Q & A with Chef Tom Douglas

Continuing with our Q&A chef series, we asked Northwest restaurateur, and James Beard award winning chef, Tom Douglas to share his thoughts on 2010 food trends, social media and how he views people cooking more meals at home these days.

What new in-house ingredients are you making at your restaurants?“Well, I’m not sure what you mean, we make everything. Every crouton, every cracker. I think that is something the customer doesn’t always realize,” he said.  Tom said that when it comes to price points, if you were to eat at Applebees for $12-$15 a plate and the Palace Kitchen is $15/$24 a plate, the effort that went into each ingredient at the Palace  for each menu item is incredibly different than other places that do not cook from scratch. For example, Tom explained there is a national chain with a line of "apple wood grilled" menu items, but the apple wood grill is actually a seasoning mix.

We all know chefs don’t eat gourmet every night. What is your ultimate comfort food or quick meal? "I like going to King’s Barbecue in China Town and picking up a barbecued duck.  Then, since we always keep homemade stock at home, I like to add it to ramen or soba noodles, add the sliced duck  or sauté some shrimp, or make a quick forcemeat out of shrimp and duck and make a wonton soup. It’s pretty damn fast to grab a barbecue duck, throw together chopped carrots, onions and dried shiitake mushrooms for a soup."

You’ve recently launched a line of cooking tools, what cooking tool was an absolute necessity to include in your line? What tools would you suggest every home cook invest in? Tom said he has two knife lines, a private label and more of a commercial line.  Tom said when they designed the line, they paid special attention to the knife handles, for a secure grip. He explained that everyone should have a good knife of course, but that also hotpots and hot plates are a charming way to serve food, and though not a necessity by any means, they are a nice pieces to own. "If you have been to Lola when they bring out the squid skewers, pour Ouzo on the hot plate and it sizzles…it's a fun thing,  though, once hot enough, any cast iron pan makes an excellent hot plate."

What food or restaurant trends do you see for 2010? Is there a certain ingredient that you have recently discovered? Or a meal that inspired you? “I think that modern Indian cooking will be explored more and more, and I’m excited about that. Indian food is not one dimensional, it’s a big country and we are going to continue to see more of it.

I personally love shiso, especially in melon salads, and it’s becoming more and more available at other markets besides Asian markets."

There are a lot of people cooking at home these days, is this a good thing in your opinion? Has this impacted your restaurants? "Cooking at home is a great thing. The more people cook at home, the more they appreciate eating in restaurants. People can be awfully critical about what they get for the price they are paying.  I don’t think the general public understands that  the cost includes rent, energy, offering a living wage to employees and, when possible, healthcare options. The more people cook, the more they expect, which is good for us, because the more they will eat at better quality restaurants."

Arugula was chosen as a must-have green for the White House garden. What is your must-have green in your fridge/garden?  "Broccoli rabe, not broccolini- I can’t stand the name, any sort of broccoli, regular ol’ broccoli, gai lon, I’m a broccoli hound."

Most people say that you never stop learning when it comes to cooking, do you agree with that? What it something you recently learned even after all of your experience? "I’ve always said the more you are on the line, the more you learn from everyone on the line.  But I’ve been hanging out with Thierry, so I haven’t learned anything," Tom laughs. Tom says they have had a variety of immigrants and refugees cooking on the line over the years and several times they have tasted what they have brought in for lunch and then turned it into a menu item.

What restaurants, pubs, or bars are you currently frequenting? Are their certain chefs you are currently watching? "None in particular, I go to them all. I learned to cook by eating in restaurants. I’ve spent a fortune, it’s how I get inspiration."

What is your opinion on restaurants and chefs using social media?  I see you have a Twitter account. How do you see social media as a tool in the future? "Katie O. handles our Twitter account, I don’t have time for it, but as a company, we have made time for it," he says. Tom says they have a Facebook page, and he’s heard that he has a bunch of friends on there.   Prior to his Facebook account, he had to have a cease and desist order on an imposter who was making false accusations and claiming he was Tom Douglas.  “We have a blog. I like blogs better than Twitter, blogs are more interesting than Twitter."

What local farms, foragers or gardens are you currently sourcing from? " Too many to name. Eric Tanaka handles all of that. Each chef is able to pick and choose from any farm they want, but they are also responsible for their food costs." Tom says, "Unfortunately,you cannot pay retail for ingredients in our business and expect the customer to pay on top of that, it changes the dynamic."

You mastered the crab cake, introduced Seattle to great Greek food and opened a  gourmet pizza joint, so what next? Tom laughs, “Well, I don’t really know, but I will tell you that it will open in June.”