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St
Denis Party Center 440.285.2183 800.843.5676 10660 Chardon Road Chardon, OH 44024
partycenter@stdenisgolf.com |
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Interview with Executive Chef Tom Micco |
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Tom, how did you get interested in becoming a chef? Originally, my interest was spurred through my family’s business. At the
age of 13, my family opened Fowlers Mill Restaurant in Chardon. I worked
there for 23 years, starting out by washing dishes. I liked it enough to stay
with it, and continued my education at the finest culinary schools in upstate
New York. Cooking has been a continuous interest throughout my life. What types of places did you work, prior to St. Denis? My family restaurant was my primary
position. When we sold it, I moved on
to Thistledown Race Track, where I stayed for 6 years. What do you think of the facilities and staff at St. Denis? Our kitchen facilities are great. They are set up well for what we do—it’s
easy to work here with state-of-the-art equipment. I am committed to
maintaining the highest level of sanitary conditions. Since the party center
is brand new, it’s a lot easier to maintain our standards. But then, I am a
stickler for this anyway. That’s extremely important to me. I’m happy to show
the kitchen when people tour our facility. I have done a lot of party work in the past, and I have to say that the
level of quality food is better at St. Denis. They are committed to
excellence here. Although they know that going for the highest level of food
quality costs more, they know the result is a better product. For instance,
we only use choice or better beef, fresh poultry and other fresh, highest
quality ingredients. I work very closely with Halina and the staff. Our staff members are good hard workers
with positive attitudes. Do you ever make items that are not on the menu? What if someone
brings you a family recipe? With consultation prior to the party, any menu can be designed around
your wishes. There’s nothing we can’t do. I very much enjoy doing new and
different things. If someone brings us a family recipe, we have the challenge of
translating it to a large scale. While it might not taste exactly like mom’s,
we can probably come pretty close. What’s your favorite part of your job? I really enjoy getting positive feedback from our customers, having
worked hard to do a job well. I very much enjoy the cooking itself. I also
enjoy working with the staff, and try to manage them in a positive way
through motivation. I know that some chefs are temperamental, but I find
everything goes a lot smoother when I have a positive attitude and a light
touch with my staff. Do you ever get out of the kitchen? Depending on the selection of service and menu, I go out, to carve
steamship rounds, prime rib, tenderloin, etc. for a buffet line. Interacting
with our guests is always enjoyable. However, during an event, it’s pretty
busy in the kitchen, and I also need to be there, overseeing production. Do you have any new ideas for St. Denis? The more events we have the opportunity to schedule, the more creative I
get! We’re working very hard to make the party center blossom, with quite a
diverse group of functions at this point. I think we already have a great
base, and we’re constantly adding new things. Tell us a little bit about your personal life? I have a beautiful family that
consists of my wife Kate, to whom I’ve been married for 9 years and my
step-daughter Erin. Besides enjoying my title of Executive Chef at St. Denis
Party Center, I also enjoy cooking at home as my wife is a professional
career woman with a busy schedule. Having a career woman as my wife and a
college student who comes home often, I do 99% of the cooking at home! Both my wife and my step-daughter seem to
like it that way. |
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Menus |
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St Denis Party Center 10660 Chardon Rd Chardon, OH 44024 |
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