Son reinvents Duke's to suit his passion for local ingredients

It's come full circle for chef Zak Dolezal.

Dolezal, 27, started his culinary career in 1998 as a busboy at Duke O'Brien's, the Irish-Southwestern tavern his parents, Mark and Pamela Dolezal, opened 16 years ago in downtown Crystal Lake.

Today he's back as chef and general manager of the reinvented Duke's Alehouse and Kitchen, serving craft beers and a menu of upscale comfort food made largely from organic, locally grown ingredients.

While Dolezal, who grew up in Libertyville, also worked at his folks' other place, Durty Nellie's in Palatine, the chef wasn't content to stick to the family business. He holds an associate degree in culinary arts from Kendall College and a bachelor's in hospitality management from Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind., and has clocked time at Le Titi de Paris in Arlington Heights, Spring and Ixcapulzalco in Chicago and Mon Ami Gabi in Oak Brook.

What led you to become a chef? I looked at other careers, architecture, for instance, but I didn't really find anything that felt right. I was working at Duke O'Brien's as a busboy, and I moved into the kitchen. And the cooks there told me, "You need to go to school for culinary arts." I had been cooking at home with my mom, but I hadn't really thought about it as a career until then.

It seemed kind of fun to go to culinary school. Then I found I was really passionate about it, and it ended up being my calling.

I went to Kendall College in Evanston for my associate degree, and I started working in the field. I felt I needed something more. I felt I didn't have the education I needed for the field I was pursuing, so I went back to school for management. I wanted to make sure I was learning as much as I could.

Why the change at Duke's? I don't want anyone to think that my parents handed me this job on a platter. My parents had an opportunity at Duke's. I just wanted to reinvent it, rejuvenate it, and basically they gave me the opportunity. It's pretty much American comfort food. You eat it and you feel better.

I really enjoy seasonal things. When farmers bring in their produce, it's kind of a surprise. When farmers bring in something, it's superior quality to something that's been in a box and traveled hundreds of miles to get to me. It just tastes better. Those ingredients are much higher quality and you can get them as they ripen. It's really about the quality and the flavor, although part of it is the ecological benefit. Being a restaurant and having so much waste, you have to consider that now more than ever.

Any surprises from the change? We concentrate on beer, but our wine sales shot up and people were asking for cocktails. I'm looking for local wines, and I've kind of taken on the cocktail side, as well, talking to the farmers about getting things for cocktails, special herbs and things.

We came up with a small cocktail list - fun takes on traditional cocktails, like an old-fashioned with Templeton rye whiskey, local honey, fresh orange and cherry, and herb infusions. It's fun and interesting.

Will you be able to stay local through the winter? As much as possible. We'll have squash and apples, and we're doing some pickling. We have Wisconsin pork. Everything comes from within 25 miles, especially in the summertime. The pork, bacon and honey is all local.

What's your culinary style? I don't really know. I try to keep things simple. I'm not into fancy presentations. I've kind of picked up influences along the way. My influences are French and Asian and Mexican. It ended up being, for Duke's, just food that I enjoy eating.

We generally pair beers with our food as well. We use it a lot in our cooking processes.

Any tips for cooking with beer? The beers vary so much - you can't really say there are general rules for it. You wouldn't use it for deglazing the way you do wine. You don't want to reduce it down too much. Beer works really well for braising and stewing. We also use a chocolate stout in our crème brûlée, substituting for some of the milk. It was a little challenging because of the foam from the beer, but we worked it out.

What do you do in your time off? I just hang out with my wife, Kelsie. We were married Oct. 4. I sometimes cook a bunch of stuff for her so she has that during the week. She's a veterinary nurse.

No hobbies? The question is always so funny. My hobby is cooking. It's always been that. Cooking at home and cooking at work are two different animals, especially cooking for two people.

Why is that? Home cooking is harder. You don't have somebody washing your dishes. You don't have available every kind of utensil. You don't have the storage.

In a commercial kitchen, when you buy something, you know you're going to use it within two days.

At home, if you want to make a pineapple salsa, you have to buy a whole pineapple at the store and then figure out what you're going to do with the rest of it. And you don't have a commercial exhaust system at home, so you can be surprised by the amount of smoke coming off of cooking.

Tell us about this dish: Roast chicken with collard greens and cornbread polenta. We use pasture-raised chicken for this. It doesn't have as much moisture as other chicken, so you get more chicken flavor out of it. We brine for 24 hours to encourage moisture retention.

Try this at home or at Duke's Alehouse and Kitchen, 110 N. Main St., Crystal Lake, (815) 356-9980, thedukeabides.com.

• To recommend a chef to be profiled, write to food@dailyherald.com.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Recipe</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=260649">Roast Chicken with Collard Greens and Cornbread Polenta <span class="date">[12/29/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>