Presiding over the new, high-tech H?rthRestaurant in Tysons Corner, executive chef Thomas Elder has a quiet charm. Without drama, Elder conveys the fact that he knows his kitchen and his cuisine, and his meals demonstrate that. A native Midwesterner, Elder learned to respect his craft early in life. “My grandfather was a butcher during the Depression,” he said. “And my mom worked for him, plucking chickens. My inspiration for cooking came from his butcher block.” That occurred because when his grandfather closed his store, his mother inherited the 100-year-old butcher block, and as a young boy, Elder helped her clean it.
“I have all these food memories,” he says. “I love food,” adding that since he was 16 he worked his way up from potato scrubber to broiler cook and along the way has enjoyed every minute of the food world. “I fell in love with it, and I don’t know how to describe it,” he added.
| If you go |
| H?rth Restaurant |
| Where: Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Dr., McLean |
| Info: 703-761-5131 |
| Hours: Breakfast, 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.; Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. |
After attending and graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Elder went to work for a hotel company outside of Chicago, then moved to Boston to work with a firm that owned several restaurants. “That was in the mid-1980s,” he said. “Boston had a big food explosion with [chefs using] such ingredients as truffles. Those were exciting times with amazing food.”
Eventually, Elder ended up back in Chicago, where his career took on a different meaning: he started sourcing ingredients from local farmers and he began volunteering with after-school programs by starting community gardens. “The emphasis was on healthy living,” he said.
That experience made him a solid fit with H?rth, which has a multifaceted farm-to-table concept: bee hives on the hotel roof and a mini vegetable garden with a hot pepper patch on a plot of land behind the hotel. “This will encourage local residents to get to understand and eat fresh produce,” he said. “I am passionate about sustainability of the air, earth, water, and people. I want to practice what I preach.”
With a smile, Elder notes that now is an exciting time to work as a chef, a time when the American public really knows something about good food, making more creative cooking more possible. “So when I write ‘gastrique’ on the menu,” he said, “people will know what it is.”
Q&A
What is your comfort food?
I always like a good burger place.
Which are your essential ingredients?
Olive oil and garlic. You can always do so many different things with great olive oil. Garlic is used for so many [flavor] layerings.
What has been your luckiest moment?
I’ve had some lucky moments, but my best moment is when I talk to a cook and explain a technique, and I see in their face that they understand it. My best moments are in the kitchen.
What’s in your fridge?
I am going to buy every day, but there are staples. Three bottles of champagne, 3 different white wines, a chunk of Pecorino Romano, half bar of Scharffen Berger chocolate, purified water, and a few condiments.
Which is your favorite restaurant?
I don’t really have a favorite, but I really like 2 Amys for pizza and Bob & Edith’s for breakfast. They cook the bacon fresh.
Chef Tom Elder’s Classic White Chocolate Cr?me Br?l?e
Serves 4
4 large egg yolks at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups whipping cream
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped in small pieces
1/2 vanilla bean, split, or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Extra cane sugar for caramelizing, about 4 teaspoons
Strawberries or raspberries for garnish, optional
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks with three-quarters of the sugar until smooth. In a small saucepan, bring the whipping cream and the remainder of the sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the white chocolate to the simmering whipping cream. Turn off the heat and whisk until white chocolate is melted.
Add the whipping cream mixture to the egg yolk mixture a tablespoon at a time, whisking continuously to prevent egg yolks from scrambling. Whisk until smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Pour mixture into four 5-ounces ovenproof ramekins. Place ramekins in a 13-x 9-inch baking pan and add enough warm water to the baking pan to cover the ramekins half way up their sides, about 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep).
Bake until set, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in the water bath for 20 minutes. Remove from the water bath and let cool overnight in the refrigerator. Just before you serve, sprinkle a teaspoon of cane sugar over the top of each cr?me br?l?e and place under broiler until the sugar caramelizes. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.
