photo:
Clifton Henri; Bowles at his under-construction new restaurant
Chef Graham Elliot Bowles has been on the Chicago culinary radar for some time now. Just about every publication has recognized him for his work in the kitchen at
Avenues, a four-star restaurant in the
Peninsula Chicago hotel. In November 2007, he appeared on Iron Chef America facing off against Bobby Flay (Bowles lost), but his latest challenge is opening his own restaurant, aptly named
Graham Elliot. We spoke with Chef Bowles and the conversation had very little—or everything—to do with food. You decide.
When you announced you were going to leave Avenues and strike out on your own, could you hear the collective gasp of the Chicago foodie scene exclaiming, "Finally!"
I think it's interesting, because we've always been recognized for the food that we do at Avenues, but I think a lot of people are under the assumption that we've been holding back or the hotel format has kept us from being able to show our true selves. And I think that's true up to a point; I mean, the hotel has been incredible in allowing me to get to the level...to do the food that I want to do, but the actual ambiance, the dining room, the style of service, the music and everything else will finally be the way that I envision it to pair with my cuisine.
On your Iron Chef America profile, it says that your dream job is President of the U.S.
What's funny is that probably one of my biggest passions is politics and government. I have two huge shelves of books; one is now cookbooks and the other tends to be on history and politics.
What would be your first gastronomically-friendly political act?
I'd have to give that some thought.
Well, you also make mention of your secret Iron Chef ingredient being the locally illegal foie gras.
Oh, well, definitely in Chicago, if we're talking local politics! That'd be the first thing.
You list Ronald Reagan as your personal hero. Why?
I love Ronald Reagan. [I appreciate] his leadership ability to make people dream big and strive to be better people in general.
You're using the word "bistronomic" to describe what your new venture is going to be like, which I like way better than the term "gastropub."
Oh, I'm sure that next year you'll see five new "bistronomic" restaurants opening up in the city.
Define how you're going to apply that in your new place.
I think the biggest thing is to be able to showcase four-star cuisine and service and everything else that we've become known for, but to do it at a price point where you're not coming in and spending $500 per person, and having to wear a suit and tie, and waiters wearing tuxedos, with giant glass and silver crystal chandeliers and platters everywhere—to get rid of that whole mindset; to strip it down to its pure essence, to really give it some personality. To have it be more affordable, in that sense.
You've also got a Sufjan Stevens song on your Myspace page.
Yeah, I used to sing and play guitar in a band back when I lived in Virginia, and I'm actually going to be recording some of my own music to play in the dining room—and handwriting the menus, and drawing sketches of each dish. Being able to put as much personal feeling and thought into the place as you can.
A place like Schwa is extremely personal, with the chefs and the kitchen team doing the serving. Are you planning on doing anything like that?
Well, we're going to be bigger; we're going to be 150 seats including a private dining room and a bar/lounge. But yeah, the front-of-house and back-of-house will be wearing the same uniform. So there'll be a lot of interaction and mingling between those two worlds.
Do you think the desire for ultra-personality stems from only having control over the food at Avenues, and not having much input as far as the space was concerned?
Yeah, but I don't want that to come across as anything negative towards the hotel. I think it's just that I find that most restaurants now are extremely emblematic of the chef and owner, versus a lot of other restaurants that you can go to where it doesn't seem to have much soul. It's just the simple tablecloth with a flower on it; it just seems so formulaic.
We want to get away from that and make it as personal as possible. Just like if you go to Alinea, you're eating Grant [Achatz]'s food, if you go to Trotter's you're having Charlie's food, I want people to come and experience what I'm about.
Graham Elliot is slated to open in May.
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