Guest chef Grant Achatz at Restaurant Ikarus

November 2009 at Restaurant Ikarus: Grant Achatz

Vanilla ice-cream and pizza …

"Alinea", Chicago, USA

… your child’s favourite meal? Then they share the same good taste as one of the world’s best chefs, Grant Achatz. Believe it or not, this master of gastronomy has never dined in his own restaurant, Alinea. He much prefers to eat at restaurant chains such as Potbelly Sandwiches and HomeMade Pizza. The top chef sees this as entirely logical: “It would be like a comedian laughing at his own jokes”.

Achatz grew up in Michigan and helped at his parents’ restaurant from the age of 5. He decided on his career path from an early age and as a teenager proved his skill, easily outdoing the chefs who worked for his father. At the end of high school, it was clear that cooking was much more than just a hobby to him and so he decided to study at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. After graduation, he became a culinary manager at various different renowned restaurants such as the highly acclaimed French Laundry in Napa Valley, then under Thomas Keller. Inspired by the opportunities offered by creative cooking, he grew and developed here under the guidance of his master tutor and was promoted to the role of Sous Chef just 2 years later. He subsequently took some time out from cooking at the La Jota Vineyards where he worked as an assistant winemaker. His next placement saw him leave the vineyards behind and take his place back in the kitchens at the French Laundry for another 2 years. From here, he moved to Chicago to Trio in Evanston, Illinois where he worked as an Executive Chef. After 4 years, he left Trio to fulfill his dream of opening his own restaurant – Alinea, opened in 2005.

Alinea has been attracting a great deal of attention since its very first day. Innovation plays a key role, as does design. Achatz often eschews the use of traditional plates in favor of custom serviceware designed by his collaborator Martin Kastner of Crucial Detail. For example, hearts of palm stuffed with truffles and bulgur wheat are served on bridge-shaped porcelain stands. Tempura fried rabbit or pheasant may be skewered on oak branches with fall-colored leaves and set briefly ablaze to capture the scent of Autumn. When asked what is most important at Alinea, Achatz will often answer, “an emotional connection with the diner.”

The only award missing from his huge collection of trophies is a star on the Hollywood Boulevard. He has already won everything there is to win on the American cooking scene. In 2004 Trio, under the management of Achatz, was awarded four stars by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine as well as 5 stars by the Mobil Travel Guide. In its first year of opening, the Alinea was nominated for the title of Best New Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation. Since then, one award has followed another and Alinea has secured 4 stars from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine respectively. Since 2006, Alinea has been awarded Five Diamonds by the AAA each year and five stars in the Mobil Travel Guide. In the same year, Alinea was awarded one of the greatest accolades of all – named as the Best Restaurant in American by the Gourmet Magazine in the twice per decade publication of America’s top 50 restaurants. In 2007, the James Beard Foundation named Achatz as Best Chef Great Lakes. He outdid himself a year later, winning the title of Best Chef in America. The top chef has also secured an Ivy Award for Alinea.

But what use are all these accolades to a chef without what really matters, his health? It all started with a small and unimportant-looking white spot on his tongue: in 2007, Achatz was diagnosed with late stage tongue cancer which could have cost him his life, not just his tongue. He found the best treatment, alongside chemotherapy and radiotherapy, was to create new dishes, even though his taste buds were not what they were before the treatment. Fortunately, he received the fantastic news that his cancer had gone into remission a few months later.

His sense of taste is also gradually returning now that he is healthy again. However, he has had to forgo his favourite drink of diet coke for now as his tongue is still too sensitive for fizzy drinks. But perhaps he can console himself with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream instead.