Todd English: 'The Salmon of Knowledge'

An Interview With America's Celebrity 'Iron Chef'

By Sean McCarthy, NUJ

Restaurant 'Todd English' onboard the majestic Queen Mary 2 boasts a dining experience set to the renowned culinary standards of America's most celebrated chef Todd English, the Iron Chef. The QM2 restaurant features Todd English's interpretive Mediterranean cuisine. So, whilst taking in the view, you can dine indoors or alfresco over an exquisite menu that features dishes both rustic and luxurious. Anchors away! Now all I need is a ticket. Maybe I can stow away! Then again, you don't necessarily have to take a cruise on the QM2 to enjoy the maestro's incredible cuisine. Want to treat yourself and the family? Simply toddle down to The W Hotel at 201 Park Avenue South (Union Square) in NYC, the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, or even to The World Center Building in Washington D.C., and your in Todd English Country. Make a reservation first though! And this month, January 2007, Todd English wings his handsome features back onto our TV screens with the brand new highly anticipated culinary series 'Food Trip', a half-hour program produced by WGBH (Boston) and starring the man himself. On 'Food Trip', Todd flys out to domestic and international locations (Tokyo, Nantucket, New York City, Boston, Phoenix, and Tucson) to explore and delve into different regional dishes and culinary traditions. At the end of each episode of 'Food Trip', Todd then returns to his own 'home' kitchen at Olives in Boston to create for us TV viewers at home a delicious dish inspired by the ingredients and cuisine of each locale he has just visited. So watch out for 'Food Trip' on the box. You might just find Todd English knocking around Kinsale County Cork, or up around Galway Bay. Who knows! So long as he brings back the oysters, fresh salmon, fixin's for colcannon, and a bottle of Wexford wine!

So what might Todd English be preparing to serve this coming Saint Patrick's Day? I'm curious to know what Todd English enjoys bringing to the table when it comes to fine 'Irish' cuisine. And with seasonal cheer over the phone, Todd exclaims: "Salmon! I love fresh salmon!" I'm also curious as to know what attracted the Iron Chef to the very 'art' of being a chef in the first place? "It's my love for food. It's as simple as that, since I started working in the business. The sort of 'action' of the position, and also the tremendous artistic standpoint it offers. I love the art of it ... the love of food. I'm not the type of guy who could ever sit behind a desk for twelve hours a day, or eight hours a day, or whatever," he adds in reflection.

Born in Amarillo, Texas in 1960, Todd was originally raised in Sandy Springs, Georgia, before matriculating from Giulford College in North Carolina on a baseball scolarship which he quit before choosing to enter the fames Culinary Institute of America in 1980. Graduating in 1982, English began working at New York's La Cote Basque, before relocating to Italy to work at several restaurants. Returning to the United States at the age of 25, he served as the Executive Chef of the Italian restaurant Michela's in Cambridge, Massachusetts until 1988 before opening his very first 'Olives' restaurant in 1989. And what about his early days in the kitchen? I asked Todd if he had learned his skill for cooking from his family? "I certainly got a lot of it from my mother, which was a huge influence on me. Then from that, from a professional standpoint, I worked under a woman by the name of Nadia Santini. She's in a restaurant called Dal Pescatore in Canto Sull O'lio, Italy. And a gentleman by the name of Jean Jacques Rachou, at La Cote Basque in New York City."

The man's instinct to step into a kitchen eventually paid off, and in 1989 Todd English opened the doors to his restaurant 'Olives' in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Two years later, English caught the eye of the culinary world when the James Beard Foundation named him their "National Rising Star Chef", followed by "Best Chef in the Northeast" (1994), and more recently "Who's Who in Food and Beverage in America."

His numerous television appearances have since spiraled into major celebrity status across the USA and abroad, following his many television credits which include the series, 'Cooking In with Todd English' produced by Connecticut Public Television, 'Iron Chef USA' on the Food Network, 'Martha Stewart Living', Food Network's 'Chef du Jour', 'The Main Ingredient', Discovery Channel's 'Great Chefs of the Northeast' series, 'Good Morning America' and , 'The Today Show' to mention a shortlist.

