Repost from March 2014: At The Pass with Karen Akunowicz, Executive Chef of Myers + Chang, Boston, MA

REPOSTED FROM MARCH 2014

 I have been "at the pass" with Karen, Executive Chef at Myers + Chang, on a number of occasions.  This particular afternoon, we sat down over Japanese green and jasmine hot tea and chat about her culinary and life paths.  Karen is one of those chefs that will remain eternally humble throughout all of her successes.  She has the type of personality that draws people to her.

A favorite dish of mine at Myers + Chang:  Indonesian fried rice!

I've adored Chef Akunowicz and her extreme talent for a couple of years now, ever since attending her "Sexy Summer Salads" cooking class back in 2012.  You can read about the class, here.  Chef hosts a number of different class throughout the year.  I advise you to go to the Myers + Chang website to sign up now as they fill very quickly.  I'd suggest that you sign up for their email list to learn about classes first.  They are held the first Saturday of the month.  Three dates are usually posted.  The already sold out next classes (Mar. 1st, Apr 5th, and May 3rd) is entitled "Three Little Pigs" where Chef will "focus on the most delicious of the farm animals").  Other events are communal dining experiences for just $88 (88 is a lucky Chinese number) where you will be hosted and served by Karen and the spectacular M+C staff, family style.  The last one on the Lunar New Year, featured dishes like:

Thai style clam chowder, sesame cucumbers, Filipino eggrolls using the sous chef's mother’s recipe, stuffed pork loin with shitake mushroom and Asian pear over greens that was sliced and served at the table, long beans (almondine), which are symbolic of longevity for the new year.  Heather is paired wine and beer with all dishes.  "We love doing things to promote community", says Chef Akunowicz.

Chef Karen Akunowicz at What's Your Beef? Event 2013- BCAE.

Chef Akunowicz began her journey into the culinary world in New Jersey, our mutual home state.   She speaks of this immersion as, "not your typical story of growing up cooking with grandma".  Cooking was one many traditional chores in the Akunowicz household growing up.  "It was along the same lines as cleaning the bathroom or raking the leaves.  Cooking wasn't inherent in me then." 

She recalls a pretty funny moment after having graduated high school when, one day, her mom gave her the keys to the car (which she never did) and simply stated, "Don't come back without a job."  That day, she accepted a job as a waitress in one of our hundreds of diners in the State of New Jersey!  The only other industry to even pose as a rivalry to diners would be malls!  

Two Fun Facts: 

1. New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the diner capital of the world.
2. North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world with seven major shopping malls in a 25 sq. mile radius

Sources: http://www.50states.com/facts/newjerse.htm#.UxSscs61dSk and having been born and      raised there.

So Chef has been working in the food service industry since the tender age of 16 or 17.  She now has spent almost 20 years of her life working in the hospitality industry.

During her college years at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, she spent several summers back in Jersey working at that diner.  During college, she also spent time working at Claudia's Bakery where she began working front of the house then moved into the kitchen where she could be found doing anything from hand-washing dishes to scooping muffin batter into pans, baking cookies, or peeling onions.

After earning degrees in Social Work and Women's Studies, interviewing for jobs in her areas of study proved to be a challenge.   She then accepted a position as a cocktail waitress and worked in a variety of restaurants around Boston where she learned so much about the industry and how kitchens run.

Eventually, she considered applying for a Masters degree in Social Work and a girlfriend at the time, whom she only began cooking at home to impress, inquired, "Why are you applying to grad school when all you you talk about is what you will do when you run your own restaurant."  Karen describes this as an a-ha moment.  After having cooked, what she describes as awful food for her girlfriend at the time, think oversalted puttanesca with tons of un-rinsed olives and capers, she felt she had the drive, passion, and ambition, but looking back, not the skill set.

Chef Akunowicz, quit her job in a restaurant, applied to and matriculated through the Professional Chef's program and Cambridge Culinary School during which time she bartended at Via Matta and spent the next year honing the craft that we all enjoy today at Myers + Changs.  Via Matta is where she first met famed restaurateur Christopher Myers and the rest is solid history.

