CHEFPROFILE
Story by Bailey Hemphill
Sweet Potato Beet Salad A Marks Bistro customer favorite (serves 2)
Sweet Potato Puree 1 medium sweet potato 1Tbsp. sour cream 1/4 tsp. chopped fresh garlic salt and pepper to taste Roast potato in oven until soft, then peel. Combine all ingredients together and fold until fully incorporated. Marinated Beets 1 large or 2 small garden beets 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1/4 chopped red onion salt and pepper to taste Cook beets in boiling water for about 25-30 minutes until able to pierce with a sharp knife easily, then rinse and peel the beets. Cut into small dice and combine with other above ingredients. Salad 3 oz. cleaned baby spinach 1 oz. red wine vinegar 3 oz. extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp. honey salt and pepper to taste 2 oz. sweet potato puree 1 oz. marinated beets 1 Tbsp. toasted almonds Combine spinach, red wine vinegar, oil, honey, salt and pepper; top with sweet potato puree, then marinated beets. Finally, garnish with toasted almonds. www.readonlinenow.com
Photo by minorwhitestudios.com
Steve Bolen Marks Bistro
SOme
people are born knowing what they want to do for a career. Others, like Steve Bolen, executive chef at Marks Bistro, stumble onto their careers entirely by accident. Although he has always had a fondness for cooking, Bolen never thought he would one day become a chef. But with both parents and a brother involved in the restaurant business, how could he avoid it? He says with a laugh, “I guess you could say it’s a family affair.” During his college years, Bolen held part-time jobs working at restaurants while studying to become an elementary school teacher. When he realized that cooking was his forte, he left behind his desire to teach others and began teaching himself, taking full-time positions at restaurants where he could learn hands-on about the culinary arts. Though he never received any formal degree from a culinary school, Bolen has 22 years of experience under his belt, gained working at a number of well-known Omaha eateries, including Vivace, Upstream Brewery, Champps Americana, and Abercrombie’s. As for his position as executive chef at Marks Bistro, it was another moment of fate when the position opened up after the chef left in 2007. Bolen applied and has now been working at the Dundee eatery for three years. "Steve has a lot of attributes valuable to us," says Molly Romero, one of the owners of Marks Bistro. "He has a strong work ethic, is creative, and communicates very well between the front and back of the house. "He has a really stable character that, in turn, creates a stable work environment for everyone else; that's one of the main reasons why we made him a partner and shareholder of Marks, which is really uncommon for small businesses to do." Bolen describes himself as a passionate true lover of food. Enjoying food is not simply about eating but also about the work that goes into the handling and preparation, he said. He feels there are never enough hours in the day to work with food and experiment with ingredients, which is why even during his off time, he is cooking. Rather than going out to eat, Bolen loves to grill pork and chicken at home. Come rain, shine or snow year-round, he’s out there manning the grill. Bolen says the best advice he received about cooking came from his grandfather. He told him that, if anything is worth doing, it is worth doing right, which is why the Macaroni & Cheese, his signature dish at Marks Bistro, is always made to perfection. september/october | 2010
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