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When Union opened in October of 2003, there was a lot of hype and people seemed to park in one of two camps—"Ethan Stowell is the best chef ever" or "who does Ethan Stowell think he is?" Pretty typical when someone young and fairly unknown starts his own place and gets the rave reviews Ethan was/is getting. Now closing in on three years with a second restaurant, Tavolata, opening this fall with co-owner Patric Gabre-Kidan (see our article on Tavolata in the upcoming September issue), we look at Ethan, his background and why it’s all working.

Photo: Chef Ethan Stowell

Ethan started cooking about 10 years ago, but his interest evolved over many years. Even while his parents, Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, co-directed the Pacific Northwest Ballet, they tried never to miss a dinner at home. Kent made dinner, the family ate at 6:15 p.m. and by 7 p.m., the folks were off to work again. Kent cared about the quality of food he used and shopped at farmers markets before they were prevalent and drove to wherever he could find fresh, local fruit and produce.

Joe McDonnel, a friend of Ethan’s parents, owns The Ruins, a private dining club. Cleaning here was Ethan’s first job while he waited for a kitchen opening. He became a prep cook for the catering business and worked hard for eight months. When the catering chef job opened, he asked for it and Joe gave him the opportunity. "I loved it," says Ethan. "The restaurant industry is full of interesting people, many are my age and there’s always lots of drama. At the time Joe gave me the job, I couldn’t write menus and wasn’t a great cook, but I took care of all the details. There were days I came in 4-5 hours early to make sure everything got done."

It was here that Ethan met Philip Mihalski. At the time, Philip was working at The Ruins while looking to open his own place. "While I was his boss, he was teaching me to cook," remembers Ethan. "We worked together about a year at The Ruins, then we catered together, actually I think we catered one event. I bounced around for awhile thinking I was so great that someone would hire me. When no one laid anything in my lap, I went to Atlanta and worked at Seeger’s. I had a good work ethic but I learned a lot about structure while I was there."

After returning to Seattle, he helped Philip open Nell’s and worked there two years. He became sous chef at the Painted Table, working with Tim Kelley, executive chef, and Patric Gabre-Kidan, pastry chef. "I was there about a year and then 9/11 hit and business went to almost nothing," recalls Ethan. "As the least senior manager on the team, my job was cut back." He decided to move on and ran Szmania’s in Magnolia while Ludger opened his second location in Kirkland. Meanwhile, he catered to build his network. One client, Melvyn Poll, appreciated his cooking so much that when a space opened in the building he owned, he offered it to Ethan for his own restaurant, then held it for nine months while Ethan put a business plan together and learned how to open a restaurant. Union was born. Ethan was 28. "I thought it would be easy and I could do what I wanted," says Ethan. "I learned that I was a dumb kid."

The plan was simple and still in place today—food based on the freshest available products with about 50 percent of the menu changing daily. "Our menu is not huge," explains Ethan. "We offer what we offer and don’t try to be everything to everybody. We’ve gone after the foodie group while still trying to be approachable to less adventuresome diners. I feel that people should expect more out of restaurants—so often they pay high prices for food that is not well-executed or creative."

Union does have a high-end reputation in terms of what’s on the menu and how understandable it is; there’s no dumbing-down of culinary terms or explanation of unusual items. To combat this, Union staff make it less intimidating with their enthusiasm for the food and ability to explain terms. Once people are in the door, it’s a pretty sure thing they’ll leave happy. To make the exterior more inviting, a sidewalk deck will be added and new signage put in place. "It’s not the ideal exterior for a restaurant," says Ethan. "That’s one of the next things I’ll be working on."

Union’s wine list is based on its food, with lighter styles and crisper flavors that can pair with multiple courses. They have a 200 bottle cellar and a minimum of twelve wines available by the glass. The bar offers cocktails as well as unusual beers and a daily happy hour with a nice selection of food items all priced at $8. Monday night is no-corkage-fee night.

With Ethan planning to spend a lot of time at Tavolata in the first 4-6 months, then splitting his time between two restaurants, who’s in the kitchen? "Right now, I think I have the three best cooks in Seattle," says Ethan. "We’ve just hired Randy Whiteford who comes from Campagne. He’ll be the chef de cuisine at Tavolata. Jason Stoneburner has been with Union for two years and also came from Campagne. He’ll be the chef de cuisine at Union and is already starting to create the ever-changing menu. His sous chef is Tyler Moritz who started at Union, left, worked at Fork, then returned to Union. "If I had to say who the best cook is among us, I couldn’t do it," says Ethan.

Photo: the lineup at Union/Tavolata
l-r, Randy, Jason, Patric, Ethan, Tyler

Have things panned out the way he hoped? "I did what I set out do," he says. "I wanted restaurant professionals and foodies to respect the restaurant and I think they do. It’s been much more work than I expected, but you just do it. I’m satisfied, but I’ll always make changes. Am I creating Tavolata to match Union? No. Patric and I are friends who want to work together and want more growth." It works—growth for them, more jobs for hardworking restaurant professionals and more great food for the rest of us.
 

Connie Adams/August 2006

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