There's also the famous 'Figs' in Boston and Charlestown MA, and a third restaurant, 'Figs LaGuardia', which whets and satisfies the appetite of many's a short and long distance commuter enjoying a corporate lunch or dinner before a flight from LaGuardia Airport in New York. That restaurant is situated in the central terminal building at LaGuardia. There's also 'Tuscany', 'King Fish Hall', 'Bonfire', 'The Fish Club' ... all part of the Todd English Empire across the USA. Not to mention the books he has written including 'The Olives Table', 'The Figs Table' and 'The Olives Dessert Table' (all published by Simon & Schuster) in which his famous recipes come to life for any of us to have a hand at recreating. Looking for a few distinctive pots and pans to make conversation flow easily at home? Look no further than 'The Todd English Collection', a Mediterranean-inspired line of innovative kitchen cookware, gourmet Tuscan tableware, a smart and sophisticated range of smaller kitchen and table appliances, and all those lovely items we like to dress our tables and kitchens with whenever company is coming over. And if you're planning to hold your own court at the table tonight with family and friends, you can even pick up a bottle of 'Todd's Gourmet Olive Oil' to dress your salads and cook your dishes with.

I ask Todd was there any one moment in his career when he knew he possessed the remarkable culinary skills that are now enjoyed by so many: "I guess it sort of came in stages" Todd tells me. "The first time I stepped into a professional kitchen, when I was 15, I knew that there was something about it that I really liked. This was 1975, so in those days there wasn't a lot of exposure for young Americans as far as what kind of career possibilities there were, so I never really looked at it as a career. I thought: "Wow, this is fun, I really enjoy this!" I felt a draw to it. I kind of had a sense about what was right and wrong, and I finally went to The Culinary Institute of America."

The latest Todd English dining experience has been named 'Riche', a French restaurant at the new Harrah's Hotel in New Orleans. There's also 'English is Italian' which is situated at 622 Third Ave in New York City. 'English is Italian' serves Todd's unique take on Italian "agriturismo", or country farmhouse dining, and the restaurant features family style multi-course feasts 'without' menus. Sounds fascinating. I haven't dined there yet, but I'm told that the freshest ingredients of the season, whether it be spring, summer, autumn or winter, arrive at your table as a feast of sumptuous antipasti, pasta, fish, meat and vegetables, with special offerings such as house signature homemade buffalo mozzarella prepared right at your tableside. Lovely. I ask Todd English what he wishes people to feel when entering, eating in, and leaving any one of his restaurants: "I can never say that there's one particular thing that I want" Todd reflects. "At least I want the people to say the food is great, but I look at what we do as very much as the entertainment business now. Especially at dinner, when folks are out ... I want them to feel as though, with so many things that went on, they just knew that they were left with a good feeling. They had a good time, they were friends, they relaxed, they had kind of ... escaped from the world, if you will." With a distinctive good-natured laughter, Todd is chuckling again over the phone as I ask him about the feedback he receives from guests: "All sorts of things, you know! Could be anything from "I ate too much!" which is often the case, or ... "It's luscious and delicious". They're mad at me because they ate so much!"

The Iron Chef is a 'celebrity' of course, a household name across America and further a-field. The guy finds himself signing autographs wherever he ventures and, I've learned, delivers a dishy signature to compliment his signature dishes. He recently starred on 'Cooking Under Fire' (PBS), a 12-part documentary-style look at a national cooking competition where culinary school grads, everyday gourmands, short-order cooks, and seasoned restaurant talent compete for a chef position at one of Todd's Manhattan restaurants. So what does being a major television celebrity bring to the Todd English table? I ask him: "You can't forget we're in the restaurant business" says Todd, "and the key to the restaurant business is to get people in the door. From a standpoint of how you keep an edge, how you stay on top, how you stay focused, how you stay current ... you want to sort of, as it was once put to me, 'stay in an orbit'. I think that's the idea really, but there are many other reasons. I do it for charity. I do it for a way of giving back." Indeed, Todd English is indeed highly involved in a variety of charities across America, including Big Brother, the Anthony Spinazzola Foundation, Community Servings, Share Our Strength, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and also City Year, the Boston-based charity whose mission is to build democracy through citizen service, civic leadership and social entrepreneurship. Incidentally, The Clinton Democracy Fellowship at City Year engages emerging leaders from outside the United States between the ages of 21 and 35 who have a strong interest in using citizen service programs, national service policymaking and social entrepreneurship techniques to build a stronger 'democracy'. The Fellowship brings these leaders together in the United States for a rigorous program on citizen service policies and initiatives. (City Year investors include The Atlantic Philanthropies, Bank of America, Cisco Systems, Inc., Comcast, CSX, and The Timberland Company).

