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Chef Guillermo Tellez just checked in with some great info on Square 1682, his up-for-fall restaurant in the Hotel Palomar by Kimpton (121 s. 17th St.). A native of Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, Tellez was the longtime chef de cuisine at the renowned Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, and more recently worked for Stephen Starr as both a menu consultant and the executive chef of Striped Bass. He's planning a menu of globally influenced New American cuisine, with a serious focus on local, organic and sustainable sourcing.
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Kimpton is well-known for the "chef-driven" restaurants in its hotels. How did you become involved with this project? Did it help that you had experience here in Philly?
I think they figured I�m familiar with this market here, and also my background working with small farmers and organic, sustainable agriculture. I�ve been doing sustainable cuisine for the past 30 years, so that was a big part of what they were looking for in a chef for this restaurant.
Square 1682 aims to become the first LEED-certified restaurant in Philadelphia. What must be addressed to ensure the food meets the requirements?
[To earn LEED certification], you must undergo a review. I am very careful of the farms we�re selecting. This is a little bit of a challenge, though, because some farms are not certified organic officially �� they practice being organic and they follow all the guidelines, but unfortunately, to be able to get certified is very expensive for them, so they�re not able to call themselves organic because of the financial part of it. I live in Downingtown, so I always go to Amish country and many small farms to try and get some good stuff for us. I just had a meeting with a farm called Shellbark Hollow � they gave me some unbelievable samples, and I�m going to use them for goat cheese and for yogurt. Really, really good.
How will the global influences promised for Square 1682's menu be conveyed, considering all the local products you'll be using?
The main proteins will be sourced from local farms around here, farms that follow hormone-free guidelines and raise free-range animals. There will be flavor influences, but [full-on global dishes] are not going to be the main staples. It�ll be a couple spices, a few ingredients � curry, just to throw an example out there, might be paired with seafood or some kind of meat. I�m going to have some Latino influences in there, and Asian influences, too � a little bit of everything. But they�ll be more like finishing touches.
Many people view your former boss Charlie Trotter's 2002 decision to stop serving foie gras as the tipping point for the foie controversy in America. Philadelphia has also been a hotbed for the debate. Will foie be on the menu at Square 1682?
We totally believe in animals being raised in a very humane way. [Working for Charlie Trotter's], we toured a lot of the foie gras farms, and I got to see everything. The particular farms that we toured, their whole systems were very good, so we didn't have a problem serving foie gras. I love foie gras. But back then, they didn't have a high demand, so they were able to work and raise the animals in a humane way. When the demand started pressuring them, though, that's when people started falling out of the circle. When we found out, we sent some people to check it out, and indeed they were doing something that we did not agree with. That triggered the whole thing. Foie gras is a great thing, and I love to have it on a menu, but it's all about the principle.
For Square 1682, I can't tell you I'm not going to have it on the menu, but I can't tell you that I will have it. Right now, I don't have it on the menu, but you never know when you'll come across a small farm that does it right.
The seafood you'll serve will also be sustainable, adhering to the guidelines set by the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch program. Is maintaining high standards with fish more difficult than with meat or produce, since the threatened species change so frequently?
It�s not easy. [You have to be] really willing to go the distance. It�s just a matter of researching and doing additional things. We�ll be using wild and line-caught seafood � things that are not endangered. If you work closely together, you can stay on top of the changes.
I think a lot of [chefs ignoring sustainability] comes from laziness. We don�t want to read about it, we don�t way to stay in tune. But the guidelines that they give you � it�s a lot of seafood. You�re not limited to just three or four kinds. It�s quite a few things, and it�s up to you as a chef to really develop your menus around it.
[...] Meal Ticket :: Blog Archive :: INTERVIEW: Chef Guillermo Tellez of Square 1682 :: Philadelphia City ... mealticket.blogs.citypaper.net/blogs/mu/2009/08/28/interview-chef-guillermo-tellez-of-square-1682 – view page – cached o • That was [DEL: un :DEL] expected: Brad Lidge blows save o • That was [DEL: un :DEL] expected: Fumo wants to pick his — From the page [...]
[...] by Kimpton (121 s. 17th St.) is right on track for an October 14 opening. Meal Ticket spoke with Square chef Guillermo Tellez late in August for the details on the upmarket project, which aims to be the first LEED-certified [...]
[...] Guillermo Tellez, whom we recently spoke to here on Meal Ticket, says he’s working right now pickling and preserving seasonal vegetables for the colder [...]
[...] Want more on the green-first project? Check out out Sept. 30 slideshow of the interior and our Aug. 28 interview with chef Guillermo Tellez. Dinner will be served Sunday to Thursday from 5:30 to 10, and till 11 on Friday and Saturday. [...]
hola chef como estas soy felix el chavo que estaba trabajando en palmilla el que era steward y lo paso en la cocina michef
chef quiero platicar con usted me interesa saber de usted te mando mi numero de cel: 045 624 1768119 mi correo es chefcito.artificial@hotmal.com
hola mi chef no has podido rsponderme
[...] more on the spot, check out our interview with Tellez, slideshow and Trey Popp’s December ‘09 review. Daytime dealage at Square [...]
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