Kim Alter - Creating Food Memories

I just really wanted something that was a little bit more lighthearted where we could come and sit. There aren't tablecloths and we're not too precious and the music might be a little bit louder. But you're still getting the refinement of food that you would get in a more upscale restaurant. So I think the theme adds a little bit of fun to it and there's a story. I wanted a story to translate. Some hold really special to my heart like I did a menu about my mom going blind. And then how she was able to regain her vision near the end she had the surgery. Then the menu kind of translated. It was very blurry and beige and then all of a sudden bright colors things you could eat with your hands. So a lot of times it just comes from the mode I'm in and where I'm at emotionally and just kind of comes from all different places.

What we covered in this episode

Chef Kim Alter describes the difficulty of opening a restaurant in San Francisco.
Would she has done things differently looking back at it today when working on opening her restaurant.
Does women have access in 2019 to the same opportunities as men in restaurants.
Chef Kim Alter describes her Linden Room bar concept and her restaurant Nightbird.
The themed menus at Nightbird changes every 2 to 3 weeks.
What is the inspiration behind the themed menus.
Master the techniques first and apply them to the products that are available to resonate with your menu idea.
The Chef talks about her recent trip to Taipei (Taiwan).
How does she keeps her team motivated.
She talks about her mentors and what they brought to her.
Fermentation is one of her latest obsession.
Alliums are irreplaceable to her.
Buying quality ingredients is the number one when you are making something simple.
Chef Kim Alter talks about her consultancy work.
Sustainability and waste management are part of the way menus are conceptualized at Nightbird.
5 rapid-fire questions!

Links to other episodes in San Francsico

Chef Chris Cosentino – Cockscomb

Chef Kim Alter's summer salad recipe

Definitely go to farmer's market so you can kind of pick out everything on your own. I really love grilled or seared little gems and I was just at the farmer's market this morning and grabbed some little gems you cut them in half grilled them or sear them on in your outside or inside on your stove. And then same with peaches charring peaches there's so much sugar in them you could get a little bit of char to give like a bitter sweetness and then just like a charred peach salad mash ups some of those peaches as the vinaigrette with a little bit of lemon juice super simple and like get some Burrata from the cheese chop and just like a Burrata, grilled little gem with some like chard and pickled peaches would I think be really refreshing and very summery.

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Evolution is a constant word I use. I always want to grow, I always want to learn, and I want to evolve.

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I'd like to think that people are looking at chefs now as a whole and not just as a woman chef and as a man chef but as someone who is talented and smart and can operate a business whether you're a man or a woman.

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When you get taken out of your environment you start thinking outside of the box. You are witnessing new ingredients and techniques and environments that change the way you think.

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