What is your go-to restaurant meal? We’ve got a 2-year-old, so if we do go out, it’s usually someplace simple where we know exactly what we’re going to get and exactly how it’s going to taste. I would say Fogo de Chao. My wife is Brazilian, so that’s the place we’ll head if we get a chance to go have lunch.
What do you wish someone would make for you? Enchiladas. I love enchiladas. About once every three weeks, I make a giant pan of enchiladas for myself at home. Then I eat as many as I can, and the rest I individually wrap and put in the fridge and eat throughout the week. Then I can’t stand the sight of them for another month. I wish somebody would make them for me. What is the most challenging dish you’ve prepared? There’s not really an individual dish that’s challenging for me, except for the circumstances I’m preparing it in. Who do you most want to cook for and why? Usually it’s my mom. I don’t get to see her much because she lives in Georgia, so when I do, I love being able to cook for her at home.
Justin Voldan Hotel Phillips 106 West 12th Street What is your three-sentence résumé? Self-taught (but there have been a lot of chefs who have helped me), large resorts and hotels and very few stand-alone restaurants, a lot of banquet experience. I didn’t go to culinary school. What is your favorite ingredient? I really enjoy cooking with scallops. They’re very versatile, and I can do them a dozen different ways off the top of my head. Most people seem to like them. I really like duck – it’s a very underutilized bird. On my one day off a week, five years ago, I’d go to the store, get a duck, and just break it down and cook it all day. Is there an ingredient you can’t stand or don’t get? I really don’t like to work with doughs. Something that always made me mad as a young chef was trying to make pizza crust. What three things are always in your fridge at home? Water. I’m a single guy. I don’t have much. I usually have some kind of Cajunstyle sausage, almond milk and garlic – I think those are always in there. continued on page 24 20
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What do you make for company? I just had a house party the other day. I did garlic and gorgonzola crostini and sea bass with vegetable risotto.