By Julie Moore
Jason Shaeffer was the winner of a cooking competition that took place at the Sustainable Living Fair in Fort Collins, Colo., on Sept. 20, 2009. He prepared three dishes in one hour, and only used cooking ingredients from a 300 miles radius of Fort Collins, Colo.
Shaeffer is the chef and owner of Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar in Windsor, Colo. He purchased the business in July 2007.
I was lucky enough to sit down and spend an hour talking with Chef Shaeffer about his career, the restaurant business and how he deals with the economic slowdown. So, who is Jason Shaeffer?
Jason Shaeffer sitting at the bar of Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar in Windsor, Colo., during the interview.
A businessman in a tough economy
In today’s economy, the food and wine industry is suffering as much as any other industries.
In today’s economy, the food and wine industry is suffering as much as any other industries.
“Business is down somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 percent,” Shaeffer said.
As fewer customers are walking through the restaurants’ front door, Shaeffer had to adapt.
“We have been cutting back on cost, and the biggest cost that I can control is labor,” Shaeffer said.
Shaeffer is not only the owner and executive chef of Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar, but, in the last year, he has also become the general manager, the chef de cuisine, the party planner and sometimes the bartender.
“There are so many things that I can do myself: I can cut salaries and be able to survive,” Shaeffer said.
When looking at restaurants going out of business, Shaeffer says that some of those places may be too big, which requires them to spend too much money on salaries for managers.
From insurance to linen and phone services, Shaeffer is looking at every aspect of his business to save money. But the one thing he is not willing to sacrifice is food:
“We are not going to buy an inferior product; we are not going to compromise what we put on the table,” Shaeffer said.
A driven apprentice
Shaeffer, a Virginia native, started to spend time in restaurants’ kitchens while he was still in high school.
“I just fell in love with it, and I decided I liked it enough to pursue it as a career,” Shaeffer said.
By 18, Shaeffer had become a kitchen manager at a small restaurant called The Whaling Station, in Outer Banks, N.C.
“I learned then that you have to sacrifice things you want to do to pursue a career and that you have to be serious about it,” Shaeffer said.
Today, Shaeffer still remembers his early mentor, Glenn Perry, the manager at the Whaling Station.
“Glenn was the manager at the Whaling Station, and he is the first person that taught me how to cook; he taught me a lot of basics about the business,” Shaeffer said.
While pursuing an associate degree in culinary arts at Johnson and Wales from 1990 to 1992, Shaeffer worked full time, waiting tables and cooking.
From then, Shaeffer was not to be stopped from learning as much as he could. At 21, he became an executive chef at one of the largest hotels on the Virginia Beach oceanfront before spending four years at Elizabeth's Café and Winery in Duck, N.C., as an executive chef.
An experienced chef
After gaining experience in various environments, Shaeffer moved to San Diego where he worked for several acclaimed chefs.
He was first employed by Trey Foshee, who won the Food and Wine 1998 Best New Chef Award, at George’s at the Cove in LaJolla, Calif.
After that, Shaeffer worked his way up from sous chef at Laurel Restaurant and Bar to executive chef of Laurel Restaurant and Bar, and the Winesellar and Brasserie in San Diego, Calif.
A few years later, Shaeffer flew to New York City to work as chef de cuisine at Artisanal, under Terrance Brennan, for about six months.
Subsequently, Shaeffer opened the famous New York restaurant Per Se, as a sous chef, under Chef Thomas Keller.
“To eventually work for Thomas, not only was it a dream, but when it became a reality, it was just unbelievable that I worked for somebody that has such an influence on the way food is being done these days”, Shaeffer said.
Two years later, Shaeffer was back in San Diego, at the Hotel Del Coronado, to open 1500 Ocean.
“It was the first time that I was going to do my own food; I wasn’t going to work for another chef”, Shaeffer said.
Success was immediate, but two years later, Shaeffer was on the move again. This time, he became the sole owner of Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar, in Windsor, Colo., which he purchased in July 2007.
Jenni Havel, a former employee at Chimney Park, has good memories about working for Shaeffer.
“Jason is a really great person, and he is fun to be around,” Havel said. “I remember him as having a laid back approach to management. He always kept the staff involved in changes and was open for input.”
A community supporter
“Part of our success comes from sourcing out fresh, local ingredients," Shaeffer said. "We are using ingredients that are grown right here in Colorado and that are at the peak of the season.”
