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Co-Owner
/ Chef Colby Garrelts
Bluestem,
Kansas City, MO
Chef
Participant: Cooking for
Solutions Conference 2006
Colby
Garrelts, who was named to the 2005 Food & Wine's
Top New Chef's list, began his culinary career at the
age of 14 bussing tables in Kansas City. He always knew
he needed to achieve goals "his way" and therefore
decided to obtain his culinary education in kitchens across
the country. While working as a line cook at a steakhouse,
he learned cooking fundamentals and realized that this
could be a career. After high school, Garrelts began culinary
school and during his apprenticeship cooked at two prestigious
private clubs. It was at Hallbrook that chef Kevin Donavan
taught him the techniques necessary to prepare fine cuisine.
Garrelts was working for James Beard Foundation award-winning
chefs Michael Smith and Debbie Gold at the prominent American
Restaurant, when he got a call about a new restaurant
opening in Kansas City's Westport District. At the Stolen
Grill, he was the sous chef for chef Patrick Weber where
he developed a taste for big city cuisine, small business
acumen and the aspiration to see what culinary experiences
he could acquire in a larger city. With all of this on
his mind, Garrelts moved to Chicago in 1999, where he
became rounds man and then senior sous chef at the five-star,
five-diamond restaurant TRU, under nationally acclaimed
chefs Rick Tramanto and Gale Gand. At TRU, Garrelts honed
his technical skills, developed his culinary style and
met his future wife/partner Megan Schultz.
Still anxious to get additional experience, Garrelts moved
with Schultz to Las Vegas where he assisted Jean Joho
in managing his Eiffel Tower property in the Paris Hotel
and later joined Schultz at Charlie Palmer's Aureole in
the Mandalay Bay Hotel. But in keeping with his desire
to do things "his way," Garrelts wanted to work
in a small restaurant where he could further develop his
culinary style. In Los Angeles, he secured the chef de
cuisine position with Hans Röckenwagner at his Santa
Monica Röckenwagner Restaurant, where he introduced
a small tasting menu to rave reviews. But even there,
Garrelts wanted his own place where he could take the
skills and experiences accumulated from the talented chefs
he had worked under and blend them into his own distinctive
cuisine.
Colby and Megan, who was now his wife, returned to Kansas
City, Mo., in 2003. The couple located a building in the
heart of Westport, Kansas City's entertainment district,
and opened bluestem. The restaurant showcases chef Colby
Garrelts' Progressive American cuisine and Megan's new
varieties of American desserts. A highlight of dining
at bluestem is savoring the seven or 12-course tasting
menu and the decadent dessert tasting menus. The restaurant
has received Wine Spectator's prestigious Award of Excellence.
Still not content to rest on culinary laurels, in 2006
the Garrelts opened bluestem Wine Lounge, next door to
their restaurant.
Insisting on "his way," chef Colby Garrelts
has successfully shown that this can result in an exceptional
restaurant and award-winning cuisine!
Restaurant
:
Bluestem (Progressive American
Cuisine Local, Fresh, Regional)
- Co-Owner / Chef Colby Garrelts
900 Westport Rd
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 561-1101
Chef
Recipe(s):
Striped
Bass and Littleneck Clams with Braised Lily Bulbs and
Chamomile Champagne Emulsion
Other Great Related Links:
Cooking
for Solutions
Healthy
Choices, Healthy Oceans Cooking for Solutions
and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch
Programs are empowering seafood consumers and
businesses to make choices for healthy oceans.
To learn more, visit www.seafoodwatch.org.
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