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10 QUESTIONS
WITH ROBERT ST. JOHN
TEXT BY ROBYN JACKSON
a cc e n t s o u t h m i s s i s s i p p i 39
DO YOU LEAVE THAT TO YOUR WIFE , management will close a good and I thank God multiples times
J ILL ? W HAT ’ S YOUR FAVORITE RECIPE TO location. All of our restaurant’s every day.
COOK AT HOME ? daily successes are a result of
Jill cooks for the family, I management (not me, the man- Muz’s Fudge Cake
cook for friends. Cioppino or agers) following through on our (Brownies)
Baked Shrimp and Squash (Both policies and goals. Conversely,
of which are in the new book). when we drop the ball, it’s usu- 4 squares Baker’s chocolate
ally due to management not fol- 2 sticks butter
8. You travel a lot and dine in lowing through on our mission. 4 eggs
some of America’s best restaurants. I’m proud to say that our 2 cups sugar
W HAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THESE management team is the best in 1 cup flour
DINING EXPERIENCES THAT YOU HAVE the state. We are hitting on all 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
BROUGHT BACK TO YOUR OWN RESTAU - cylinders right now. Our suc- extract
RANTS ? cess is 100 percent due to their 1 cup nuts, chopped
Tons, too many to mention. I hard work. Pinch of salt
believe that it is vital to get out
there and see what’s happening 10. A RE YOU EVER SURPRISED AT HOW Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
in the culinary world across the SUCCESSFUL YOU ARE ? W HEN YOU Melt chocolate and butter
country. I have always been a STARTED OUT, DID YOU EVER IMAGINE together in a double boiler. Once
firm believer in that concept. I DOING ALL THE THINGS YOU ’ RE DOING incorporated, let cool slightly.
bring a lot of ideas back here NOW ? Cooled chocolate should still be
and we implement them in our I don’t really think of myself liquid in form.
restaurants. It’s the only way to as all that successful. I’m just a Mix together the four eggs and
stay fresh and on the cutting lucky guy who’s been in the gradually add the two cups of
edge. right place a few times. sugar until completely incorpo-
I also send our chefs and Seriously, that’s not false mod- rated. Slowly pour the slightly
managers out to restaurants all esty. There are hundreds of warm chocolate mixture into the
of the time, to dine and discov- people who are more talented egg/sugar mixture, making sure
er in cities all across the coun- and dedicated, I just worked not to scramble the eggs.
try, you just don’t hear from really hard early on, got a lot of Carefully incorporate the flour
them because they don’t write help from friends and associates into the chocolate/egg mixture.
about it. Though you do eat the through the years, and got a Add vanilla, nuts, salt and mix.
results of their research and few lucky breaks. Line a pan with waxed paper
development when you visit the No, I never imagined any of or parchment. Pour in the choco-
restaurants. this. I just wanted to own my late mix. Bake at 350 degrees
own restaurant, partly because I approximately 30 minutes or
9. W HAT ’ S THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL could wear whatever I wanted until an inserted toothpick
RESTAURANT ? to work. I didn’t want to wear a comes out clean.
Most of the textbooks will tell tie everyday and I wanted to be Remove from oven. Let cool
you: Location, location, loca- my own boss. Other than a deep for five minutes. Carefully flip
tion. That’s bunk. It’s: passion for restaurants and the fudge cake and finish cool-
Management, management, food, that’s about as far into it ing. Once cooled completely,
management. No question. as my thought process took me. remove waxed paper and cut into
Good management can over- I am a very lucky and blessed squares. Makes 12-14 brownies.
come a poor location, but poor guy, I try to never forget that,
40 a cc e n t s o u t h m i s s i s s i p p i