D.C. restaurant’s talent is truly homegrown

In the highly competitive D.C. restaurant scene filled with newcomers, it’s always a pleasure to find that one of the city’s leading chefs is a hometown boy.

And that is Logan Cox, a native of Fairfax and now executive chef of Cleveland Heights’ very chic and intimate New Heights Restaurant. That kitchen is a far cry from his first foray into the food world, when he was making bagels at Chesapeake Bagel Bakery at the age of 15.

“I went to work at 4:30 a.m.,” he recalled.

That was the first of several restaurant jobs, which kept Cox (“No,” he said, “I am not related to chef Brendan Cox of D.C. Coast.”) busy until he went to Virginia Tech on a football scholarship. When he left football behind and transferred to another college as a music major, Cox worked full time, capitalizing on what his mother described as a “knowledgeable palate.”

“She said I had one even at a young age,” said Cox, who remembers his mother preparing home-cooked meals every day.

His extracurricular work entailed cooking in local country inns, but Cox eventually gave up dreams of a career in music to follow his real passion: cooking.

“After college, I had been working already for eight years,” he said. “I was working under many different chefs, and I bought many culinary books. Several of the chefs really mentored me.”

Of these, he singles out Bob Kinkead of D.C.’s Kinkead’s and the now-defunct Colvin Run Tavern in Tysons Corner.

“Kinkead and his sous chef taught me about quality food,” Cox said. “At Colvin Run Tavern, they served spectacular food in a high-volume environment.”

To his mentor list, Cox adds James Beard award winner Frank Ruta, owner and executive chef of D.C.’s Palena.

“He is a master of the culinary arts,” Cox said. “He is a genius.”

A former line cook at Palena, the acclaimed Cleveland Park restaurant helmed by former White House chef Ruta, Cox said he credited Ruta for allowing him to explore and define his culinary style.

“He is a stickler for perfection, from cleaning spoons to weighing [ingredients] in grams,” he said. “He is perfect every time.”

For added career-building training, Cox includes his cooking stint in Orvieto, Italy, where he worked for chef Lorenzo Polegri of Zeppelin Ristorante, who inspired Cox to fall in love with the beauty and simplicity of natural foods.

“I visited local farms, and I picked grapes,” he said. “It was magical and made me much more passionate about my profession. … Nothing is better than when the ingredient is just perfect. It needs no fancy garnishes.”

As this young man looks back over the few short years he’s been in the kitchen, he says he’s confident he made the right choice, both for his career and for his decision not to attend a culinary school.

“At first, my parents said I needed to attend a culinary school,” Cox said, “but they knew how passionate I am about cooking.”

Passionate enough to dream up such dishes as agnolotti of dandelion greens or braised veal cheek with smoked grapes.

Q&A with chef Logan Cox  

What’s your comfort food?

I have a couple of favorites. The first is 2 Amys’ pizza, and then it’s chicken wings. The best place for them is at Bon Chon Chicken in Annandale.

Which is your favorite restaurant?

2 Amys, Palena, Zaytinya, and I am a big fan of Mediterranean food.

What has been your luckiest moment?

Landing this job. From what I understand, there were 60 applicants. It’s my first executive chef position, and it’s daunting and pleasing. And then I cooked at the National Theatre for some bigwigs.

What’s in your fridge?

Lots and lots of canned seltzer water and diet Coke. Not a lot of food. And I have a severe problem with ice cream. I sleepwalk and eat ice cream.

What do you stock in your basic pantry?

Pig. Any kind of pork product. Lots of organic vegetables from Virginia and Pennsylvania. It’s important to check out local farmers.

From the chef’s kitchen  

Roasted Cauliflower and Clam Soup

Serves 8

5 cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling

3 stalks celery, diced

1 yellow onion, peeled and diced

5 juniper berries

3 bay leaves

3 sprigs thyme

2 heads cauliflower, chopped into 3-inch pieces, including stem

Salt to taste

2 (16-ounce) cans clam juice

White pepper to taste

1 (16-ounce) can chopped clams

Chopped chives and chopped tarragon for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large cold pot, add garlic and the oil, sauteing over medium-high heat. (Note: Starting with a cold pan minimizes the chances of burning the garlic.) When the garlic starts to turn color, add the remaining celery, onion, juniper berries, bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Continue to cook vegetables until soft.

Meanwhile, drizzle the cauliflower with olive oil and season with salt. Place the pieces in a large roasting pan, and roast the cauliflower till golden brown and crispy on the outside and easily pierced with paring knife in the stem. (Note: Roasting the cauliflower concentrates the flavor and brings an additional dimension to the soup.)

Add the roasted cauliflower to the pot with the vegetables, and stir in the clam juice. Add enough water to cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, allowing all the ingredients to meld together. Pur?e the soup until smooth. For a velvety texture, strain the soup through a fine-mesh strainer. Season with salt and white pepper. Garnish the soup with chopped clams, chives, tarragon and a drizzle of olive oil.