cuisine
Under Schwartz’s direction, Snooze dishes up creative and eclectic twists on American morning time classics, from a breakfast pot pie and pineapple upsidedown pancakes to quinoa porridge and chilaquiles Benedict. HOW DID YOU GET INTO COOKING? Quite literally, I got into cooking in my swim trunks. I used to sneak into a local country club’s pool to swim growing up. During a particularly great day of “breaking and entering,” I heard that the club chef was short a dishwasher. I walked over – soaking wet and in my suit – and volunteered to help out. Washing those dishes led me to a job food prepping at the club, which led to making pizzas and eventually to working the line. Thankfully, I eventually got a uniform. It would have been cold in those swim trunks in the winter. WHY BREAKFAST? Because it’s the most important meal of the day, of course! Actually, I moved over to Snooze and into the breakfast world by design. Not only does it give me a chance to play around with ingredients I might not get to use during dinner service, but it gives me more time for my real job – being a dad.
CHEF CONVERSATIONS
HOW DOES SNOOZE FIND WAYS TO CONTINUOUSLY INNOVATE NEW MENU CONCEPTS? Teamwork! We change our menu four times a year, in line with the seasons. To make it happen, I get together with my fellow Snooze chefs across Arizona, Colorado, California and Texas every couple of months, and we laugh, cook, eat and drink until magic happens.
In the kitchen with Jon “Schwartzn’egger” Schwartz, head chef at Snooze in Kierland Commons
WHAT ONE INGREDIENT DO YOU ESPECIALLY LOVE TO USE? I love working with cinnamon. While there is a distinct “winter” flavor to it, cinnamon is unbelievably versatile in both sweet and savory dishes. It’s also the perfect ingredient to layer flavors, like our cinnamon butter. Try it on one of our Sinful Pancakes, a buttermilk pancake with white chocolate chips, salty bacon and candied pecans. It will change your life.
BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ PHOTO BY DEBBY WOLVOS
EVERYONE KNOWS BREAKFAST IS BETTER WITH A BEVERAGE. WHAT’S YOUR POISON? I am a Blood Mary guy, especially this time of year when we are able to bring in freshpicked, vine-ripened tomatoes. My current favorite is our Gazpacho Blood Mary, which combines refreshing cucumbers and tomatoes with pepper, garlic-infused Mell Vodka and our house mix. Snooze,15054 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale; 480.664.3133; www.snoozeeatery.com.
SO SCOTTSDALE! |
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| SEPTEMBER 2016
8/24/16 8:29 AM