Art and Soul chef grew up in the business

When you think about it, Travis Timberlake, the new executive chef at Art Smith’s trendy Art and Soul restaurant on Capitol Hill, is one lucky guy. Not only did he end up following a lifelong passion, he grew up in a family of restaurateurs. Until recently, his parents owned the Dupont Circle restaurant, Timberlake’s. Noted as a casual American eatery that fed comfort food to generations of Washingtonians, Timberlake’s also was the early training ground for Timberlake himself. As he notes, “I was a busboy at 12, and I have done it all: front of the house, cook, dishwasher.”

Even at home, cooking and good food took center stage in the family’s life.

“My mom is a good cook,” he says, “and she taught me some techniques when I was growing up. I also started asking questions. And we are a foodie family. We always ate out around town. My granddad was always cooking. It’s in the family.”

But in college at Marquette University, by studying accounting and marketing it looked like he had veered away from the hospitality industry. After graduation, he worked elsewhere, but had an epiphany.

“I suddenly realized how much I loved the restaurant business,” he says. “So I attended the Culinary Institute of America.”

The real hook, he says, was simply that he loves food, cooking and the energy of the restaurant world.

“It’s instant gratification,” he says, adding that a chef can judge right away how successful his work is — no waiting around — by the way customers react to their food. And, he points out, kitchen work requires much more energy than, say, sitting around in an office.

An honors graduate, Timberlake took his culinary externship at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, and after graduation, headed back to D.C. to help out in his parents’ restaurant by redesigning the menu and putting his business training to work in the office. From there, Timberlake was hired by the Passion Food Hospitality group, first as a grill and saute cook at DC Coast, and a year later, as sous chef at the group’s TenPenh restaurant. After several years, he moved into the chef de cuisine position at the group’s Ceiba restaurant.

As Timberlake notes, exposure to so many different cooking styles — American, Asian, and Latino — and to such talented head chefs have greatly influenced his approach to cooking.

“I’ve worked with some really great chefs, such as Jeff Tunks, and with several different cuisines,” he says. “I’m a sucker for new things.”

Now ensconced in the kitchens of Art and Soul, he is busily exploring Southern comfort food, the restaurant’s basic cooking focus.

“It’s what makes people happy,” he says. “I am coming back to basics here, and making food an experience.”

Does that mean he can’t define his own style of food? To the contrary, he says.

“The food we do is simple, and I like the people around me to be happy and smile. … I am not tied into a signature dish. I change things seasonally, so I am not locked into a signature dish.”

What he aims for, then, is food that pleases the public, and his hoecakes and succulent hamburgers will do just that.

Q&A with Chef Travis Timberlake

What is your comfort food?

A good country fried steak or a meatloaf and mashed potatoes. And my mom’s chicken casserole with mayonnaise, potato chips, cheese, and cream of chicken soup.

What is your cooking philosophy?

You have got to be into food love, and ask, would you enjoy eating it [food you have cooked]? When you sit down to dinner, you have to say “yes.” If you don’t love it, don’t cook it.

What is your favorite place in the world?

It’s hard not to say Paris. It was amazing, and I have to go back. Then, it’s the Outer Banks for relaxing.

How do you relax?

Golf. That’s it pretty much. I don’t have many hobbies because I have too little time.

What has been your luckiest moment?

The opportunity to meet the people I’ve met since I’ve been here — Oprah Winfrey, Tom Colicchio — during the inauguration. At DC Coast, I met Russell Crowe, who was hanging out with the kitchen staff. He was a lot of fun. And cooking for Mrs. Obama, when she had a gathering here. She ate the trout with beet salad and hoecakes.

From the Chef’s Kitchen

Travis Timberlake’s lamb hoecake

Serves 4

Hoecake mix

1 cup white cornmeal

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 tablespoons melted butter

Water as needed

Olive oil as needed

Preheat griddle to 350. Combine and mix together all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix. Add enough water to make a pancake batter consistency. Drizzle a little olive oil on the griddle. Ladle 4 tablespoons batter on the griddle and repeat as room allows. Cook on each side for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Set aside and reserve; repeat until the batter is used up.

Toppings

1 (10- to 12-oz.) lamb loin, cleaned

20 heirloom cherry tomatoes

1 (4-oz.) block feta cheese

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 wooden skewers

Chimichurri marinade

1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

1 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh oregano

1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint

1 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. red chili flakes

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make the chimichurri, combine the herbs, garlic, vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, chili flakes, two pinches salt and mix well. Use half the chimichurri to rub on lamb loin to marinate for 1 hour.

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Place five tomatoes on each wooden skewer.

After marinating, season the lamb loin with kosher salt and black pepper, and place on the grill. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn one-quarter way around, and cook for another 2 minutes (this is to get good grill marks and cook evenly.) Flip the loin over, and repeat the first two steps. Place the tomatoes on the grill, and grill on each side for 2 minutes.

Place one hoecake on four plates. Spoon a small amount of the reserved chimichurri on each hoecake, and spread evenly. Crumble some feta over each hoecake. Remove the tomatoes from each skewer and cut each tomato in half and spread out over the hoecake. Slice the lamb and place four slices on each hoecake. Finish with some chimichurri spooned across the top of each hoecake, and serve.