As I mentioned previously, this is not a one-man show. It’s for that reason that, as we start the new year, I would like to “step out of the kitchen” and introduce and show my gratitude to my Sous Chefs.  These people are my right hand. They make my job less complicated and allow me to be out of the kitchen for five minutes and trust the place isn’t going to burn down. (Yes, that’s how much I trust them).

Kidding. In all honesty, they are dedicated, hard-working, talented and unique people. I’m proud to introduce you to them and even prouder to have them as part of my team.

Our first interview is with Sous Chef Paula Smagacz. Paula joined Habitat in December 2010. Previously, she held positions at the Four Seasons Hotel in St. Louis and Las Vegas, the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas and numerous other kitchens across the country.

What is your favorite dish to make? What is your favorite food to have someone else make for you?
I actually don’t have a favorite dish to make. I’m happy with whatever someone would cook for me. I just appreciate that they took the time to cook for me. Being a chef, a lot of people don’t want to cook for you.  But my dad makes venison for me when I visit and my Aunt Lucy makes the best sauerkraut and Kluski noodle dish. 

What do you love most about your job?
My fellow colleagues, getting to use quality ingredients every day, our beautiful kitchen, the guest interaction. Overall, Habitat is just a great place to work.

When did you know you wanted to be a chef?
At my high school career day during the chef presentation. And I have always cooked with my family.

What brought you to Pittsburgh?
The opportunity to join Fairmont Pittsburgh and be more involved with food. Sorry - not the Steelers.

What do you cook at home that you never cook at the restaurant?
I am a fairly simple cook at home. Usually I cook on my days off and stock up for the work week. I make simple things like lasagna and some old Polish dishes I grew up with.

If I can invest in only five things for my kitchen, what should I buy as a home cook?
A good knife, Vitamix blender, good set of pans, cutting board and Kitchen Aid (with attachments).

What’s your favorite newly discovered ingredient?
Honey tangerines. They’re like eating candy. We just started getting them in Habitat.

Best piece of advice you would give a home enthusiast?
Taste everything, season well, and don’t be afraid to try new recipes.

Hello again, blog world. I’m back. And I’ve got big news. On Sunday, January 29 I will be making my debut on the Heinz Hall stage with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Why (in the hell) would I be on stage with the Symphony, you ask? I’ve been coerced asked to participate in a “Freaky Friday”-ish fundraising event for the Symphony. 

Here’s how it works:

On Monday, January 23, THE Marvin Hamlisch (Principal Pops Conductor at the PSO) comes to Habitat and trades places with yours truly in the kitchen. Diners will be treated to a five-course dinner inspired by the upcoming PNC Pops performance “Marvin and the Movies.”  In addition to cooking and serving and of course being generally entertaining, Marvin will play a few numbers on the piano. 10% of proceeds from the evening go to the Symphony.

Then, on Sunday, January 29, I trade places with Mr. Hamlisch and guest conduct the Symphony. I’ll basically be doing my best not to screw up or make a fool of myself. Should be fun. And don’t worry – I’m only doing 1 song. Marvin will take over from there.

Confession: I was a bit reluctant to do this. Believe it or not, I don’t like big crowds and I don’t like speaking in front of groups. Put me in the kitchen, behind the scenes and I’m a happy guy. But this was too great of an opportunity to pass up.  

So, I encourage you to make a dinner reservation for Monday, buy a ticket and come support me on Sunday and most of all, please be kind.

Call 412-773-8848 for dinner reservations. $125/person (includes wine pairings).

Call 412-392-4900 for tickets to “Marvin and the Movies.”

Sorry for the delay in Iron Chef updates. I was in Denmark last week visiting my brother (more on that later), so the second round of competition was pushed back a bit. We managed to squeeze in a very exciting semi-final round, and the winners have been chosen! Here are the current standings:

Puck and Jao competed first with pomegranate as the secret ingredient. Puck made a risotto dish with fish and pomegranate. Jao made crab tacos with a mango and pomegranate salsa. In the end, Jao’s tacos prevailed, and she took the winning spot. The biggest concern the judges had with Puck’s dish was that the risotto was not cooked properly.

You’ll notice, however, that Puck is moving on to the finals. After winning, Jao decided that she’ll be going home to Thailand for her sister’s wedding, and that just so happens to fall over the date of the final competition. Can you believe she’d choose that over a chance to win Habitat Iron Chef? Me neither. But alas, Puck has earned a well deserved spot in the finals.

(I apologize for the lack of photos from Puck and Jao’s competition. I didn’t think of it until we’d already eaten their dishes.)

Next, Jason and Gotji were challenged to create a dish using stiped bass.

Gotji and Jason prepare for judging

Gotji served his striped bass with cheesy rice, red pepper cream and a steamed cucumber dome. 

Striped bass with rice, red pepper cream and a cucumber dome

Jason’s stiped bass was served with crispy pork belly, oyster mushrooms, sauteed English peas and an arugula, tangerine and red onion salad. Jason’s dish was a bit more cohesive and was named the winner by our judges, earning Jason a spot in the finals.

Stiped bass with crispy pork belly, oyster mushrooms and English peas

The final competition will take place Wednesday, March 9 at 3pm. The finalists will create dishes from a “mystery basket” of ingredients created by our sous chefs and will be judged by our panel of suprise judges. We’ll keep everyone posted on the results and be sure to take lots of photos.

Allez cuisine!

We held our first competition for Iron Chef Habitat! The secret ingredient was…SCALLOPS. It went swimmingly and we had some wonderful dishes come out of the first round. The cooks used great ingredients to compliment the scallops including radish confit, shaved asparagus salad and mushrooms. When two of the contestants, Teh and Gotji, “Thai-ed” (get it?), we had a tie-breaker round using eggs as the segret ingredient. Gotji pulled out the victory in the end with his tea-steamed egg whites. They were incredibly inventive, and we’re still talking about them in the kitchen. A great first week effort from all of the cooks!

Here are the standings after week 1:

(I can’t tell you how long it took me to create this damned chart in Word.)

Stay tuned for next week’s competition. Allez cuisine!