Richard Blais is probably best known for his appearances on television's Top Chef, both as a contestant and as a judge, but he definitely knows his way around a genuine restaurant kitchen thanks to his stints at spots like Flip Burger and Crack Shack. So when Blais visits a restaurant, even one that is driven by a celebrity chef like himself, he knows the real heroes of the meal are the folks working the line at the back of the house.
This made him a good choice to represent Budweiser when they decided to create a web series called "Back of the House." The basic conceit of the program is that Blais visits restaurants and enjoys a meal there, after which he heads to the kitchen with the head chef to meet the folks who are really preparing most of the food. After a bit of banter about how hard their jobs are and how underappreciated they are (very valid statements, BTW), Blais rewards the staff with some free Americas, I mean Buds, while he cooks them up a mess of burgers inspired by the meal he had just eaten.
It's an interesting concept, though I can imagine it will get a little bit repetitive over time. Fortunately, interested Nashvillians need only watch the first two episodes if they are looking for local color, since those particular videos feature the rock stars behind the pass at Husk and Rolf and Daughters.
The premiere of the series was filmed late one night at Husk as chef Sean Brock serves Blais new versions of shrimp-and-grits as well as crab rice and introduces him to kitchen stalwarts Carlos Jurado, Chase Voelz, Nate Leonard and Mykel Burkhart. Blais feeds the staff some Flintstones-sized crab and rice burgers that he cooked in Benton's bacon fat, because, y'know, it's Husk. Even more interesting are the origin stories shared by some of the Husk staff as they sing for their supper.
For the Rolf and Daughters episode, chef Philip Krajeck cooked Blais a meal of his "seasonal and simple food," a sweet potato dish smeared with nduja and an umami-rich mafalde pasta dish flavored with all sorts of mushroom preparations. Dauer Ellis, Ray Nichols, Owen Clark and Sean Sears are the chefs and cooks featured in the episode, answering questions like what is the most popular dish at R&D. (The garganelli, duh.) Blais then buys a round for the kitchen while he cooks up lamb burgers with nduja ketchup. The kitchen team appears quite content with their late-night meal of Blais-ey fare.
Sure, the idea of Buds and burgers is pretty obvious and maybe a little hackneyed, but the concept of recognizing and finding out more about the back-of-house crews that work at acclaimed restaurants is certainly worthwhile. I'm seeing more menus that actually have "beers for the kitchen" as an item that diners can order as a way to show their appreciation, so perhaps this is a more natural connection than would be apparent at first glance.
No matter why or how, it's always great to see the spotlight shine on the talented staffs at places like Husk and Rolf and Daughters. Take a peek at the short episodes yourself to better know a sous chef.
