GERARD CRAFT : Executive Chef/Owner
My Favorite Book : The French Laundry Cookbook
Who Inspires Me : Sally Clarke, Thomas Keller, Michel Richard. I have not yet worked for any of them.
A Dish I Love to Make : Fried pig's head. It takes something that most people throw away and turns it into gold.
My Cooking Philosophy : To maintain the true flavor of the ingredients
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ELISE MENSING : Pastry Chef
My Favorite Book : Paris Sweets, by Dorie Greenspan.
It takes pastries from well-known shops in Paris and translates the recipes for the American home cook.
Who Inspires Me : My parents, who brought a family together through good food.
A Dessert I Love to Make : Breakfast is my favorite meal. Granola, good yogurt, fresh fruit never gets old.
I enjoy making sorbets and desserts that allow good ingredients like fresh fruit to shine.
My Cooking Philosophy : Food is one of the few things that everyone needs and good food is a simple way of bringing joy into life.
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ADAM ALTNETHER : Chef de Cuisine
My Favorite Book : At the Crillon and at Home, by Jean-Francios Piege.
Who Inspires Me : Everybody... My parents, everybody I work with. All the books I read. I take pieces from all of it.
A Dish I Love to Make : Love braises, it is hard to beat a dish with a properly braised piece of meat on it.
My Cooking Philosophy : The better the ingredients are when you start, the better the end product will be.