David Standridge
Has it been a challenge or inspiration to be health focused when you develop recipes at Café Clover?
It's getting easier. I don’t come from a health food background. At Market Table I was known for bringing in 300lb hogs every week, and of course Robuchon is the creator of the mashed potatoes that are 60% butter. It’s been great fun though, that challenge, and has helped me grow as a chef. I think it’s starting to flow a bit more now with some of the new dishes. It’s like playing music, its awkward when you are still learning the notes. I’m starting to feel comfortable enough to improvise a bit now.
What inspired you to you become a chef and what was the genesis to where you are today?
It’s been an interesting road, that is for sure. I’ve had a lot of mini careers before I started cooking professionally. What started me cooking was my mother teaching me to bake when I was a kid and then leaving me home alone with no cookies in the house. Did not take long for me to figure out that I could actually make those. I came up very slowly through the kitchen ranks by current standards. I worked in restaurants or food service much of my youth and then got back into it in my late 20’s. Just loved the industry and the insanity and turmoil of it all.
Restaurants are like the island of misfit toys. I was a line cook for 8 years before I took my first sous chef job, which is long by current standards. I had offers but I felt that you stop learning certain things when you take that management role. I wanted to perfect my technique and really understand what I was doing. What brought me into this concept is just getting to a point where I wanted to be fit and healthy. Clover is the restaurant that I want to eat in.
