Well if you think back to just a short two weeks ago you may recall my first poll question at the blog and that question was, ‘What do you guys want me to write about first?’ Well you guys came out in huge numbers and clearly wanted to know all about the man behind the name of the restaurant Chuck. I had the privilege to sit down with him and ask him questions I’ve always been curious about and used the questions from you guys who visit the blog. So without further a due, here’s a little background about the man whose cooking and personality have taken him straight to the top.
Would you believe that Chuck liked to cook from an early age? If you guessed yes to that question then you would be correct. Chuck has been cooking ever since he was little and it all got started for him thanks to his mom. “My mom was always a really big cook and she always cooked really cool stuff and I cooked with her a lot,” said Chuck. “We would watch Julia Childs, yes I watched Julia Childs and my mom would cook a lot of French dishes she would see on the show,” said Chuck. Things like the delicious Chuck’s Grandma’s Cookies, which are sold by the front counter (editor note- I’m eating one as I’m typing and it’s delicious) are some of the customer’s favorites desserts served at the restaurant.
“It is because of my mom and cooking with her that really motivated me to go into cooking,” said Chuck. Things however didn’t always appear to be headed in the culinary direction for Chuck because at a younger age he became side tracked thanks to his brother. “I wanted to go into chef’s school while I was in high school and then I just got distracted with my brother as him and I got into the video business and decided to open up a video rental store so that kind of halted my plans to pursue cooking,” adds Chuck, “so then it wouldn’t be till I was around 30 that I decided to go to chef school.”
Chuck would meet up with a pretty famous chef along his journey, Rick Bayless and the two would form a lasting friendship, one that continues to this day. “He (Bayless) helped me in so many ways. He would have extra ribs that he would want to throw away at night and instead he would let me take them home at night to work with them,” says Chuck. Like any great chef knows, practice makes perfect and it could take up to months if not years for any chef to truly master what it is they are trying to do. “I would take these ribs back to Rick and his wife and they would critique them for me. Either they need more salt, seasoning or rub,” adds Chuck, “so basically I worked on all my rubs and Bayless would be my professional taste tester.”
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| Chuck's famous mouth watering ribs. |
Having the right mentor can go a long way no matter who you are and Chuck is truly appreciative of the one he had in Bayless. “He was a perfectionist and he would always tell me to make sure to get the flavors dead on,” said Chuck. “It took me probably six months to perfect a dish and Rick would come through the line and taste every dish and would say it needs this or needs that.” But after a while it was time for Chuck to set out on his own and when asked if his mentor gave him any words of wisdom to take with him Chuck had this to say, “His main advice was nailing down my seasonings, we worked on it for almost a year until we perfected it.”
Now we fast forward several years and we have arrived at Chuck’s Southern Comforts Cafe. You know the dishes, you love the smell of BBQ and if you’re like me you want to patent an air freshener and hang it in your car...wait that’s just me probably! But I’ve always wondered how Chuck arrived to open a restaurant that serves BBQ dishes and both Mexican and Cajun theme dishes?
“It’s my favorite food,” said Chuck easily answering my question. “I love all of these styles of foods and all have a meaning to me. I love cajun food a lot. My first cookbook was Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen and that’s where I learned to cook cajun food,” said Chuck. Would you believe that Chuck’s first chef job would set him on the path to taking on the world of Mexican dishes? “My first chef job was at Frontera Grill and through that job I learned how to cook all sorts of Mexican dishes,” said Chuck.
Now if you’re like me BBQ is your ultimate indulgence. I don’t know about you guys reading this but I love me some BBQ. I’ve been eating it all my life and apparently so has Chuck. “I just love it. As a kid I worked with my dad at the laundry business and we would always eat all sorts of BBQ. We would go to Leon’s and I just grew up eating that stuff. I would visit Leon’s at least once a week because it was good Chicago style BBQ,” exclaimed Chuck.
Now comes the point in the story where we turn to gardening. No that wasn’t a typo, I did say gardening. Who knew that this master chef was also a gardener at heart as well. Recently if you haven’t heard, Chuck purchased a home in Hickory Hills that they are going to use to turn into a massive outdoor garden.
“Well we got this house that came with 2 big pear trees which I hear are just awesome and it also came with a apple tree,” said Chuck. That’s hardly scratching the surface when it comes to what Chuck has in store for this place. “As of now we’re going to plant about 150 asparagus plants and about 25 rhubarb plants, both which will be ready every spring. I’m also doing 150 tomato plants with around 5 to 6 different varieties and I plan on doing around 70 to 80 cucumber plants, yellow squash and zucchini, and pepper plants as well.”
