Bryan Voltaggio proves looks can be deceiving.
Instead of being a fresh-scrubbed, all-American farm boy, Voltaggio is a fresh-scrubbed, all-American, high-profile executive chef at one of D.C.’s power spots: Charlie Palmer Steak. Just steps from Capitol Hill, the restaurant provides the setting for such discussions as this one recently overheard at the bar: “He’s an ideologue … Well, what if the Republicans … If you look at the RFP .. He has more tapes than…” and so on. Voltaggio cooks for them all, whatever their political persuasion.
Voltaggio is a hometown boy raised in Frederick. His family valued cooking and grew great produce on their two-acre plot, which translated into memorable family meals.
“I started cooking at age 14,” Voltaggio said. “I have a few memories of my grandpa from when I was 5 or 6, and we were always cooking together. Like at Thanksgiving, he would show me how to handle the turkey. It was inspirational. My mom was a good cook, too.”
His family’s garden plot also shaped his passion for using prime produce, preferably from locally sources.
“I remember stealing vegetables from the family garden as they ripened,” he said. “That’s where I get my love for fresh, local food.”
From his childhood experiences, Voltaggio naturally fit into a culinary career, deciding early on he had fallen in love with cooking. He workedas a busboy in high school and took cooking classes at a vocational school before attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. But Voltaggio had found his niche.
“At the CIA, I found a whole new level of cooking,” he said. “I had worked in kitchens before, but not at that level. I realized I could make a career of this, and also remember all the fun of cooking from childhood.” Voltaggio now advises cooking students to stay current with food trends and absolutely love what they do. Why? Because hours are long and work is hard.
While attending the CIA, Voltaggio supported himself by cooking in local restaurants and interning in New York. As fate deemed it, Voltaggio trained at Charlie Palmer’s New York restaurant, Aureole.
“The first time I met Charlie Palmer, I knew he was different,” Voltaggio said of their 1999 introduction. “He mopped his own floors before service and made sure all the details were perfect. He really cares, and I knew I would learn a lot from him.”
After several hard-working years spent under three different chefs in the Charlie Palmer structure, Voltaggio was offered the executive chef’s position in Washington. It seemed like a natural move.
“I knew the area, I knew the products and I even knew some of the vendors,” he said.
For Voltaggio, cheffing at Charlie Palmer Steak was coming home again, where his passion for all things of the kitchen began. No wonder all his memories involve food.
In Voltaggio’s own words
What is your must-have ingredient? Salt. I always look for new and different ones, such as smoked or sea salts. It’s a very important product in the kitchen because it enhances, preserves, and is key in many ways. It’s part of life, of all things organic. I coach cooks on how to season with salt.
What is your cooking philosophy? It starts with what I learned as a child: taking and using pure ingredients … using local and sustainable ingredients.
Who cooks at home? My wife does a better breakfast than I do. Her pancakes are light inside and crispy outside. She wasn’t much of a foodie when she was growing up, but now we cook together. [The couple is expecting their first child any day now and 31-year-old Bryan Voltaggio plans to make all his own children’s foods.]
What is your favorite dish? I am a very simple person and springtime is my favorite time of year. I like cooking outdoors, so I start marinating on Friday and grill on Sundays. Roasted corn, heirloom tomatoes and a rosé Pinot.
Which is your favorite restaurant? I have so many restaurants on my list that I can’t get them checked off. Restaurant Eve and Central for good, casual food. And the Bristol in Paris. I ate alone at lunch, and I had to have frogs’ legs. I had ordered the tasting menu and I kept wanting more. There was also steamed lobster with aromatics.
What’s in your fridge? Cheese, fruits, prosciutto, Bud Lights, wine, vine-ripened tomatoes, cottage cheese.
Which is your favorite cuisine? Being an American chef means having a composite, global influence from so many different cuisines. I am lucky to be in D.C. where there are so many styles we have access to.
Marinated Grilled Hanger Steak
Serves 12
Marinade
3 shallots
2 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch fresh thyme
1/2 bunch fresh basil
1/2 bunch fresh sage
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup olive oil
5 pounds cleaned hanger steak or skirt steak (see your local butcher)
2 teaspoons of cracked black peppercorns
2 oranges, zest the rind on a microplane, discard fruit or juice into marinade
Salsa
6 large tomatillos, diced
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro
olive oil to taste
Ragout
1 1/2 fresh chanterelle mushrooms
6 ears fresh yellow corn
6 tablespoons butter
1 red onion, diced
2 roasted red peppers (you can roast over the grill then clean; to clean peppers, roast on grill until pepper is black all the way around and place in a bowl, then cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. Remove pepper and wash under cold water to remove charred skin and seeds.)
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
Plating
6 heirloom tomatoes
olive oil to taste
sea salt to taste
cracked pepper to taste
favorite tender salad greens, such as mache, arugula and frisee
» To make the marinade, heat a pan to medium and add the shallots and garlic; sweat until shallots are translucent. Add the herbs, and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Put the ingredients into a blender, and puree with the balsamic vinegar. Add the oil slowly to emulsify. Cool the vinaigrette, and then coat the cleaned and trimmed hanger steak and marinate overnight.
» Heat a gas or charcoal grill until almost 600 degrees. Clean off the most of the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Grill the steak until desired doneness, and hold at medium rare while preparing other components. Reheat later, insuring that the steak has had time to rest.
» To make the salsa, heat a saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil, sweat the garlic, add the diced tomatillo and the cilantro and cook until the tomatillos are tender. Put into a blender and purée until; keep hot.
» To make the ragout, clean the chanterelle with running water to remove the sand and needles from pines. Shuck the corn and sauté the kernels in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and sweat the diced onion; add the mushrooms. And the chicken stock and butter until done. Add the corn and more butter and reduce to sauce consistency, add the cilantro and season
» To serve, reheat the hanger steak on the grill until done. Let rest again. Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes and line them up on the plates. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper then drizzle with olive oil. Top with the warm ragout, lay the slice beef on top, and finish with the greens.
