Gilmore’s Restaurant, in downtown West Chester, is known as one of the top restaurants in the country, and are now home of one of the top ten sous chefs in the country. Jason Curtis is now ranked in the top ten young chefs in the U.S. Curtis is the Mid-Atlantic champion in the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs “Jeune Commis (Young Chef) Rôtisseurs Competition” and as a national finalist, he will compete at a national level this May.
After being nominated Jason proved his skills beat out other young chefs in and won the Regional title at the L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD. But winning was no easy task. He and the other regional finalists were each presented with a “Mystery Market Basket” from which they had to prepare their menus.
Each competitor had 30 minutes to plan a three course menu comprised of an appetizer, entrée and dessert, with another three and a half hours to prepare the meal and serve the judges. The tasting judges scored each competitor on presentation, taste, aroma, texture, originality, and nutritional balance. The kitchen judge, in turn, scored on dress code, organization, technique, sanitation, utilization, timing, safety, and professionalism.
Curtis’ winning menu consisted of an appetizer of red snapper mousse, sautéed cucumber pasta, watercress beurre fondue, and tomato concasse; an entrée of red wine braised short ribs, tempura fried shallots and oyster mushrooms, and Yukon Gold pomme Anna; and a dessert comprised of a dark chocolate and dried cherry mousse torte with a graham cracker crust and candied orange peel, port glazed dried cherries and salsify, and crème anglaise.
Curtis was sponsored by Thomas J. Knox, Bailli and Maureen Breakiron-Evans, Bailliage, of Philadelphia, PA. The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is the world’s oldest and largest gastronomic society, founded by King Louis IX of France in 1248.
I was able to sit down with this young chef to talk about his work at Gilmore’s and the pressure to be the best in the country.
WC Dish: With such an intense competition were you nervous at all? And how did you prepare?
Jason: I was quite nervous. About a month before the competition, Chef (Peter Gilmore) would give me a variation of a mystery basket and I would try to prepare something out of the ingredients inside. We would do other creative skill building like when Chef gave me $25 to spend in one single isle and I had to create a dish out of it. It was like a series of mini competitions like doing a spin off of his favorite dessert, carrot cake. I decided to make a cream cheese panna cotta with nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger powder with a carrot raisin salad that I cooked in rum syrup. I finished it with a carrot caramel sauce on top.
WC Dish: What were the items in your Mystery Market Basket for the event?
Jason: Red Snapper, bone-in short ribs, oyster mushrooms, cucumber, watercress, salsify and dried cherries. In addition to those ingredients we had a pantry that everyone had access to. During our menu planning phase we could ask for things if we needed them, for example I asked if I could use Sprite- and they got that for me, as long as other competitors had access to it.
WC Dish: Not only were the judges looking at presentation, taste and originality they were rating your actions and manners in the kitchen. As if that’s not all enough, they also rated on the nutritional balance! What was your strategy for nutritional value with French cooking?
Jason: I really focused on balance with the starch, veggies and protein and I focused more on portion and moderation than healthy cooking.
WC Dish What is your thought process or strategty before the national competition in May?
Jason: Right now taking a mental break, and in a week or two I’ll start practicing again and will do some more mini challenges with Chef. My strtegy is to just do my style of food which is an “eclectic French”, French flavors and ingredietns but with my own spin.
WC Dish: With this type of talent you’ve gotta have a natural gift along with lots of years of practice. When did it all start for you?
Jason: I grew up cooking (in the Coatesville/Downingtown area.) When I was little, I heped my parents in the kitchen and by age 13 or 14 I was doing the entire Christmas Eve dinner. I grew to the love cooking and experimenting with foods. I went to Drexel for computer science and after one term I transfered into the culinary program after talking to some friends who were in the program.
WC Dish: What did you do after graduation?
Jason: I worked at Georges’s in Wayne and then had the honor of working at Gilmore’s. April 4th will be my two year anniversary. I’d like to be here as long as I can. I’m happy here. I don’t see myself leaving anytime in the near future.
WC Dish: What do you bring to the table at Gilmore’s?
Jason: I’m Chef’s right-hand man. We sit down to discuss ideas for the menu and we both come up with concepts. When Chef isn’t there I take care of everthing and even when he is here I treat the restaurant as if it’s my own. I want it to be a success and I want to ensure that guests leave witha smile on their face and want to come back.
WC Dish: One day do you have plans for your own restaurant?
Jason: Of course. I would prefer a smaller restaurant, Gilmore’s has 11 tables and that’s a great size. I’ve worked in restaurants with lots of tables and the quality of food goes down. I want to be able to put out a menu that the guests enjoy and that has excellent quality. I would prefer to have a place where every plate goes out perfectly and and everyone gets the best service that they deserve. A smaller restaurant best way to be able to deliver that experience.
About Gilmore’s Restaurant
Gilmore’s is an award-winning BYOB serving exceptional French cuisine prepared with a contemporary American flair. Owned by Chef Peter Gilmore and his wife, Susan, since August 2001, Gilmore’s is located in the borough of West Chester at 133 East Gay Street, West Chester, PA 19380. Gilmore’s was most recently included in Zagats ‘World’s Top Restaurants 2008-2010’ and rated ‘extraordinary to perfection’ in both food and service. Dinner is served Tuesday through Thursday with seatings every half-hour from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM and Friday and Saturday at 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM. Reservations may be made at www.gilmoresrestaurant.com or by calling 610-431-2800.
