Wisconsin's Super Chef Tory Miller
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Wisconsin’s Super Chef Tory Miller Wisconsin’s prolific chef Tory Miller specialises in dishes made from seasonal, locally sourced, sustainable, and organic ingredients. This is the common theme that runs through his four otherwise diverse restaurants in Madison – recently opened tapas offeringEstrellón , fine-dining restaurant L’Etoile, the gastropub Graze, and pan-Asian Sujeo. Here Miller descibes what inspires his cooking, and shares what he considers to be Madison’s gastronomic highlights. What was your childhood ambition? I actually always knew I wanted to be a chef. From a young age, I helped at my grandparents’ diner and I just loved cooking and creating food. Once I got older, I knew that I had to make it my career. What are your earliest memories of food? Being at my grandparents’ restaurant and watching the older members of my family cook on the flattop grill. When I was small, I could barely see over the top of it, but I wanted to know what was going on. Estrellón is a departure for you – what was the appeal of opening a tapas restaurant? Honestly, there wasn’t a tapas restaurant in Madison. And after traveling abroad and experiencing fantastic tapas, I knew that I wanted to share that with our city. In looking at all the restaurants here, that was the one thing missing for me. And I think that tapas happens to be the model of how people enjoy dining: eating lots of small plates and trying different things. What can diners expect at Estrellón? They can expect Spanish-style food with a lot of Midwest and Wisconsin influence. Guests can choose a variety of dining experiences at Estrellón, and that’s how we designed the restaurant. If you want to stop in for breakfast at our café, you can enjoy a coffee with a jamón and tomate croissant, or a crepe. If you’re looking for a few bites and drinks with your friends, you can order some tapas from our tapas bar paired with cocktails or wine. And if you’re looking to go all out, you can order a full dinner – say paella and some smaller plates – from our dining room menu. Tell us about your other restaurants. Do you have a favorite? Or is that like asking you to choose your favorite child? L’Etoile features fine-dining, French-influenced cuisine with a seasonally rotating menu. Graze offers more casual food in a relaxed environment, and Sujeo has a wide range of Asian dishes from countries like Korea, Thailand, Japan, China, and Vietnam. I’d have to say Sujeo is my favorite because it’s the most casual environment and it’s the food I love to eat. It’s where a chef would want to go when they’re not working. You’ve worked closely with the school system – tell us about this. CHOW is a program that we’re excited about and one that we started a while ago; it’s basically a way for chefs to give back to the community. We teach seventh graders all about cooking and sourcing ingredients, which is honestly a perfect age for them to learn about real food and how to prepare it. We helped them build a garden at [Madison’s] Sherman Middle School, and then they learn the process from growing the food to putting it on a plate to eat. You’ve put Madison, Wisconsin on the culinary map – how do you feel about that? Ha! I feel old, I guess! But it’s honestly always cool to feel like that in any situation – like you’ve seen it grow and evolve. There are so many great young cooks in this city, and it’s good to look at other people’s food and see the influence we’ve had over the years. Not that I’m saying everyone is trying to be the same as us, but you can just see how big local food has become, and you can see some influence in plating style and menu style. It’s crazy to see the evolution over the past 17 years until now. Tell us about your favorite local… Suppliers and local produce Wisconsin has the best cheese in the world. Cheese is the number one for me. We have so many great people making cheese, whether it’s Hooks, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, or SarVecchio. Besides cheese, we have lots of great local grazers, chickens, and more. Something I’m proud of is that we’ve completely eliminated the use of consignment animals in 2015 because of how much we’re able to source from local producers. Local market and places to buy food The farmers’ market is always my favorite. It’s around the square in the spring, summer, and fall, and moves indoors in the winter. It’s the best way to come face to face with where your food is coming from. I love having conversations with the farmers I source from and building relationships with them. There are so many great young cooks in Wisconsin. It’s good to look at other people’s food and see the influence we’ve had over the years. Places to eat when you’re not in one of your own restaurants Salvatore’s Tomato Pies for really amazing pizza. I always go to Underground Butcher for sandwiches. Village Bar is a little dive bar, but they have the best cheeseburgers. La Mestiza is great Mexican food from some chefs who used to work with Rick Bayless [best known for his PBS series Mexico: One Plate at a Time]. Places to drink, and what you like to drink there Gib’s Bar and Forequarter both have fantastic cocktail programs, so I like to go to those places when I can. Otherwise, I love a good bourbon. Which shops could you not live without and why? Chef Knives to Go is one of the best knife stores in the world, but they have no storefront, so you have to make appointments. But I promise it won’t disappoint. Another of my favorites is Fraboni’s Italian Specialties & Delicatessen – it is a great Italian market. I always go there on Sundays to get some ingredients for dinner. If we only had one day in Madison, what should we do? The ideal day in Madison is going to the farmers’ market in the morning to buy some great ingredients, and then head down to the Memorial Union at the University of Wisconsin for some local beers on its terrace overlooking the lake. What are the flavors of spring for you? To me, spring is light, grassy, and mossy flavors. We always get a lot of asparagus and a lot of wild things like mushrooms, ramps, or cattail roots..