Page 21 - Priorities #47 2010-June/July

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James Klimowski, ’02, works as lead line cook doing fish sauté at Mad- era Restaurant, part of the Rosewood Ho- tel in Menlo Park.
What’s the best thing on the menu?
I’m going to shoot myself in the foot for saying this because everyone who
reads this is going to want one: my halibut dish at Madera. It’s pan seared halibut with Maitaki mushrooms, crab mushrooms, snap peas, smoked zucchini and pea tendrils, with a lime butter glaze, coconut limebasilnage,andpassionfruit. Itlooksandtasteslikeheaven. Your greatest culinary triumph?
Graduating culinary school with honors, even though I’d never stepped into a professional kitchen prior to that.
Any surprises about the path you’ve taken?
I went to Humboldt State for economics and business, and now I cook for a living!
How did Priory prepare you for where you are now?
Priory helped in giving me the work ethic I have today.
What was your favorite meal in the dining hall?
Father Martin’s pesto pizza, hands down.
Dave Rogers ‘71, works at award-winning Windsor Vineyards in Healdsburg and their tasting room in
Tiburon.
What’s your favorite wine, and why?
Zinfandel. It has the most saponins and resveratrol for health benefits.
Do you order red wine with seafood?
Yes! Especially grilled salmon, ahi tuna, barbecued oysters or Cajun prawns.
Have you ever stomped the grapes?
No, but I do go to the annual grape stomp at the Sonoma County Har- vest Fair in October. There’s both a stomper and a swabbie on each team. The stomper acts as a human piston, and the swabbie swabs the juice into a little cup and runs to fill up a numbered cylinder with grape juice. The winner is the one who has the most juice in the cyl- inder after five minutes. It’s the most entertaining five minutes in the world, and the winners get big money.
What part did Priory play in your journey?
It taught me that both discipline and a sense of humor are needed to complete any project satisfactorily.
Laura Timpe, ’98, attended cu- linary school at Napa Valley College and then trained at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. She now works as a pastry chef in the banquet kitchen at the Santa Clara Marriott.
What’s the best part of your job?
When I worked at Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, we had a window in the kitchen and we could look out at the customers enjoying the baked goods. I think the look on people’s
faces after trying something I made is one of the best parts of the job.
Your greatest culinary triumph?
Getting the approving nod from my grandparents after I made bis- cotti for my grandpa. The recipe is a family recipe from Italy, and my grandpa’s cousin is the one person who could make it really well— until I got my hands on it!
Favorite Priory memory?
During spirit week of senior year, we convinced Father Maurus and Father Martin to let us borrow the school bus. We decorated the bus in the senior colors and one of the fathers drove us to Red Square where the rally was being held. The class of ‘98 really came together for that project. The looks on the other classes’ faces were priceless!
How was the food at Priory?
I always liked the food in the cafeteria. But more so I loved the peo- ple that made the food. Juliana, Kathy, Nate and the whole crew. Juliana would greet me so kindly, and always had a wonderful smile on her face!
Ethan Howard, ’91, is the pastry chef for the Cavallo Point Lodge at Fort Baker in Sausalito, CA, and for its restaurant, Murray Circle. His resume includes stints at Buchon Bakery and French Laundry in Yountville, Paillard Patisserie and Bistro in New York City, and Fleur de Lis in San Francisco, as
well as Martini House in St. Helena which he opened with chef Todd Humphreys.
Your greatest culinary triumph?
In my early 20s, I got a dish on the menu at The French Laundry that Thomas Keller, the chef and owner, liked. It was a sweet potato cus- tard served with a mulled wine reduction, with candied pistachios, a little sweet bourbon Chantilly, and fried yam chips seasoned with sugar and cinnamon on top. To be able to create something and get his approval to plate it for the dining public was something that I’ll never forget.