Seasoned line cooks in a professional kitchen move with the grace and fluidity of dancers performing onstage. Repetition and muscle memory evolve into precise movements. The brain learns and the body remembers. The music of a well-organized dinner service isn’t muddled with clanging pots or pounding oven doors or shouting voices. Instead, it is the cadence of synchronized bodies humming in unison with purpose.
At Addison at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar, that artistry is captured each evening by chef William Bradley, a California native celebrated for his refined – almost poetic – takes on modern Southern California cuisine. Bradley, a celebrated chef who never believes his own good press, is honored to oversee this year’s Culinary Masters weekend on Sept. 22-24.
The event kicks off with a gala dinner headlined by founders of the nonprofit ment’or and culinary icons Thomas Keller and Jérôme Bocuse. Chefs such as Paul Bartolotta, Dominique Crenn, Josiah Citrin, Gavin Kaysen and Ming Tsai will contribute their own courses to this decadent meal.
Coast caught up with Bradley to learn more about what he has planned for this anticipated event and why there are no egos allowed in his kitchen.
COAST: Describe the Culinary Masters dinner.
WILLIAM BRADLEY: We laid out the menu so it’s structured in the sense that two chefs will do canapés, one chef will do an amuse. One will present the first course. We’ll be doing the second course. And, so on …
COAST: What dish are you planning for the second course?
WB: Fruits de mer, fruits of the sea. It can translate into many different things, but it will most likely be a chilled shellfish salad. So poached king crab, mussels. It will be very shellfish-driven.
COAST: Sounds like a perfect representation of your California coastal cuisine style. Tell us, what will accompany the shellfish?
WB: It’s in development because we’re still developing the entire menu. [Before I can decide], I need to see some of the ingredients that the other chefs are using. We don’t want to repeat anything.
COAST: How will you tell a Michelin-star chef that they can’t use a particular ingredient?
WB: We’re all friends. So if, for example,Josiah is using this and someone else is using it before, I can call him and let him know.
At the end of the day, what I truly admire is that there are no egos with this group. We all understand why we’re here: that the guest is having the ultimate experience. So, in doing that, you can’t have an ego. To make sure the guest gets the best experience and what that translates to is something collaborative and authentic. Fortunately, I know how to step out of the way.
COAST: Tell us, how do the Culinary Masters chefs really mingle?
WB: Behind the scenes we always collaborate. As a chef you’re intrigued by the product and the craft of cooking. So when you get together, it’s fun to see what someone else is doing. You ask questions. We’re always still learning. I think that’s the beauty of this business. It is even more acceptable when you’re around colleagues that you get along with very well – and we’ve worked on these dinners before – and we’re great friends. We know what we’re doing, so we can help each other out.
As the host chef, I try to get everything on our end organized. Then we can assist the traveling chefs because it’s always harder for them to showcase their food on the road.
COAST: How will this differ from other food-driven experiences?
WB: We’re very hyperorganized here. So I want as much as I can for those chefs to show extremely well. And in order for them to do that, they have to really entrust in us – what we’re going to order for them, how things are organized.
Being here in Southern California, the terroir of what we can receive is amazing. So we grab from all our purveyors that we use in the restaurant daily.
Execution is everything. Many chefs can write great menus. But can you execute what you write? That is one of the most challenging things as a chef. So if we can take all that pressure off them when it comes to preplanning, when it comes to the execution, they’re not running around for certain things, there’s no wasting time and they can deliver a really amazing experience.
For more information, visit the event website. :: RR1.com/event/culinary
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