Brian Olenjack: blazing trails in Southwestern cuisine

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 29, 2004 by Ron Ruggless

Brian Olenjack taps into Texas with his regionally based menu at the 140-seat The Chisholm Club Restaurant in Fort Worth. The restaurant opened in September 2002 and overlooks legendary Sundance Square in the downtown area of the city. His menu emphasizes regional ingredients and features such specialties as chipotle shrimp with house-made tasso ham.

The restaurant's open kitchen blends into a decor that mixes the contemporary with rustic, Western art. A handpainted mural depicting postcards and paintings from the days of the Chisholm Trail, for which the restaurant was named, adorns a wall in the main dining room.

Olenjack has been cooking for 20 years and helped to develop the original Southwestern-cuisine menu for noted downtown Fort Worth restaurant Reata. He also has worked at Sullivan Steakhouse in Chicago, Legal Sea Foods in Boston and Patrizio in Dallas.

Title: executive chef, The Chisholm Club Restaurant, Fort Worth, Texas.

Birth date: Nov. 24,1970

Hometown: Chicago

Education: New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt., and College of DuPage in Chicago

Career highlights: serving as member of the board of directors for the Hill Country Wine and Food Festival; cooking at the James Beard House

How do you describe your menu at The Chisholm Club?

Our menu is Texas regional. I was trained in French techniques, but when I got to Texas, the products were different. I just use a lot of foods that are indigenous to Texas or the surrounding areas--Mexico, New Mexico and Louisiana. Those products make this area so unique.

What are two dishes that typify The Chisholm Club now?

We do a braised antelope rib with a jalapeno jelly. Another would be our sea bass on a bed of broccolini-and-tomato vegetable compote.

What are your favorite ingredients to work with?

I love working with beef. It's therapy. It's the butchering. I love working with unusual onions and garlics. And I enjoy working with different types of game.

How did you get interested in cooking?

It was kind of a fluke. In high school I started off as a dishwasher, and then within a month I actually was working the line at a family-restaurant pizza place in Chicago. I really liked it. When I went to college to get an accounting degree, I said I really didn't like sitting at a desk all day. It wasn't what I was about. On my days off I did a lot of cooking. I started working two nights a week cooking, and then I went off to culinary school.

What were some of the dishes your family cooked?

Pasta marinara, meat loaf, lasagna, omelets--very homey, casual food.

What are the biggest challenges at The Chisholm Club in Fort Worth?

The town is not known as a culinary mecca. The biggest challenge is getting a staff hired and trained. A lot of work goes into staff training and the right and wrong ways to cook. A lot of the guys come from morn-and-pop places so they don't know how to braise or how to sear. They do know how to pan fry. But that's also one of the biggest satisfactions. After a while you see them learning the positions very well and then moving to another position. They start with limited knowledge, but they move up in the culinary field.

What are the satisfactions?

I love to teach. It's very self-gratifying seeing someone blossom and show true talents. That's very rewarding. You see some of them 10 or 15 years later getting their own restaurants.

What do you look for when you're hiring someone?

I look for someone with a lot of desire, someone who really isn't afraid to try something different. If the person is passionate about food and passionate about people, that's what we are all about.

Where do you turn for creative inspiration?

I look at everybody. I just enjoy eating. I don't have a limited repertoire of foods I like. I also pay attention to what's going on in magazines and cookbooks. You see a new product, and all of a sudden 15 different ideas come into your head. It's from everywhere.

How often do yon change your menu?

We change it every six to eight weeks. For inspiration, you've got to have people around you to learn from as well. You keep your ears and eyes open and work with it.

What are the advantages of an open kitchen?

It's a sense of security for the customer. You have to have great sanitation, great hygiene. Areas have to be organized and clean. That makes the guest more comfortable. It builds confidence.

What are the advantages of being in Texas?

Texas is a great state to be in because it's in the central United States. We get products from the East Coast, the West Coast and Mexico, all over the place. There's a plethora of products, so you're never bored.

What's a pitfall you see often?

People don't understand the value of seasoning, including such basics as salt. A lot of people seem to be afraid of it, and you can't be. You can be lenient, but at the same time don't be afraid to use it.

How do you like to use spices?

We use a lot of chiles here. An ancho chile powder can add a new layer to your cooking and add new flavors. We don't add the chiles' heat to the food, but rather the flavor. Just a little ancho powder in a fish rub or a chicken rub makes all the difference in the world.