A Memory of Charlie Trotter: It was a beautiful spring day in May of 2007, shortly after I had arrived in Chicago after being hired as the chef of Lockwood Restaurant in the Palmer House. The restaurant was still about six months away from opening, and that afternoon I decided to go explore the neighborhoods with my now my ex-wife. We were walking down Armitage Avenue - the stretch of the street now known as Charlie Trotter Way - and we stopped to take a look at the menu that was always posted outside his gastronomic temple. It was mid-afternoon, just before the restaurant was gearing up for dinner service, and the NRA Restaurant Show was in town. As I was examining the menu, Chef Trotter came out to wish off what I assumed were some VIP lunch guests. After putting them into a limo, he came over and greeted us. As a little segue here, a decade earlier I had already logged time in the kitchens of Lafayette (where Jean-Georges became famous), the Quilted Giraffe, and was a seasoned veteran in the kitchen of Le Cirque. All three of the these were among the most innovative kitchens of their time, and I couldnt imagine a more important place for an aspiring chef to be cutting their teeth in America. My opinion however changed the day a fellow cook brought Chef Trotters first cookbook into the restaurant. At that time we knew of Charlie Trotter and that there was something very exciting going on in Chicago, but it was at that moment that it hit me that the most innovative restaurant in America was not in New York, but actually in Chicago. I managed to do a short stage with him on a visit back to see family in Milwaukee, and had also met him at his restaurant one other time through a mutual friend, but both of these instances were over a decade apart and very brief in nature. Nobody knew who I was back then (of course the vast majority still dont) but least of all Chef Trotter. I thought it was really cool that he came up to say hello to a couple of pedestrians, but I was completely floored when he invited us in to sit down to have a bite at the bar. We were both dressed in very casual clothing and the restaurant mustve been preparing for a really busy service with so much industry in town on account of the restaurant show. I tried to resist based on our attire, but he wouldnt take no for an answer. We sat down at the bar and were immediately poured glasses of Champagne. Chef Trotter excused himself and returned to the kitchen. We were then served four courses from his menu, each paired with wine. We chatted with the manager behind the bar during the impromptu meal and I told him about our new venture and my previous encounters there. Upon finishing the last course, he offered to take us for a tour of the kitchen. He showed us each of the stations, guided us down the line and the inferno of the French flattop ranges, down a small corridor, out a side door, and back onto Armitage Avenue. No opportunity to ask for a bill, no opportunity to express gratitude, and no opportunity to leave gratuity. Just a random act of kindness for two strangers. I very much believe that being in the right place at the right time is an intricate key to success. Of course there is much more that goes into it than that, but from this happenstance experience, I was reassured that my move to Chicago was filled with promise. I sent him a thank you note for his generosity and I will never forget this experience. There have been many great obituaries and I feel as though I have read them all. We have lost a true legend and it is still hard to believe almost a week later. Although I will not be in attendance at his memorial service tomorrow on account of opening my restaurant for a collaboration dinner, I am very confident that Chef Trotter would approve of this reasoning. I dont much believe in an afterlife, but if there happens to be one, the spirits in the sky better be putting forth their A game. If not, there will surely be hell to pay from Charlie. Farewell, and thank you.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 15:18:53 +0000
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