Asked
to explain his philosophy of food, North Pond Cafe's
new chef, Bruce Sherman, delivers a solid and self-assured
summary: "I don't tend to overdo things; I like to think
of my food as reflective of the ingredients themselves.
I don't build things up too broadly in terms of flavors
or too high on the plate.” Sherman exudes a confidence
and intensity that probably has a lot to do with experience
and the polish that comes with age. Unlike many of his
contemporaries, he didn't arrive on the restaurant scene
newly hatched from cooking school. It was only after
a college career and a stint in the London School of
Economics that he finally saw the light, the light of
a new day in food, that is.
"I graduated with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania
in Honors Economics and I spent my junior year at the
London School of Economics. Even though I had spent
my career until that point on a very definite path -
economics - I had this realization that I wasn’t pigeonholed
into any specific profession. I could do whatever I
wanted. So I decided to go into the restaurant business."
Sherman, living in Boston, says he started in restaurant
management, but moved to the back of the house to try
his hand at cooking and found it much more to his taste.
Eventually, he moved to Washington, DC, and found himself
at a turning point. "I felt I had to do something in
food and I wanted to try it on my own. I realized that
the white-collar workers in DC didn't really have a
good lunch option. So I started a catering business
out of my apartment delivering high-quality box lunches.
It was actually the perfect idea for the time and the
culture of the mid-eighties. I was a one-man show and
it took off. Within weeks my apartment was littered
with plastic utensils and gourmet cookies wrapped in
plastic. Two months later, I built out a commercial
kitchen in a warehouse, hired employees and quickly
grew into a high-end, full service caterer.”
Then, in 1993, Sherman’s wife had the opportunity to
work in India. Sherman sold his catering company and
traveled abroad to New Delhi for a culinary and personal
sabbatical. In India, Sherman consulted for three “Palace
Hotels” in Jaipur and taught Indian Rajasthani villagers
working in the kitchens there, how to cook Western food.
During his stay, Sherman became fascinated with the
food of Southern India, which he describes as "dramatically
different than what people in the US associate with
Indian food. There is some intangible mixture of soul
and passion in the south." These experiences taught
Sherman a lesson that is instilled in him even today;
an unequivocal passion for food and an uncompromising
drive from within are the greatest ingredients that
any chef can bring to the table.
After about three and half years, the couple decided
to move on. As Sherman explains, "at that point I knew
that food was for me. I felt there were, however, certain
gaps in my culinary knowledge. My options for being
further educated in cooking were to continue to learn
in restaurants or to do a course. I wanted to be secure
in the knowledge of my ’toolbox’ so I decided to pursue
a formal, more comprehensive, education."
As Sherman and his wife planned their trip back to
America, they decided to take a detour to Paris. There,
Sherman chose to study at the École Supérieure de Cuisine
Française (E.S.C.F.) which is, he says, "the place the
French send their kids to learn all of the professional
food trades." E.S.C.F. cemented Sherman’s already advanced
knowledge of food with a re-grounding in classic techniques
from the acknowledged masters, the French. Sherman expands,
“I wiped my culinary slate clean. I was very committed
to keeping an open mind and relearning technique and
my approach to food in general. My experiences at both
the E.S.C.F. and working at a number of Michelin starred
restaurants were incredibly revealing in that sense.”
After
France, Sherman and his wife moved back to America,
specifically, Chicago. On the advice of some well-placed
professionals in the culinary scene, he decided to work
under John Hogan at Park Avenue Cafe and Sarah Stegner
at the Ritz-Carlton.
It would be natural to assume that Bruce Sherman was
heavily influenced by his Indian experience, and that
his cooking might show a particular affinity for Indian
spicing: more ginger, cardamom, coriander or other exotic
seasonings. Not so. When asked what sort of spicing
and flavor profiles he prefers, Sherman kiddingly responds:
"Salt, butter, parsley and chives. That's sort of tongue
in cheek, but I mean it. I know how to use the more
exotic spices, but in a way, I use the Indian spices
less than others. My cooking reflects my experiences
in India, yet they aren’t necessarily recognizably Indian.
Instead, they tend to be used with European subtlety
not an Asian boldness. I love the flavors of the cuisine
in India, but European culinary technique and restraint
are my passions.”
What does matter to Sherman is seasonality, flavor,
and the use of local ingredients when possible. Of course,
winter in the Midwest can be a difficult time for chefs
to procure fresh local produce, so Sherman works closely
with his farmers and purveyors to determine what is
in season and available. Explains Sherman, “If you are
seasonal, it is more challenging to build your menu.
You are forced to be creative. A natural pairing like
lobster and sweet corn needs rethinking in the wintertime,
for example. Perhaps I’ll replace the out-of -season
corn with winter parsnip. Overall, it’s a liberating
experience.”
Says Sherman, "Something I gained a clearer understanding
and appreciation for in India and then refined in Paris,
is seasonality, which is very important to me now. The
vitality of a menu depends on it. I don't feature tomatoes
on the menu in January, for example." Perhaps as important
as his seasonal philosophy is Sherman's desire to get
beyond the Midwest label some have put on the cuisine
at North Pond Cafe. It's a new day at his restaurant.
And, while Midwest ingredients are in themselves first
rate, Sherman's culinary palette is not just his backyard,
but also the world. With a range like that, we're in
for some interesting cooking. (more)
North Pond Cafe is located at 2610 N. Cannon Drive,
Chicago, IL 60614. Phone: 773-477-5845; fax: 773-477-3234.
The restaurant seats 74 inside; 24 on the patio, weather
permitting. Lunch is served Tues.-Sat., 11:30 a.m. -2:00
p.m.; dinner: Tues.-Sun., 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.; Sunday
Brunch, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.