Q & A with Chef Eric Laslow - Santa Claran Hotel Casino

Chef Eric Laslow

Number of year’s @ current restaurant?

1

Number of year’s in the field?

32

Favorite dish to make is?

My favorite dish - everyone asks me that question. My favorite dish is always about the moment and the moment usually revolves around my family. I have 2 daughters, 12 and 7. Olivia, my oldest is a devoted carnivore. Just an hour before I sit answering this interview we sat in front of our home in the hills of Chimayo and cooked a rack of lamb over our fire pit – a simple rub of chiles and a little Cuban Mojo over some pinon. Doesn’t get much better. My youngest, Celina has developed a penchant for fresh vegetables, fish and somewhat exotic flavors. Her favorite thing in the world is simply seared Halibut with shaved fennel, ponzu sauce and haricot vert but she wants to have it with some asparagus. The trick is her favorite asparagus must be served with a yuzu egg emulsion,truffle oil and Ikura Caviar – or as she says,”Daddy, don’t forget the baby Nemo eggs”. These are my favorite things.

What do you like best about your profession?

I have worked in this amazing industry for 32 years. The relationships I have developed with staff, vendors, farmers, growers, winemakers and guests overwhelms me. But I think what I love most is the ability to teach and mentor as I was taught and mentored. Having owned 6 restaurants in Oregon and Colorado, I have had a number of young cooks come into my properties with big ambitions and high aspirations of merely having my restaurant on their resume. This year marks the second year out of four that a cook who came into my kitchen as a young, entry level, pantry cook was named By “Food and Wine” Magazine as one of their “Top Ten New Chefs”. Gabe Rucker and Matt Lightner. I met these guys 9 years ago and they told me that they had what it took to be part of my team. I believed in them and I shared what I had and they ran with it. This is what I love about what I do.

Your dream job would be?

I’ve had them, I have one and I’ll likely have another.

Your Dream meal would be?

I’m sitting on a remote beach just south of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. I would have had to climb some rocks and wade shallow waters to get there. Ten “restaurants” only distinguished by the color of beach chairs lining the sand just below the collection of Palapas and open fires. I face west and my server arrives with the “menu” – a wheelbarrow of ice topped with local shellfish, snapper, some tuna. I choose the bright eyed snapper, plant my feet in the sand, open the local sauvignon blanc – not to bad but cold enough. My server/chef slathers oil, garlic, chiles, etc.on my fish, wraps him up in foil and tosses him on the coals. Shrimp boats go by as well as a group of musicians from the hills with pan flutes. Fish arrives and I pluck his flesh with my fingers as I sip and bake in the sun.....I’ve actually had that meal but my dream meal would be to share that with my wife, Dianna.

What or who has most influenced your cooking technique?

I lived and did business in the Pacific Northwest for years. The amazing network of chefs, winemakers, farmers, foragers and ranchers shaped my life, my ideals and my success. 12 months of the year 90% of my product that supplied my three restaurants came from my neighbors and friends. As a chef I didn’t only know where my tomatoes, truffle, squab or salmon came from, I knew who harvested them and I knew how they harvested and I knew their families. That changes everything.

Did you always plan to be a Chef?

I grew up with food. My family (Mother’s side) is Cuban. I knew at 6 years old that I loved to cook. I was that freaky kid in 3rd grade who made his own Tuna Sandwich but put tarragon in the mix and toasted the bread so it wouldn’t be soggy 4 hours later. But no – my dream was to be a Ski Racer ( as well as a Marathon Runner, Yacht Racer, etc. – all the classic lower middle class pursuits, all of which mostly successful). In order to support my ski racing habit I needed an evening job. Thus the kitchen. I raced Professionally for 4 years as I worked in several very famous (at that time)kitchens and at the age of 20 was given my first Executive Chef position. I earned a Mobile 4 Star Rating that year and I’ve been off and running since. And I love it.

Something you’d like to see leave the dining scene is?

Emeril, Bobby Flay, Iron Chef – give me a break. Guys, just get back in the kitchen...

The funniest thing that ever happened in your kitchen or dining room was???

OK, So we’re at Laslow’s Northwest, my flagship restaurant in Portland, OR. My partner is on the floor. Connie is the ultimate floor manager. Nothing in the world can possibly fluster her. Nasty customers, missing servers, nothing can rattle her. We have a party of 8 – some familiar faces – some you might recognize from some TV shows like…. oh, say Seinfeld, that sort of thing. Maybe a professional golfer or two. Let’s just say. They’re having a Birthday party and wrapping begins to come off. As wrapping comes off guests begin to move candles off the table to the floor. Eventually wrapping falls to the floor. We now have a small fire. SMALL. My partner, not being a kitchen veteran as myself is unschooled in the fine art of FIRE SUPPRESSION. As any kitchen vet would know, a simple and quick pulse or tap on the handle in the direction of the flame will quickly and in this case, unobtrusively extinguish the undesired flame. Unfortunately for our esteemed guests, Connie had never used an extinguisher prior to this historic evening. In her characteristic calm manner, she simply walked towards our unsuspecting table and entirely discharged the canister for a full 2 minutes. A white cloud filled the dining room, the uninvolved diners evacuated as the shocked VIP table remained engulfed. Four minutes pass and the “dust” settles. We have an empty dining room except for our Birthday revelers who are ENTIRELY WHITE. Not just dusted, not merely sprayed, they were singularly and as a group – hell, even the feet of the chairs - white as white can be. Well except for the white of their eyes and the pink of their lips and tongues, their tongues crazily flapping and swiping the suppressant away. And they stare at each other and in their shock it’s apparent that they no longer remember who they are sitting next to. At least for a few minutes. And in the back of the dining room my staff’s response is simply “Huh, why’d she do that?”. And they go back to work.

Your best tip for an enterprising home chef is?

Keep it simple and clear. Stay in your comfort zone. Less is more. This is the same advice I give to Chefs.

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