembered
With high-end steakhouses multiplying like mad in Orlando, it was an easy choice for the Rosen Shingle Creek resort to look to a Florida beef concept for its newest restaurant. It’s named for Patrick Smith’s historical novel, A Land Remembered, about early cow hunters.
The search for a chef also ended in Florida, where James Slattery was ready to solo after ten years under Emeril’s tutelage. His expansive menu embraces not only the freshest Florida seafood and the finest organic beef from the San Joaquin Valley, but Florida’s bountiful fruits and vegetables.
CMEplanner: How does Florida come into your personal picture?
Slattery: My father was with the United States space program. That took him to California, where I was born, and to Guam, where I learned to love spicy foods. His work brought the family to Florida and I went to high school and college on the Space Coast. After earning a master’s degree in chemistry I went into analytical chemistry.
CMEplanner: So cooking was not your original profession?
Slattery: Mother taught me to make tapioca pudding when I was eight and cooking became a passion for me. I earned a living as a chemist but cooking and collecting cookbooks were my hobbies. Then, when buying one of his books at a book signing, I met Emeril Lagasse and that changed my life.
CMEplanner: You gave up a successful career to start all over again in your 30s?
Slattery: We didn’t have children yet and my wife was supportive, so I started with Emeril as an apprentice butcher for $7 an hour. I learned every facet of the fine food business including cutting up whole hogs, making sausage and butchering 100-pound halibut. After ten years with Emeril I had worked up to executive sous chef.
CMEplanner: What are the chief things you took away from your years with Emeril?
Slattery: He’s known for what I call a layering of flavors and that’s different from the southern, “meat ‘n three” meals I’d been raised with. I have a sort of photographic memory when it comes to flavor. I “see” taste. I know what will result when I combine foods, and my goal is that burst of flavor one gets with a bite of food that includes some of the meat or seafood with the sauce or jus and other components of the meal.
CMEplanner: We see that you keep a set table right in front of the kitchen. Is that a kind of impromptu chef’s table?
Slattery: It started when some of my former Emeril’s guests dropped in and I wanted to create a special meal for them. Although we also take reservations for a chef’s table, I accommodate drop-ins when space is available. We have a lot of fun talking about food, creating dishes based on the best of that day’s marketplace and finding just the right wine pairings.
CMEplanner: What sums up your philosophy of cuisine?
Slattery: I’m a perfectionist when it comes to both food and service. When a plate goes in front of a guest it must please with the eyes, the nose, then the tongue. And I want it to be a together thing, with each bite bringing the chemistry of complex tastes. It’s very rewarding to me to see guests’ surprise and pleasure when they learn what asparagus is supposed to taste like or to introduce them to good seafood and beef that isn’t over done.
CMEplanner: So chemistry lost a master and cuisine gained one?
Slattery: From Emeril I learned that a great chef has to have a passion for cuisine. Passion is loving what you do. I love seeing those dinner plates come back empty.
* * *
| SIGNATURE
DISH |
| Braised short ribs served with root vegetable hash and paired with Penfold’s Australian Shiraz |
A Land Remembered
Rosen Shingle Creek Resort
9939 Universal Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 996-9939
www.landrememberedrestaurant.com
|
