Just imagine. With a total of three restaurants up and running, Geoffrey Tracy of Chef Geoff’s fame has become something of a restaurant wunderkind: He’s only 33 years old.
In the cooking world, which demands hard work, long hours, years of training and high-octane energy, his is more than just a success story. The tale of Chef Geoff is nothing short of mind-boggling.
How does he do it? “I drink lots of coffee,” Tracy says. “And I hang out and have a good time.”
But he also admits that he is driven, working hard straight through from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and with 250 employees to oversee and three kitchens to manage — to say nothing of all the recipes he must develop — his plate is very full, so to speak.
“I never think of the work as hard. I love owning restaurant, and am very driven by it,” Tracy says.
Has cooking always been in his blood? No, he says, but the restaurant business has been. After graduating from Georgetown University with a major in theology, Tracy did not immediately focus on food. Instead, he wandered the country from California to Florida before returning to D.C., where a chance meeting with Tom Meyer of Clyde’s when he was walking in Georgetown set Tracy along the right path.
He worked in several local restaurants, and after six months, still loved cooking. So he headed to the Culinary Institute of America in New York. After graduation at the head of his class, he once again talked with Meyer. “I was 27 years old then,” he says, “and Tom told me to open a restaurant immediately. ‘Go for it,’ he said.”
By June of 2000, he had, by opening his first Chef Geoff’s on New Mexico Avenue near American University. Chef Geoff’s Uptown and his later Chef Geoff’s Downtown have different menus but are both noted for their contemporary American cooking and casual atmospheres.
And then, in 2006, along came Tracy’s take on contemporary Italian food in his Lia’s in Chevy Chase, where after happy hour, patrons can tuck into such dishes as pork tenderloin with black truffle polenta or a veal loin chop with sautéed wild mushrooms drizzled with truffle oil.
What’s next? Since he’ll be caring for infant twins due in early 2007, Tracy does not pinpoint any new restaurant ideas. But considering his track record, you can bet on one thing: There’ll be more Chef Geoff’s in the metro area sometime soon.
Grilled veal porterhouse
Serves 4
16 oz. balsamic vinegar
3 oz. extra virgin olive oil plus extra
4 cups fresh wild mushrooms, cut into coarse bite-size pieces
Salt and black pepper to taste
3 oz. white wine
3 oz. butter
1 tsp. fresh thyme
4 12-oz. veal porterhouse chops
10 oz. arugula, well rinsed
1 head Treviso radicchio
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. truffle oil, white or black
Put the vinegar into a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until reduced to about 3 ounces. It should be thickened and viscous. Set aside in a small bowl to cool completely.
In a hot skillet, add generous amounts of olive oil, and over medium heat, add the mushrooms, cooking them without shaking the pan for 30 seconds. Stir the mushrooms with a wooden spoon, and season generously with salt and pepper. The mushrooms may begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. At that point, add the white wine (or whatever is in your glass). Wait about 10 seconds, and stir the mushrooms. Let the wine come to a simmer. Add the butter and thyme. Check the seasonings, and remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Place on a hot grill and mark well on both sides, about two minutes per side. Put the meat on a small sheet tray, then roast the chops until they are medium pink in the middle.
To serve, peel off two large radicchio leaves per person, and arrange them on the top of the plate. Put the arugula in a bowl, and add the 3 ounces olive oil, the lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Toss well. Put the arugula in the radicchio leaves. Lean a veal chop on the arugula. Place a large spoonful of the mushrooms and pan juice on the veal. Sprinkle each chop with truffle oil. Put a small spooninto the balsamic and drizzle it artistically around the plate. It helps if you raise the spoon about 2 feet above the plate and swirl. Eat.
» Wine pairings: Exquisite with medium-bodied Italian wines like Brunello di Montalcino or its less expensive version, Rosso di Montalcino. My favorite producer for the Brunello is La Gerla and Mocali for the Rosso.
In Tracy’s own words
What is your favorite dish? The veal chop served at Lia’s, or a really good pizza. I go to the bar at 2 Amys and have a pizza there.
What is your cooking philosophy? Simplicity. I really do think many dishes would be improved with fewer ingredients.
What are your favorite ingredients? Tomatoes, onions, peppers and cheese. You can do a lot with them.
What utensils do you find essential? Tongs and French wooden spoons. The spoons are essential for stirring a risotto. I don’t get upset often, but when I do, it is when people are not focusing on the basics. So all my cooks know to use a wooden spoon.
What are the keys to cooking success? I focus on the guest. … If you lose sight of who you are cooking for and why, well … And find a style, technique and flavor, and stick with them.
Who cooks at home? I do. … I don’t think my wife has ever really cooked.
What’s in your fridge right now? I have three refrigerators in my kitchen. One is for wine and holds 60 bottles. One is for water and one is for orange juice, milk, spices, condiments, cheese. Right now I have 5 pounds of clementines, vanilla yogurt and frozen blueberries.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I’d like to continue to be successful in D.C. I have no interest in working outside of an area to which I can drive comfortably.
Which is your favorite cuisine? American, especially contemporary American cooking because it usurps all the flavors from all over. Then I like Asian, Mediterranean and classic French.
