Trotter

He's in his forties, yet his youthful, bespectacled face puts one in mind of an English prep-school student. But don't be misled. There's nothing sophomoric about the man.

 

He's in his forties, yet his youthful, bespectacled face puts one in mind of an English prep-school student. But don't be misled. There's nothing sophomoric about the man.

Indeed, if a comparison can be drawn between the U.S. dining scene and the night sky, then, surely, Charlie Trotter and his Chicago restaurant are the North Star.

For the past thirteen years, his innovative approach to food has been guiding gourmands and culinarians alike out of the forest of mediocre food.

But along with the list of accolades, including James Beard Outstanding Restaurant of 2000 and Wine Spectator 2000 Best Restaurant in the United States, Trotter has picked up a reputation for being an egomaniacal tyrant.

I just had to find out for myself if my culinary colleagues' appraisal of him was accurate, so, toque in hand, I made the trip to his Lincoln Park restaurant for an in-person interview.

As I sat talking with his assistant, Mary Hegeman, in one of the dining rooms of the 1908 brownstone, a tornado in blue passed me. It was Trotter.

Not in his chef's whites, he looked like one of his patrons. But when he stopped in the adjacent test kitchen to discuss the menu for an upcoming event, there was no mistaking who was the chef.

I stood to meet him and, like Julia Child with Jacques Pepin, I towered over this small man. "Oh, no," I thought, "he's not going to like that." But when I shook his hand, his face lit up and his dimples deepened. And, for just a moment, he cast his eyes down sheepishly. "I'll be darned," I thought, "he's shy," an assessment his assistant confirmed.

All of my preconceived notions fell away as we talked. And even though I was skating on thin ice, I felt comfortable enough to come out and ask him, "How do you respond to the claims that you're an egomaniac?"

He smiled and told me that a few years ago Chicago Magazine had named him the second meanest man in the city, with Michael Jordan being the first. "I just had to laugh about it," Trotter said. "If I'm in Jordan's company, in whatever context, then I can't be doing too badly."

He added that those with visions and tenacity are always looked at as too much, too dedicated, too demanding, too motivated. "These criticisms cannot take my energy away from what we are trying to do at the restaurant," he said.

It was nice to relax and share a few chuckles with this down-to-earth man. That said, make no mistake -- Trotter knows exactly what he wants and how he wants it done. He's an astute businessman who moves fast, talks fast and expects perfection. But, if being uncompromising in your standards means you're an egomaniac, then it's my guess a lot of us would fall into the same category.

I'll even go out on a limb and say if he is an egomaniac, then he deserves to be. His food pairings and presentations are masterful and his approach to food is evident in his logo.

Pastel renderings of squash blossom, morel, rosemary and other herbs and vegetables surround a blue "T," conveying his dedication, he says, to using the freshest products available, and the strong emphasis he places on vegetables at his restaurant. "We were among the first to offer a vegetable dégustation menu, and vegetables are an integral part of all our dishes."

He said that while the philosophies that guided his restaurant vision 13 years ago haven't changed, and rather than changing styles or attaching himself to trends, he is in a constant state of refinement, improving and evolving his food every day.

"New products and cultural influences have been added to our palate as the world culinary community exchanges ideas. Also, with our growing wine program, we can now focus more on food and wine pairings. Wine adds greatly to the dining experience and we focus on that more now than when we began with a smaller cellar," Trotter said.

Today, Trotter has about three-quarters of a million dollars invested in his wine inventory where about 30,000 bottles of over 1,500 selections sit in three cellars, waiting to be decanted.

Hegeman, said her boss is always reading, whether it's Russian literature or The New Yorker and gets many of his ideas that way. "He also has an unbelievable palate memory and can recall a flavor and has the ability to recreate it exactly. There's a misperception that his food is complex. It's not. He takes French techniques and blends them with clean Asian influences without beating people over the head with a gourmet stick."

The food notwithstanding, Trotter attributes his success to keeping his eye on the top line rather than the bottom line, creating an opportunity to excel in any venture.

"I have never aimed to be 'the best restaurant in Chicago' or other such titles, but rather to be the best Charlie Trotter's that we can be, creating no boundaries for what we do. This has allowed us to not only keep improving the restaurant, but also to enter into other ventures as well. Inspiration and motivation must come from within."

And when people are quick to criticize the cost of his meals, Trotter points out, "You must look at what you're getting in terms of ingredients, time, atmosphere and preparation."

A typical eight-course grand menu might consist of amuse gueule, followed by grilled hamachi with water chestnuts, littleneck razor clams, cherry stone clams and horseradish.

