Celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Eric Ripert and Nigella Lawson are rock stars in today’s culture. And as much as the Food Network, Iron Chef and other lifestyle staples of cable television have encouraged home cooks to be more adventurous in their own kitchens, it is men and women preparing gourmet meals in front of the camera who are the headliners. Alexis Tarrazi spoke with local chefs about their job, their avocation and their menus for this eight-part series, Rock Star Chefs. These chefs will tell you that the journey to stardom is tougher than it seems behind all the cameras and lights.
3 Sparta Junction, Sparta Township, N.J.
973-729-6464 or mohawkhouse.com.
Hours
Monday through Sunday noon to close.
Lifestyle Cooking Show
Featuring Executive Chef Ken Salmon & Host Niki Morville
SEC-TV CHANNEL 10
Fridays 6:30 and 11:30 p.m.
Saturdays 4 and 7 p.m.
"I grew up here," he said. "Who would've thought I would end up working in Sparta."
Culinary Career
Salmon began his culinary journey at the Lake Mohawk Country Club as a dishwasher. At 18, Salmon enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. and then worked at a variety of restaurants, including the Commander's Palace in New Orleans where Emeril Lagasse was executive chef and later at Gigino Trattoria in Tribeca in New York City.
Returning to the Garden State, Salmon took a different path as a consultant for 20 to 30 restaurants where he would help with such things as menu ideas. "Working in different aspects of the food industry helped me to get where I am now," he said. "It allowed me to learn to do things in so many different ways."
Getting a bit adventurous, Salmon traveled to Italy. "I loved the history and of course the food."
His trek took him to Positano, Rome and Naples. Salmon eventually moved into a hostel where he would walk up a mountain every day to work at Il Ritrovo in Positano — which is literally built in a cave on the side of a cliff. "It was tough (in Positano) because in the beginning the locals would spit on the ground at Americans, but eventually I earned their respect because I worked very hard," he said.
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| Ken Salmon Executive Chef of the Mohawk House in Sparta N.J. |
Returning To His Roots
After seven months abroad, Salmon returned to Sparta to be executive chef at the Mohawk House.
His menu rotates depending on what is in season. The social media has also afforded him the opportunity to offer ingredients such as wild boar and octopus.
Local produce is critically important, so much so that the Mohawk House lists on its menu where it gets its local ingredients. Such dishes include food from Mosefund Farm in Branchville, N.J.; Jaindel Farms in Orefield, Pa.; Goffle Road Farm in New Jersey; Liedy's Farm in Lancaster, Pa.; and Seven Acre Baker in Newton, N.J.
"I love educating people about food," Salmon said. "Food is like music and art. Every dish allows my artistic side to come out."