Photo courtesy of Chris McIntosh
Recent Work
Chris worked at Bleu Boheme in Kensington, San Diego, California. This is one of Ken Irvine's award-winning restaurants. It is a traditional rustic French restaurant serving many different kinds of mussel sauces with the locally supplied mussels, pork, steaks, seafood, and fresh produce from southern California. There are weekly specials ranging from heirloom tomato appetizers to rockfish entrees. Scrumptious desserts are made by the pastry chef which include cheesecake made from three different types of cheese, a seasonal ice cream and sorbet that changes every week, creme brûlée, chocolate mousse cake and many others.
From 2016-2017, Chris worked at The Heart & Trotter - a whole animal butcher shop in North Park, San Diego, California. He brined and smoked the bacon, made chicken liver parfait (pate with spiced herbed butter on the outside), and amongst other projects, assists customers in selecting the best choice meats that are brought in from sustainable farms in California.
From 2015-2017, Chris worked as a cook at Chris' Ono Grinds (Hawaiian food) in North Park, San Diego, California. "Ono Grinds" means delicious food.
Starting in August 2013, Chris joined the team at Vee Vee in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. This 35-seat restaurant serves creative seasonal American fare sourcing from local sustainable farms and purveyors as much as possible. Chris has since left Vee Vee in August 2015 to travel through Europe and moved home to California - relocating to San Diego.
Chris held it down at the Garde Manger (French for "Pantry Manager") station plating salads and appetizers such as the wedge salad made with local iceberg lettuce, grape tomatoes, roasted beets, smoked tomato vinaigrette and crispy chickpeas. A huge customer favorite is the Essen: (short for "S and S") shrimp and scallop fried cakes with chipotle aioli and salsa. The desserts change seasonally and may include a house-made butterscotch pudding with sweetened vanilla whipped cream and house-made toffee, a donut cake with macerated fruit, a flourless fallen chocolate cake with candied pistachios and hazelnuts, and rotating assorted sorbets such as watermelon, peach, rhubarb, and blueberry, to name a few. Chris loves to make ice cream including toffee ice cream with house-made toffee and a pumpkin ice cream with maple glazed pecans. Chris made a version of the candy bar called "Whatchamacallit." His version had peanut butter rice crispies with graham cracker, caramel, dark chocolate, and was topped with sea salt. |
From February to July, 2013, Chris joined the team at Ten Tables Cambridge. He worked the Garde Manger station and made the desserts. He handled all of the salads, hot and cold soups, appetizers, pates including rabbit rillette, pork pate maison, pheasant and chantrelle mushroom rillette, and desserts like chocolate terrine with house-made salted toffee ice cream and "summer pudding"--macerated farm strawberries mixed with fluffy sponge cake layered with lemon mousse made with house-made lemon curd, topped with candied lemon zest.
Previously, he worked at Aquitaine, Boston in the South End where he worked the fish station most nights and helped out on the Garde Manger station as well.
Prior to that, Chris learned the roast station at Beacon Hill Bistro where he cooked rabbit, short ribs, chicken, duck and lamb.
Before Beacon Hill Bistro, he enjoyed making pizza at Five Horses Tavern. Not only did Chris brave the 5' x 5' oven, he also worked the fry, salad, and grill stations.
From June 2011 - September 2012, Chris was a cook at City Girl Cafe in Cambridge's Inman Square and often contributed to the daily specials. In the summer, he liked to make a watermelon gazpacho consisting of watermelon, cucumber, yellow bell peppers, jalapenos, parsley, and basil. He prepared a variety of paninis, salads, antipasto and also enjoyed working brunch when one of his favorite breakfast paninis was served: goat cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, egg and aioli on french baguette.
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Antipasto Platter at City Girl Cafe. From 12 o'clock clockwise to center: marinated mushrooms, artichoke pate, roasted cherry tomatoes with oregano on a bed of arugula, eggplant caponata, egg with truffle oil and fresh cracked black pepper, sun dried tomatoes, marinated olives, white beans with rosemary, marinated spicy mozzarella, and french baguette slices.
San Diego, California