Ireland has opened its doors to a floodgate of renowned chefs and restaurateurs serving up the finest national and international cuisine. From Cork to Dublin, Ballybunion to Belfast, visitors to Ireland's shores are never stuck for a dining choice nowadays. Arriving from all corners of the globe, foods familiar to Ireland's ever-expanding variety of cultures and traditions have comfortably found a new home on Irish restaurant tables. It's a refreshing surprise for any holiday maker to Ireland to venture along Ireland's town, city, and country thoroughfares in 2007 only to be tantalized by the wafting, from restaurant kitchens, of those unique culinary scents and smells which announce that an exciting 'new world' of authentic Irish and international cuisine is being served. Question is, will Ireland be a location for a Todd English restaurant in time? Anything's possible, and for the chef who has it all, the future looks even brighter, as his restaurant empire expands even further. There's now even a Todd English restaurant in Tokyo, and several notable Boston-area chefs of Irish origin have all received their starts working with Todd English and at 'Olives' in Boston, including Paul O'Connell (Chez Henri, Cambridge, MA), Barbara Lynch (No. 9 Park, Boston MA) and Josh McGinley (Bonfire, Orlando FL) to name a smidgen.

Named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2001, Todd English was then inducted into the James Beard "Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America" in 2004. But what if it hadn't worked out for Todd this way? I ask the chef what other paths he might have taken: "Well other than the fact that I never really pursued my baseball career, and I'm too old for that ..." he chuckles, "I'd probably be in a creative department of advertising, or I'd probably pursue my guitar in the rock and roll business. I still need to cut my first CD that I'm working on!" We both belly laugh when I admit to having a studio full of unfinished songs myself. I suddenly remember that nice shank of lamb in my fridge! With guests coming to dinner, I ask the Iron Chef Todd English what I should do with it?

"A lamb shank? Well you're not going to throw it on the grill! 'Cause that's not going to be fun, or I wouldn't make lamb chops out of it either. I'd probably braise it. If you have time, I love slow-roasting them as well ... I'm a big fan. Put it on about 240 to 250 degrees or so ... simply fantastic. But what I would do is take the shank and stud it with garlic, and rosemary. Then sear it on all sides. And I'm always a big fan of just using a combination of milk and stock, and you can braise it with tones and tones of fennel, rosemary, more garlic, orange segments, just throw in some oranges in there, and let it cook for about three and a half to four hours 'till its starting to fall off the bone. Strain all the liquid out. You obviously want to cover this for a little while too, while you're cooking it. Reduce all that down a little bit more. Add some toasted cumin seed, a little fresh chili paste, and why not put olives in it ... that sounds delicious!"

Delicious indeed, and after my equally as hearty a conversation with Todd English, my company finally arrived for my honest holiday dinner to delve into my equally as honest attempt at recreating that gorgeous lamb shank Todd English tutored me about. Everyone enjoyed, if I may say so. Still, nobody paints a landscape of great cuisine like Todd English does. The artist knows his strokes, inside and out. Yet he himself admits to be constantly seeking out new tastes, new spices, and new exciting methods to present his art. Perhaps we might indeed witness a Todd English restaurant swing open its doors in Ireland sometime in the future, for the Todd English Era has just begun as the Celtic Tiger roars on as healthy as ever. So where ever you plan to eat this coming Saint Patrick's Day 2007, rest assured there's a wealth of fine cuisine being created by America's Iron Chef to adorn his umpteen restaurant tables across America for the 17th March 2007 in celebration of great food, great restaurant experiences, and the Irish in all of us! As for me? No more turkey! I'm hoping to nip off to a Todd English restaurant and gorge on The Salmon of Knowledge itself! In the meantime, if you want to source the full mouth-watering array of Todd English restaurants serving his signature cuisine, log on to toddenglish.com