Although Alex McWilliams is a newcomer to the D.C. scene, as the new executive chef at the always-popular Cleveland Park hot spot Ardeo, he is certainly no newcomer to kitchen tactics. To the contrary, McWilliams’ resume reads well: Culinary Institute of America (CIA) graduate, with stints at Spuntino Three 60 in New Jersey, Tom Colicchio’s Craft in New York City and Brasa and Wild Hare, both in Seattle.
Despite his high-profile credentials, McWilliams, dressed in jeans, a sweatshirt and a baseball cap, is disarmingly modest and low key, stressing that he zeroes in on unpretentious and rustic cooking. Judging by his demeanor, that cooking style reflects the man, who looks to be a perfect fit for this neighborhood fave.
Judging by his roots with a childhood spent in California and with a grandmother whom McWilliams calls a “fabulous cook,” he must have come by this no-fuss cooking style naturally.
“My grandmother was not Italian, but my grandfather was,” he says. “And my grandmother spent weeks with her mother-in-law, learning how to cook. She had an amazing palate and food sensibility. She may not have known why flavors went together, but she just knew that they did. And I wanted to know, too.”
He adds that his grandfather, while not a cook, was an inveterate gardener, who grew vegetable and fruit trees, so the family routinely ate just-picked produce.
“As you can see,” says McWilliams, “food was an important part of our lives.”
Despite his early interest in cooking, McWilliams’ first kitchen job was certainly modest: He worked as a “toast” boy on Sunday mornings at a local diner, which served up to 1,000 people during the morning. After high school, his grandparents urged him to attend college, although they knew of McWilliams’ determination to go become a professional cook. But after college, McWilliams enrolled at the CIA, and started his long march through the kitchen.
On this journey, McWilliams says, he entered this career at the end of an era, when the rigorous classic French-style cooking traditions and structure had all but vanished. Today, he says, unlike the old days when professional kitchens could afford large staffs, the executive chef now must be the master of many skills, able to work many different kitchen stations.
“If he can’t do that,” McWilliams says, “then the executive chef will not be successful.”
McWilliams says he feels his greatest strength may well be his feeling for balance in what makes sense on the plate.
“The problem with fusion cooking is that it has to flow and make sense. You can’t put Israeli couscous with bok choy and ginger,” he says. “America may be a melting pot, but we do have our own indigenous ingredients. A menu must read like a book, and I feel uneasy when I see Asian, Southwestern and Indian dishes all on a menu. And it’s the same for each dish as it is for the menu as a whole.”
Harmony and balance: Sounds like McWilliams approaches his cooking with both sensitivity and sensibility, two traits he attributes to his classic French training — and to his grandmother.
If you go
Ardeo
3311 Connecticut Ave. NW
202-244-6750
www.ardeorestaurant.com
Hours: Dinner — 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday; Brunch — 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday
Q&A with Chef Alex McWilliams
What is your comfort food?
I find myself eating a cheeseburger, Thai food and when I am with my mother, she cooks dishes from my grandmother, such as a chicken soup with onions, carrots, celery, escarole, pasta and a mild Greek cheese. … She also used to make such homey meals as roast beef with brown rice, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy made with Gravy Master and Wondra flour. She would chop this all up and eat it together.
What goes into your basic pantry?
Flavored oils. Salts, such as Australian or Hawaiian red salts, or black salt from Cyprus. I use these for finishing and garnishing. I always have a fair amount of unique grains, such as farro.
Which is your favorite cuisine?
Italian. Real Italian. I’ve run some Italian kitchens and tried to hold true to the tradition and not to the cliches.
What is your long-term dream?
Owning one or more restaurants. Over my career, I have considered other options but I have stuck with cooking. For better or for worse, it’s what makes me happy. I can’t think of another career I would enjoy as much. I can’t imagine making millions doing something I hate.
From the Chef’s Kitchen
Chestnut Soup
Look for chestnuts either fresh or vacuum-packed or frozen at specialty food stores. If you use fresh chestnuts, soak them in milk overnight to remove any bitterness; vacuum-packed chestnuts are actually the best for this application. Straining the soup makes for a smoother texture as well as for a nicer appearance. At Ardeo, McWilliams garnishes this soup with chanterelle mushrooms and rosemary cream.
Serves 6 to 8
1 ⁄ 4 pound (1 stick) cold butter
1 pound leeks, well rinsed and cut into large pieces
1 ⁄ 4 cup fresh rosemary leaves, wrapped in cheesecloth or a coffee filter
1 pound roasted and peeled chestnuts
2 cups white wine
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and ground white pepper to taste
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat, and add 4 tablespoons butter. Add the leeks, and sweat until tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add the chestnuts and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine, and let it reduce slightly to cook off the alcohol.
Add the chicken broth, and bring back to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for 25 minutes. Add the cream, and increase the heat, cooking for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup in small batches into a blender, adding the remaining cold butter as you go. (Be sure to remove the rosemary bag.) To serve, strain the soup to catch any specks of chestnut skin for a more refined appearance; this is a rich soup so small portions are fine.