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| Chuck hard at work installing bed one of three that will be used in the garden. |
Now my friends that is a lot of stuff going into the ground but it’s not all there yet, in fact it’s growing in Chuck’s basement as we speak. “I have a bunch of grow lights and in fact I have a 100,000 watt bulb that covers about an 8 x 8 area that I’m using right now. If all goes well we’re looking to have everything moved from the basement and over into the new garden sometime this month,” said Chuck. Again not too shabby right?
But with all this hard work it has to get an individual thinking retirement one day right? Well not so fast says Chuck. “No I don’t think so. I’ll probably be doing this till I’m very old and I don’t see any reason to stop,” adds Chuck, “the restaurant business is nice because you can teach people how to do it and take a step back that way I can come out from behind the kitchen and go hang out with customers. Maybe I’ll be the old guy at the bar with a beer one day!”
Now let me pause for a minute so both you and I can wipe the drool away from our mouths...let’s continue because there is more. “I would really like more wood burning grill type stuff and as for the mexican dishes I’m thinking a little more gourmet. Filet mignon’s or even mexican style pork chops,” said Chuck. That’s not all that’s in store either as I found out. “I’d really like to open some little sandwich shops in the city like in Lincoln Park. The menu would be more limited but still feature BBQ and sandwiches,” explained Chuck.
Now that stuff is down the line but I wanted something more now and immediate because I didn’t want to disappoint the reading public at home so I asked Chuck about any little secrets he could share with me about the party of the year- Chuck’s Fest 2012! “Well talking on the music side we have some pretty great bands lined up for this year. Friday we have Maggie Speaks which is a classic rock band. Saturday we have more of an alternative rock theme with Local H and Candlebox and that’s the day we’re doing the beer tasting with over 100 beers on tap,” said Chuck. Yes I know what you’re thinking 100 beers!
“Sunday is going to be our blues day and I can’t wait to see Ronnie Baker Brooks. He is one of my favorite musicians because he’s like a Stevie Ray Vaughan type player who just jams and combines rock and blues, he’s a show you won’t want to miss,” exclaimed Chuck. As for the food Chuck is bringing along with him this year? Well let’s just say Chuck is looking to do something big. “I’m looking to try and pull off a run down to New Orleans for a big fresh shrimp gathering to use in a shrimp boil. I’d like to bring back some shrimp right from the Gulf but only if the shrimp are right,” said Chuck. In addition, this year’s fest also might feature some cooking demos as well but as more details are announced I’ll have them here for you at the blog.
I just had to ask Chuck what was it like to be on television (and not to brag but I was sitting in the corner booth during the filming of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives). “Yeah it’s been pretty cool and fun being on TV. It’s a cool career to become famous I tell the kids during career days,” adds Chuck, “your local paper if you have a good restaurant is going to talk about you. I have to consider this restaurant the most famous one on the southside. We’ve been on every TV show I can think off.” And whose to blame them? Last year they were on Windy City Live, 190 North, Chicago’s Best and Diner’s Drive In-s and Dives.
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| Chuck with the hosts of Windy City Live Ryan Chiaverini and Val Warner. |
Chuck knows that if it wasn’t for all his loyal customers he wouldn’t be able to do the thing he loves most, cook. “Thank you guys for always coming in and thanks for your support. I appreciate the loyalty of my Chuck’s fans and I try to keep myself accessible so that way if they ever have any questions or comments I’m available,” said Chuck. Chuck and the entire staff always pride themselves on delivering outstanding food and service and please if you guys ever have comments let them know right away that way they can make sure to fix it for you then and there.
Lastly, I’d like to take a brief second to thank Chuck for taking the time out of his busy schedule to sit with me to do this. It is so cool to be working with the entire restaurant staff and I can’t tell you guys how much fun I’m having doing this blog and for all of the support I’ve gotten so far and heck I’ve even gotten recognized as the blog guy! Thank you’s must go out to Brendan Koch, Beckie Missus-Aitch and Brendan Quealy for submitting fan questions that I used during this piece and again thank you so much to Chuck and for all of those who make Chuck’s Southern Comforts Cafe a huge success!
Until next time,
Tim
*Photos courtesy of Chuck's Southern Comforts Cafe Facebook Page and Official website www.chuckscafe.com
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