At the 31st Annual Chester County Restaurant Festival, held on Sept. 19, four notable county-based chefs competed to be the “Best Chef of Chester County.”
Competing through three rounds, the chefs — Side Bar’s chef Blaise Labik, Silverspoon Cafe and Catering’s chef Scott Bailey, Blue Pear at the Dilworthtown Inn’s chef Paul Brown and Amani’s BYOB’s chef Jonathan Amann — vied for the title.
One winner was the shining star, and he can be found regularly at Downingtown’s Amani’s BYOB.
We caught up with Jonathan Amann after his win.
CC: Have you been in a chef competition before?
Amann: No, this was my first time competing in this type of thing. I have to say I really enjoyed it, though. I have always been a competitive person. My attitude is that anything worth doing is worth doing well.
As a restaurateur and a chef, your job is to feed people and make them happy. Is there any struggle between what you think the customers want and what would be exciting for you to create? Was it easy to conceptualize and prepare dishes for this challenge?
I think as a restaurateur, I always want to do what I think will be well received by our guests. However, as a chef, I always want to be creative and try to come up with new flavor combinations that haven’t been done a hundred times before. So I guess what I’m saying is that the best thing you can do is to cook familiar food that tastes great and has a creative twist. If something is recognizable to someone but has a cool sauce or interesting ingredient, they are more likely to try it.
I didn’t find the menu to hard to come up with. The ingredients were all pretty familiar to me. The biggest challenge was the time limit for each course. Anyone who has cooked beets knows that it’s hard to do much with them in 20 minutes.
What was your reaction to the three required ingredients of beets for appetizer, pumpkin butter for entree and goat cheese for dessert? Was incorporating the Great Salts a challenge, or a piece of cake?
I personally like all three of these ingredients, and all three can be found on our current menu. The only one that was a bit challenging was the goat cheese for dessert. I wanted to do something that I had never seen before. I thought a goat cheese whipped cream with lemon verbena would be really interesting, but due to time constraints it didn’t come out exactly as planned. I should have done a creme anglaise with it instead. The salts were a pleasant surprise, actually. They added a flavor to the food that I think really put my dishes over the top.
I know that on your fall menu, you are serving a tilapia that is similar to the pumpkin butter-glazed halibut that was quoted during the culinary battle to be the “best dish” of judge Dee Rogevich’s life. Would you serve all three dishes in your restaurant? Do you feel they are an accurate representation of Amani’s?
Absolutely! I think they are exactly my type of cooking — familiar food, interesting ingredients. Everyone has had wontons before, but how many have had them with exotic mushrooms and foie gras? Halibut is common, but how about a pumpkin butter glaze and bourbon molasses sauce? I know everyone has had some kind of fruit Napoleon before, but with goat cheese whipped cream? Any one of these dishes would be perfect for Amani’s, and will wind up as specials at some point or another.
What about being a contestant in the Culinary Cook-Off surprised you the most?
The crowd. I love that so many people showed up to watch, and many stayed throughout the whole event. It goes to show that people really enjoy food and want to be exposed to good food. It’s very encouraging.
So, why do you think you took home the crown? How does it feel to be labeled the “Best Chef” in your county?
Well, I always try to be humble, so I would have to say that it feels great to have won, but it wasn’t a victory for me as much as Amani’s. I am lucky to have the staff I do at Amani’s — from my sous chef to my hostess, they are all great employees and friends. This win was for them. I knew if I put everything I had into this competition, I would come out a winner, and that would lead to more success for Amani’s, and that’s good for us all.
As an already well-loved chef, did you learn anything from the competition?
Not to sound cliche, but the biggest lesson I learned is that anything is possible with the right attitude. I went into the contest with one thought — I need to win this! A positive attitude is a powerful thing. I would say the benefit to competing is the exposure. Win or lose, it’s still good press. Of course, winning doesn’t hurt.
Our plans remain the same — deliver delicious local ingredients with professional service and a warm dining atmosphere. Its worked so far, so why change it? We would like to expand our operation, possibly a second location, but it has to be right.
How would you describe your cuisine to someone who has yet to try it?
Well, as I’ve said, it’s familiar food, but with an emphasis on using local ingredients when available. I find that the key to quality is freshness, and what better way to get fresh food then to find it locally?
Amani’s BYOB at 105 E. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown. Reservations may be made by calling 484-237-8179. For more information, visit www.amanisbyob.com. Lunch is served Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Dinner is served Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10:30 p.m.; Sunday from 5to 9 p.m.
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