As rugged-looking as the hockey player he once was, Duane Keller, executive chef at Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine at the Gaylord National hotel at the National Harbor, brings his own boyish charm and gentle touch to the seafood kitchen where he is, once again, making his D.C. reputation.
One thing you should know about Keller: He’s made a considerable name for himself for his culinary endeavors both in the United States and Canada. And consider this: He cooked for Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne in Vancouver at the World Expo; he helped Julia Child celebrate her 90th birthday with some tempting creations; and he has even made the pages of Gourmet magazine when he cooked at the Ashby Inn in Paris, Va.
In D.C. itself, Keller has cooked around at some primo spots, and he has often been cited as one of the area’s top chefs.
A native of Saskatchewan, Keller came by his hockey playing naturally: By the time he was 3 years old, his dad was a big-time hockey pro with the New York Rangers. But his dad — and his mom as well — also was a great cook, and Keller found that he spent as much time watching his parents cook as he did watching and playing hockey himself. At the age of 13, Keller ended up working odd jobs at a local inn, and discovered that he loved the people, but even more, he loved working with food.
After college, Keller moved to Calgary to play professional hockey, but he also took a job working at an inn with a very demanding chef.
“We had long prep tables in the kitchen where we sat and ate three times a day. I learned that a chef must be proud of what you do, being in the kitchen,” he says, adding with this hockey analogy, “Cooking is like hockey, a contact sport. And the chef is like the coach, he puts people in the right places to win. He must build and motivate a team.”
Of course, following that analogy, the coach himself needs to know a thing or two about the game. And that not only plays to Keller’s managerial strengths, but also to his cooking skills based on the classic techniques he learned in Calgary — that of incorporating the style and cooking techniques of Old World cuisine into that of the New: “I let the food speak for itself,” he says. “I don’t overwork it but I put little twists on things, like my smoked salmon cheesecake.”
Keeping it simple and fresh are certainly the foundation of his cooking philosophy, he says, remembering how at the Ashby Inn he grew his own vegetables and had local vendors bring him fresh morels and dairy products.
“I loved it,” he says, “I had my hands in everything.”
But what really underscores the whole Keller persona, defining the man himself, is his obvious passion — well, maybe obsession — for cooking. It sparkles in his conversation, it shines through in his food and presentations, and it obviously takes up his spare energy thinking about new dishes.
“I just love to cook,” he says. “The colors, textures and flavors never end. … I never once thought about doing something else. I see the guests’ faces smiling and happy. That’s the reward.”
If you go
Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine
Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
201 Waterfront St. (in the hotel property)
National Harbor, MD
301-965-4000
Hours: Lunch — 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m; Dinner — 5 to 10 p.m.
Q&A with Chef Duane Keller
Who cooks at home?
My wife is a terrific cook, and my favorite home-cooked meal is chicken-corn soup. I could eat it every day. I do a lot of grilling. But because I cook every day, when I’m off, I want to relax.
What’s your comfort food?
I’m an Old World kind of guy. So I love Oktoberfest food, like schnitzel, sausages, meatloaf, mashed potatoes. And gumbo, or any soup that is well made.
What is your cooking philosophy?
Buy only what you need for the day. Be honest and straightforward in your cooking. Educate people, don’t intimidate them. And wow guests at the time of [meal] delivery. Under-promise, over-deliver.
What’s your favorite restaurant?
The Inn at Little Washington, Adour at the St. Regis. I like checking out different concepts in Annapolis [and] D.C. I eat at smaller places in Georgetown and Fairfax. No franchise anything.
What’s in your fridge?
It’s loaded. We actually have two refrigerators. Pomegranates, loads of produce, meats, eggs, bacon, condiments, all kinds of stuff. I love to eat, even if I get home at 10 p.m.
From the Chef’s Kitchen
Gumbo
Duane Keller says he started to learn gumbo techniques when he cooked at Ashby Inn years ago. One thing he has learned: You must first make the roux. It must smell and look like peanut butter. As for the yield, Keller says, “This yields 9 quarts. This would be 30 bowls of soup [for an appetizer] or 12 meals. Gumbo is eaten either as a starter or the main course.”
Roux
2 cups vegetable oil
4 cups all-purpose flour
Heat a heavy-bottom, one-gallon stockpot over medium heat. Add the oil. Add all of the flour at once and whisk well. Continue cooking over medium heat for 22 minutes; whisk occasionally during the first 15 minutes to allow the color to develop. The roux will take on a consistency of peanut butter, and will even have a nutty aroma. The last 7 minutes is very important to whisk continuously so not to burn the roux.
Ingredients added to hot roux
(Be careful adding as roux is very hot.)
1 cup diced white onion
1 cup diced red bell peppers
1 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
Sear vegetables for 5 minutes.
Ingredients added next
(Be careful adding as roux is very hot.)
4 quarts hot fish or shrimp stock
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 lemon, cut in half
3 Tbsp. hot sauce
3 cups sliced and grilled Andouille sausage
2 cups sliced okra
2 cups diced tomatoes
8 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ⁄ 2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
After adding the stock, whisk well, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 hour.
Ingredients added at the very end
3 cups raw peeled and deveined shrimp, 70/90 count work well
3 cups raw bay scallops
3 cups shucked oysters with their liquor
2 pounds jumbo lump crabmeat, picked for shells
Add all raw ingredients to hot gumbo and stir well. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Plating procedure
Place 2 tablespoons of cooked plain white rice in a large soup bowl. Ladle 12 to 16 ounces of gumbo on the rice. Garnish with a pinch of gumbo file powder, which is ground sassafras. Serve piping hot. Any extra gumbo can be refrigerated in an open container for up to three days in the refrigerator, and later frozen to enjoy up to four months later.