Chef Akunowicz considers her sister to be one of her greatest inspirations.  "She is a powerhouse.  One of biggest cheerleaders next to our mom.  A mother of two and a PhD.  She is my biggest inspiration and supporter."  About working with Joanne Chang and Christopher Myers, Karen says, "From day one, they have been mentors, friends, and bosses. They push me and inspire me, not only as a chef but as a human, in showing that they really see my potential and want to help me get further. These are people with their names on the door that entrust me to do things right thing everyday.  It inspires me to be that person for other people.  It’s such a gift."

Cooking show and food television are always things I am curious about when interviewing a chef.  Chef Akunowicz had a similar response to this line of questioning that most local celebrity chefs have, in that it is pure entertainment and can be misconstrued, as much of reality tv can be, as REALITY.  The downside, Chef shares, is that "Kids getting out of culinary school today truly believe that they will graduate and immediately become famous.  There are many years of working for twelve dollars per hour, if you're lucky, as a linecook."  Things are not instantaneous.  This goes for every industry.

Balancing life and love and career can be challenging for any professional man or woman.  I love the way Karen and her fiancee LJ are handling making balance work for them both.  Every Sunday, they go our to a restaurant, toast with champagne to their engagement, and get to working on the next set of plans.  Most of these Sundays are at Barbara Lynch's The Butcher Shop where the staff are fully ivested and involved in the planning.  Their band designer is Laura Preshong on Tremont Street and Karen speaks very highly of her as well.  One of he latest wedding planning faux pas was, after writing all of their invitations complete with a specially made stamp by Karen's mother, the price of stamps changed the very next day.  Karen, and imagine LJ as well, took it all in stride.  The harshest thing Karen had to say about the situation is, "I had to put tacky ass 3 cents stamps on my wedding invitation!  Only me!" 

When digging deeper on balance in life, Karen shared something so profound, I cannot NOT share it on this post:  "Balance in life is a goal.  I know it will never be perfect, but I love my career and it gives me so much joy.  People say that when you’re on your death bed, you wont worry about how many hours you've worked.  And to that I say, but I will be proud of what I’ve done.  I will know that I was successful.  Me, a girl from Kearny, New Jersey, who with the support of my loved ones, became successful in this industry."

To that, I say:  More power to you Chef!  I feel you are one of the most talented chefs I've had the pleasure of getting to know and super sweet to boot!  She gives of her time and talent and has recently been invited to represent Massachusetts in D.C for the Share Our Stregnth/No Kid Hungry campaign gala...that's just how she rolls!

Congratulations a million times to you and LJ on your May nuptials!

After our interview, Karen prepared a few newer items from the lunch menu for me at the chef's bar (my favorite spot in restaurant)!  Bring on the sexy salads!

Kale and shaved persimmon salad with semi-firm tofu, shaved fennel, with Korean chili vinaigrette

The kale salad was an amazing combination of flavors.  The base being the hearty kale adding texture and intense flavor combined with the sweet, acidity of the persimmons adding its own tender, fibrous textures.  Given, the Korean chili vinaigrette and smooth, rich tofu cubes, this salad transports me into the middle of August with a chilly yuzu-based cocktail in hand, basking in the sun.

Another beautiful salad du jour:  The roasted Brussels sprouts sweet and sour dish.  Beautiful, tiny heads of Brussels sprouts are tossed in a tangy sweet and sour sauce with pickled onion for acidity and black sesame seeds adding lovely texture to each bite.

Sweet and sour Brussels sprouts

My final tasting before running off to work myself was a smoky, wok-prepped kimchee quinoa bokkeumbap, a Korean dish typically served with rice.  Karen's was tossed with Brussels sprouts, Bulgoki beef, pistachio nuts, and edamame.

Kimchee bokkeumbap

 Head over to Myers + Chang and sample some of the goods.

Thanks to Chef Karen Akunowicz for her time and sharing her talent with us all!

Disclosure:  This meal was provided at no cost.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.