Third course might feature steamed Japanese tai with saffron-infused caulifower purée, wilted arugula, spicy cucumber and chive emulsion; next up might be Muscovy duck breast with duck-leg confit, collard greens, porcini mushrooms and roasted parsnips.

Fifth course could be Crawford Farm lamb loin and rack with braised savoy cabbage, flageolet beans, lentils and veal sweetbreads; next it might be roasted pumpkin broth with almond milk sherbet and candied almonds; followed by chocolate-coconut cake with caramel ice cream; and ending with mignardises.

Not to be outdone by the Grand Menu, the Vegetable Menu also starts with appetizers and ends with sweets-after-the-sweets; it features a sorbet course and a dessert course and four all-vegetable courses in between.

A recent onion dégustation featured a duet of terrines -- fingerling potato with tat soi, scallion and Yukon Gold potatoes with eggplant and Alba white truffles. The next course featured vidalia onion broth with Minnesota wild rice, black mission figs and brussels sprouts.

Then it was braised artichokes, porcini mushrooms, cipolline onions, and black pepper infused porcini mushroom emulsion. The last vegetable course was a tart of caramelized sweet potato with red onion, chanterelle mushrooms and red wine-pearl onion sauce.

As his The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter did last year, Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home looks like it's headed for a James Beard Outstanding Book award. In it, Trotter presents over 125 recipes bearing his style, some with as few as six ingredients, and all simple enough for a home cook to prepare.

The fifth and final installment in his restaurant series, Charlie Trotter's Meat and Game, is due out soon and begs the question, Why such a renewed interest in game over the past 10 years?

"In Europe, many of the game reserves and hunting areas were the domain of the powerful. Lords displayed their wealth through sumptuous feasts of wild game that they had the sole right to hunt. In the United States, however, game was more the food of the less advantaged. Serving raised livestock was a way to impress guests. And fine-dining restaurants served what their dining public considered to be finer meats, staying away from wild game. But now, more and more chefs are eschewing such a view, realizing the wonderful choices and flavors game offers. And now the game that is available to us has the most amazing flavor, not gamy at all," he said.

Not one to rest on his squash blossom, the latest venture up Trotter's sleeve is Trotter's To Go! This prepared foods market debuted last December in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago.

It's not an exclusive foods boutique, but rather a store committed to bringing high-quality, seasonal, organically raised foodstuffs to the consumer at affordable prices.

"I see it as being a place where a person can stop in two or three times a week to pick up dinner on the way home from work, or even pick up lunch on the way into the office," Trotter says. "And I want the customers to sense that everything is prepared on premise each day."

Expect to find spit-roasted birds and meats along with an extensive selection of soups, prepared sandwiches, side dishes, and salads such as fingerling potato and soba noodle.

The store will also be a venue for his existing retail line of citrus-cured smoked salmon and jarred dessert sauces (Bittersweet Chocolate-Kona Coffee, Cinnamon-Butterscotch, Bartlett Pear-Caramel) and savory sauces (Apricot-Curry, Ginger-Soy-Hijiki, Thai Barbecue).

In addition to the prepared foods component, there is a selection of wines, olive oils, vinegars, and a section with products developed by some of Trotter's chef friends, including Emeril Lagasse, Rick Bayless and Dean Fearing.

Husband to wife, Lynn, and father to 9-year-old son, Dylan, and with a very full plate, Trotter still finds time to be involved in the community. He was elected principal-for-a-day at Lincoln Park High School and regularly has students dine gratis so he can introduce them to a world of flavors they might not ordinarily experience.

At this point, Trotter abruptly put an end to our interview by calling to his assistant, "Come on, Mary, we have a lot of work to do." Sheez, I thought, that's what the beleaguered Mary had been doing for the eight hours prior to my arrival.

Oh well, you know those egomaniacs!

Dinner at Charlie Trotter's can run $115 per person exclusive of tax, tip and beverages, and take about 3 hours. Jackets are required for gentleman, but ties are optional. Mixed drinks are not served. Reservations should be booked three months in advance for weekend dining and a month in advance for weekdays.

Charlie Trotter's is located at 816 West Armitage, Chicago, (773) 248-6228. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday from 6 p.m.

Trotter's To Go! is located at 1337 West Fullerton, Chicago, (773) 868-6510 and is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., weekdays and until 6 p.m. on Saturdays.

To take a cyber tour of his restaurant, visit www.charlietrotters.com, and catch The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter on PBS.

 

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