He’S Behind Bev’S Best
The thing Beverly’s chef Curtis Smith likes best about his job is the cooking.
Well, duh, you might be saying. Yet cooking is just one of Smith’s many responsibilities at the elegant restaurant in The Coeur d’Alene Resort (1-800-688-4142).
“It’s funny because as you progress in your career in this business, the farther away you get from cooking,” said Smith, 32.
This time of year is especially challenging at the bustling lakeside resort, with the dining room seating up to 300 guests on a Friday or Saturday evening.
“And our refrigeration unit went down on the line last night,” Smith said. “That kind of thing always happens during our busiest times.”
Fortunately, there’s a maintainance crew on staff that can repair it. That’s just one advantage of working for a large, successful corporation. Another perk is the encouragement the kitchen gets to be creative.
“We have so much freedom,” Smith said. “If one of the sous chefs comes to me and wants to try alligator as a special and he can show me how it makes sense, we can order it.”
As he walks the length of the football-field-size kitchen on the resort’s seventh floor, it’s easy to imagine Smith as a kind of team captain. Especially when a prep cook approaches him and asks for advice on beating egg whites.
Smith oversees a kitchen staff of up to 30, depending on the season. He coordinates room-service cooks and banquets held in the board rooms on that floor. (A separate kitchen caters the larger parties in the Conference Center on the ground floor.)
With a monthly budget that would make most small restaurants salivate - in the $80,000 to $90,000 range - Smith is also in charge of keeping the kitchen’s pantries stocked with everything from chicken noodle soup to quail eggs and fresh fish that are butchered on premise.
Occasionally, he’s even called on to help prepare food for the big boss’s private jet. (“Mr. Hagadone likes his steaks cooked medium,” Smith said.)
Smith is also active in the local chapter of the American Culinary Federation, including editing the monthly newsletter. He’s close to earning his stripes as a certified executive chef, which involves completing various tests and projects.
That might seem like an incredibly full plate, but Smith has been thriving at Beverly’s for more than five years, a long tenure in the cooking business.
Smith wasn’t long out of culinary school when he was hired to open Tito Macaroni’s, the casual Italian restaurant also owned by the resort.
He had done double duty with his studies, graduating from Spokane Community College’s culinary arts program before enrolling for another two years in the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.
“I’m a huge supporter of SCC’s program,” said Smith, who has taught classes there. “There were some areas that they did better than the CIA, such as the baking and pastries program. I don’t do a lot of baking, but I feel confident in those areas.”
These days, Smith puts in the long hours for which chefs are famous. But he also makes a point of spending time with his wife, Missy, and their children.
“My family is more important than my job. I’ve gotten a lot better about taking time off to play with my kids,” said Smith.
And he beamed like the proverbial proud papa when he talked about how his 5-year-old son Campbell loves calamari and Caesar salad while his 3-year-old daughter, Corbin, “will eat just about anything.”
Even with his hectic schedule, Smith still enjoys entertaining at home.
“People are always asking me how I get everything to come out at the same time,” he said.
The key is in the prep work.
“You should get as much done ahead of time as possible,” Smith said. “Then you’re just putting the finishing touches on.”
Of course, it helps if you love to cook as much as Smith does.
Ostrich Satay With Noodle Salad and Thai Peanut Sauce
Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of ingredients in this dish. It involves a few steps, but the end result is a perfect balance of sweet, spicy and savory. (Mirin, rice wine vinegar, curry paste and chili paste are available at specialty stores, Asian markets and in the Asian section of larger supermarkets).
12 ounces ostrich meat, cut in 12 strips (chicken or beef may be substituted)
1/2 cup prepared teriyaki sauce
Noodle salad:
1 (12-ounce) package angel hair pasta
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup carrots, cut into julienne strips
1 cup napa cabbage, cut into julienne strips
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
Dressing:
1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon hot chili paste
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup sesame oil
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Peanut sauce:
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon hot chili paste
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Garnish:
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts
Marinate ostrich in teriyaki sauce for 2-3 hours or overnight. Thread each piece of meat onto bamboo skewers that have been soaked for at least 20 minutes in cold water and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Cook pasta in boiling salted water until done but still firm, about 5-7 minutes. Drain, cool and toss with a little vegetable oil so it doesn’t stick together.
Combine all ingredients for dressing in a blender and mix well. Toss pasta with bean sprouts, carrot, cabbage, green onions and lemon pepper, then add dressing and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Combine all ingredients for peanut sauce in a blender and mix well; reserve.
Cook ostrich pieces on a grill or in a broiler until medium rare or medium, about 5-7 minutes over a hot flame. (Ostrich is lean and will dry out if overcooked.)
Serve ostrich over noodle salad and drizzle with peanut sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped peanuts.
Yield: 4 appetizer-size servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 1,159 calories, 94 grams fat (73 percent fat calories), 55 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams protein, 57 milligrams cholesterol, 2,330 milligrams sodium.