After being chosen as one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs 2008 and guest-judging a Top Chef "quickfire challenge," Koren (pronounced Kah-ren) Grieveson from Chicago's Avec is quickly becoming a nationally known figure. The Buzz caught up with chef Grieveson to learn more about the woman behind the "must-dine" Mediterranean small-plater.
ZB: What's a typical day like for you?
KG: There are no typical days. From the time I get in – it can be 10 AM and I’ll be there till 1 AM, or it can be 3 PM and I'll leave at 10:30 PM – it really is always different. It’s working on new dishes and specials, doing your best and trying to make some money in this business.
ZB: When you create new dishes, what’s that process like: is it a lightning bolt or more scientific?
KG: For me it’s research and working on new flavors. And either I get it – it comes in a flash – or I need to work really hard at it. It’s also collaborative. I work with my sous-chef and we figure it out.
ZB: It seems that Paul Kahan (owner of Avec and Blackbird) has been a mentor to you. Do you see yourself entering a phase of mentoring others?
KG: I hadn't thought of it that way before all this with Food & Wine, but yes, Paul is my mentor. I've really learned a lot through him, developing the path that I'm on now because of my years with him. And I think that after people have worked with me, they leave with knowledge of the right way of doing things. But I don’t try and mentor anybody, I just want to make sure we all work together and do good food and be proud of what you’re doing. That’s what works for me.
ZB: When you talk about working on a team, how would others describe you?
KG: Tough, fair and open-minded.
ZB: And what three words would you use to describe yourself?
KG: The same three.
ZB: What was it like being a guest judge for the "quickfire challenge" on Top Chef? (The episode Grieveson was on originally aired on April 16th.)
KG: They edited it a lot. It's like six hours of taping for a 10-minute scene. There were a lot more questions and more interaction. I don’t think I came off as a good guest. I keep hearing about my poker face, but it wasn't intentional.
ZB: I read that you were in the U.S. Army for nine years, how did you make the switch to chef?
KG: It was eight years, but I was in the reserves during the time I planned on cooking. By the time I was actually cooking full-time, I was out. And I used to cook in the army – it’s a really archaic way of cooking. It was always a challenge, trying to make things like coffee for 900 soldiers and you don’t have the proper things to make coffee with. You have to be creative.
ZB: Was cooking always something that you wanted to do since you were a kid?
KG: No, not really. I was actually a terrible cook when I was younger. And my mother is a terrific cook. I still use some of her recipes.
ZB: Does Food & Wine choose one Best New Chef from the group of 10?
KG: No, the pressure's off! It’s better as a group because then it represents more that’s going on. Food isn’t just one thing. One of the chefs (Jeremy Fox of Napa, CA's Ubuntu) is from the very first vegetarian restaurant to be included, so that’s pretty interesting.
ZB: What's the perfect day off?
KG: Having Sundays off after a late night Saturday. I’m not as young as those young pups in the kitchen – they can just bounce back. So it’s nice to just wake up on Sunday and have the day to yourself and it’s quiet.
– Deirdre Donovan