THE CHOPPING BLOCK – CHEF PROFILES
Ethan Pikas
Favorite class to teach:
I prefer any class in which the students are committed to learning, fully engaged, and passionate about the food that they are cooking.
Training/education:
Culinary Arts Degree from The Art Institute Of California; Bachelor of Arts Degree in Literature and Creative Writing from The University of Puget Sound.
Favorite childhood food experience:
An evening in June at my Grandmotherʼs when I was six. She was a remarkable cook and well versed in the foods and traditions of her Czech ancestry. On this particular evening, she made peach dumplings that were luxuriously sweet; overwhelming in their simplicity and elegance. I have never forgotten them.
What made you want to become a chef?
At 21, I was working as a Chef Assistant in a small inn located in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. I worked there under two Chefs - John and Dean - who left such an indelible mark on me. They approached cooking in a way that showed me how noble of a lifeʼs pursuit it could be; how all encompassing. Cooking - for them - was something that engaged all of the senses. It could be bold or subtle, humorous, poetic. I worked there for just slightly less than a year, and decided that a culinary degree should be my next step.
What is your signature dish?
I donʼt think that I have one signature dish. I would say that stylistically, my food tends to be direct, informed by my past, and rooted as much in pastry as it is in savory preparations.
What are the 5 ingredients you can't live without?
Pork Fat, Crème Fraîche, The Egg, Levain Starter, and Salt.
What do you love about cooking?
The ability of great food to transport people back to their childhoods. There are few things more powerful.
When you're creating a new recipe, what influences and inspires you?
Everything. My mood, the time of day, the season, the type of feeling that I would like to evoke in the folks that I am serving.
What advice would you give a new cook?
Taste everything. Learn to respect the food that you are preparing. Benefit from your culinary mishaps.
What are you doing when you're not cooking?
Playing pedal steel guitar, reading Wallace Stegner, biking.
Describe your perfect evening.
Simple. A warm summer evening, ingredients just picked from a garden, fine sipping whiskey, and dear friends.
If you had friends in from out of town, where would you take them to eat?
Lula Cafe, The Hop Leaf, Longman & Eagle, Kumaʼs Corner.
Where are you from?
Evanston, IL.
What was your favorite vacation?
A trip to Europe with two close friends. We were broke, and ate almost exclusively from street vendors, slept in hostels, and had the time of our lives.
What are your hobbies?
Banjo, Pedal Steel Guitar, struggling as a songwriter.
What is your favorite band?
The Pogues, The Clash, Van Morrison, Bill Monroe, Roger Miller, Ray Price, countless others.
What is your favorite sports team?
The Evanston Wild-kits
If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be?
Tom Waits
What are your guilty pleasures?
Cashews, chocolate, honey by the spoonful.
Who is your favorite celebrity chef?
Alice Waters, Pierre Herme, Alaine Ducasse, Rose Levy Biernbaum.
What 5 tools should every new cook have in the kitchen?
A very sharp knife, a cast-iron pan, well- sourced ingredients, a flame, and of course...a bench scrapper.
What resources would you suggest for Chopping Block clients?
Larousse Gastronomique, On Food and Cooking by Harold Mcgee, the Grand Livre of Cuisine by Alaine Ducasse.
List/describe three of your favorite tips or techniques you use in the kitchen.
Always have room temperature butter about. When making Brioche, beat the dough until it feels like fine silk, is supple, and slaps loudly against the sides of the mixing bowl. Most long cooked meals benefit from sitting overnight in the fridge to develop flavor. So do bread doughs!