Guest Chef on the Waterfront Winner!

Sazerac and Executive Chef Jason McClure
Sazerac and Jason have been involved with FareStart for six years through their Guest Chef night. For the past three years, they've been part of Guest Chef on the Waterfront. "It's such a fun event to do," says Jason. "The location is great and it's got that indoor/outdoor feel. Normally, I like to talk to guests, but this year we cooked gnocchi to order, so I spent most of my time with my head down." Clearly, the attention paid off.

Jason chose the gnocchi recipe because it's a comfort food that people love. "The trouble with gnocchi is that you have to make traditional potato gnocchi about a million times to really get it right. So I developed ricotta gnocchi which is much more bullet proof." The gnocchi moves on and off the Sazerac menu and the recipe changes seasonally. "In August, I was doing a spinach and gnocchi version, but at other times of the year it might be corn and bacon or squash and mushroom," Jason explains.

Jason's parents met and lived in Europe so there was always a food affinity in their home. He loved food and the experience of eating: it would seem a clear path. Instead, he was 3-1/2 years into his photography major at Northern Arizona University when he decided to take a job to make some extra money. A friend got him a job at a high-end French bistro working pantry. After a week, he was hooked. "The chef took me under his wing. With my art background, I saw food as another medium and loved the presentation," recalls Jason. "I told my parents I'd made a mistake and wanted to go to culinary school. The vein started throbbing on my dad's forehead. They were clear that I needed to graduate in something. Fortunately, Northern Arizona had a good hotel management program, so I switched my major, stayed an extra year and received a B.S. in hotel and restaurant management."

Executive Chef Jason McClure (taken by Evan Johnson)

After graduating, he contemplated going to the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Weighing the cost, he decided to keep working at restaurants for awhile. He stayed in Arizona, working at a few more French bistros, a Southwest/French classic technique fusion spot and a couple of rustic Italian pizza spots. One of the chefs he worked with took a job in Minneapolis. Jason followed and they built the restaurant from the ground up, bringing the Southwest to the Midwest. He stayed for nearly four years in Minneapolis.

Looking for a change in 1997, he decided on Seattle where his sister lived. He bought a "Best Places" book and walked around dropping off resumes. He walked into the nearly-new Sazerac on a Friday at 4 p.m. Executive Chef Jan Birnbaum talked with him and said "Can you start today?" He could. He worked as a cook at breakfast, lunch and dinner and at all stations. After a year and a half, he was promoted to sous chef and then executive sous chef under Executive Chef Kevin Davis. When Kevin left to open Oceanaire, Jason became the executive chef. "It's unheard of to stay this long in one place in this industry," says Jason. "I thought about owning my own place, but have a daughter who is nearly four. When she was born, I was thinking more about stability. And Kimpton is a great company to work for and has treated me well."

Jason has started to focus the Sazerac menu on American regional food. "We did more Creole and Cajun foods and people loved it. Once a year. In order to really keep people coming back, we needed to lighten up the food. We're concentrating on the regional aspect and a strong beverage program. We're doing some really good things. We've had a great response to our happy hour. We have a standard menu, but when we get something fresh in during the day, we create something for the bar menu. It's great for regular customers who want their standards but also enjoy something different from the last time they came in. The bar menu is very value oriented."

Sazerac dining room (taken by Evan Johnson)

If you haven't visited Sazerac in awhile, it's time for a return trip. Look for the gnocchi. We hear it's a winner.

Connie Adams/October 2009