Perennial Inspiration

Too many cooks can spoil the stew, but at one Chicago restaurant, two executive-level chefs co-develop the menu.

By Kate Leahy, Senior Associate Editor -- Restaurants and Institutions, 8/5/2008 11:58:00 AM

Giuseppe Tentori

Some of the best ideas can be destroyed through group editing. At the same time, effective teamwork is behind all successful operations—which helps to explain why Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm, the restaurateurs behind Chicago’s popular spots Boka and Landmark, decided that two chefs were better than one for their new Chicago destination, Perennial.

Meet the Chefs

Giuseppe Tentori is a Charlie Trotter’s alumnus who took over operations at Boka as executive chef nearly two years ago. Ryan Poli, whose resume includes stints at The French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., and Butter in Chicago, is chef de cuisine. Tentori worked with Katz and Boehm to define the concept’s focus in the planning stages. Poli was brought on to execute the team’s vision. For the time being, the duo craft Perennial’s American bistro menus together.

“The guests benefit from having two chefs really thinking out the menu,” Poli says. “It’s very approachable. We try not to go too over the top. We’re both professionals. We’re two chefs, and we’re opening a new restaurant. Let’s just do this.”

How They Work

“First, we take our ego out,” Tentori says. “We talk a lot about dishes and food. After we taste a dish, we say this dish needs a change. Or this dish is too big.”

Ryan Poli

Yet for the partnership to work, the chefs, who didn’t know each other well beforehand, had to get to know each other’s cooking styles. Tentori likens their preliminary meeting to a first date.

“It was like you go out on a first date and you’re not sure that this is the right person,” he says.

Poli agrees: “Here we are, two guys trying to talk. We’re at Boka. We’re kind of looking at each other. It’s really quiet. Then Giuseppe says, ‘I want to do a play on chicken wings.’ I say, ‘Okay, what did you have in mind?’ He says, ‘That’s all I got so far.’”

They started discussing what they liked about chicken wings. Questions arose. What if the blue cheese becomes a sauce or a foam? What if the chicken was cooked in duck fat?
They also started to understand one another’s culinary styles. “Giuseppe’s a little Asian-influenced; I’m very Spanish and French,” Poli says. “He likes a lot of spice and deep flavors. He wants something to pop in every dish. Which is what I like to do, too.”

The Result

The first dish the duo created—“Wings and Beer”—evolved from the discussion of buffalo wings. The meat from chicken legs cooked in duck fat is pulled apart and reformed around the chicken bones into a lollipop shape. The legs are fried to order, tossed in a 12-spice gastrique, and placed atop beer-braised onions and cabbage slaw. A blue-cheese foam garnishes the plate.

Tentori and Poli share ideas on dishes such as Duck with Caramelized Cauliflower, Almonds, and Pickled Raisins.

So far, reviews on the dish have been mixed. Some critics have praised the flavor and tenderness of the chicken; others have questioned the foam. But as Tentori has learned through experience, “It’s impossible to please everyone.”

The Future

Tentori already is brainstorming ideas for a new restaurant in Chicago. He says he’d like to serve healthful food as well as bone marrow to a late-night crowd, particularly hungry restaurant-industry employees. With Poli focused on fine-tuning Perennial, Tentori may be going it alone on this idea.

“Eventually, Giuseppe will focus on Boka; I’ll do Perennial,” Poli says. But it’s likely that the two chefs will continue to share ideas. “I was just at Boka and saw [Tentori] had some smoke powder,” adds Poli. “And I thought, maybe we can do something with that.”