Shaeffer supports local food producers such as Hazel Dell Mushrooms, Wolf Moon Farms, Northern Colorado Poultry, Spomer Ranch and Meyer Natural Angus.
Karen McManus, from Wolf Moon Farms, says that she is honored that her company is mentioned on the menu of Chimney Park.
“Growing good food for Chimney Park has been a great experience,” McManus said.
Jim Hammond, owner of Hazel Dell Mushrooms, is equally flattered to see his company's name on Shaeffer’s menu.
“Having our name on the menu certainly increases the awareness in the community about our unique business, and that is a big plus for any company,” Hammond said.
Shaeffer also gives back to the community. Through Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar, Shaeffer offers apprenticeships for the Culinary School of the Rockies and donates his service to fundraisers such as Operation Frontline Colorado, Partners Mentoring Youth, and Sexually Assaulted Victims Advocacy Center (SAVA).
Bobby Hill, retired president of Universal Forest Products, and a patron of Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar, values Shaeffer’s contributions to the community:
“He is a good person that involves himself in his community through sincere philanthropic activity,” Hill said.
Four months after a violent tornado damaged part of Windsor, Colo. in May 2008, Shaeffer, along with other restaurant owners, organized the Ruby Slipper Progressive Dinner. The money raised by this event went to local storm victims.
An acclaimed chef and a humble man
Over the years, Shaeffer has accumulated many accolades and awards.
Bon Appétit magazine awarded Shaeffer’s gnudi recipe as Dish of the Year 2006, and the San Diego press covered every move Shaeffer made, especially during his time at 1500 Ocean.
Many of his customers also attest of his talents. Bobby Hill, a loyal customer, says:
“As a chef, Jason is talented beyond his years. The personality of the restaurant consists of quality, service and a warm atmosphere. Support of a local business with these characteristics is a pleasure.”
Despite his impressive resume and years of success, Shaeffer is a modest community member.
“I live a fairly simple life,” Shaeffer said. “When I am out of my restaurant, I am not that demanding. The best meal that I can have is one that is home-cooked and that I don’t actually have to cook."
Furthermore, Shaeffer usually signs his emails as “Champion Potato Peeler” and advertises that he will share his “cheesy” knowledge with customers attending his monthly cheese and wine tastings.
Despite the many years Shaeffer spent with top chefs around the country, he still likes to improve his skills by learning new recipes and cooking techniques in order to stay on top of his cooking game.
A restaurant owner
For Shaeffer, the key ingredients for a successful restaurant are “great food, great service and an inviting and warm environment,” Shaeffer said.
Russ Donnan, Chief Information Officer at Kroll Factual Data and a patron a Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar, finds these attributes in Shaeffer’s restaurant.
“My wife and I love Chimney Park,” Donnan said. “We continue to go back to Chimney Park for the incredible combination of flavors and the freshest ingredients. The hospitality of the Executive Chef and owner, Jason Shaeffer and his staff keep calling us back time and time again.”
Joanie Hill, Bobby Hill’s wife, agrees with Donnan.
“Jason has brought a whole new level of fine dining to the Northern Colorado region,” Joanie Hill said.
But Shaeffer also admits that, in order to reunite these key ingredients, it takes a lot of hard work, experience and dedication. Shaeffer confesses that, in this industry, cash flow can be tight, and staff turnover is often high.
“It’s a pretty tough business,” Shaeffer said.
According to Shaeffer, the actual profit margin in fine dining restaurant is quite low compared to other industries, usually around ten percent, which requires restaurant owners to run tight margins on food and beverages.
“There are much better investments out there,” Shaeffer said. “Most people do this just for the love of food.”
Jason Shaeffer talks about the impact of the economy on the food industry
Glossary
- Chef: A chef is a person who cooks professionally.
- Executive chef: In a professional kitchen setting, the term is used for the one person in charge of all things related to the kitchen such as menu creation, management, scheduling, and payroll of entire kitchen staff, ordering, and plating design.
- Chef de cuisine: Chef de cuisine is the traditional French term from which the English word chef comes, and is more common in European kitchens. Executive chef is more common in the U.S. and England.
- Head Chef: Head chef is often used to designate someone with the same duties as an executive chef, but there is usually someone in charge of them, possibly making the larger executive decisions such as direction of menu, final authority in staff management decisions, etc. This is often the case for chefs with several restaurants.
- Sous chef: The sous chef is the direct assistant of the executive chef and is second in command. They may be responsible for scheduling, and filling in when the executive chef is off-duty. The sous chef will also assist the line cook when needed.
1 comments:
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