Overseeing hotel kitchen means 'developing the people'

For some, career changing comes as a wrench, but when Louis Pignotti left road construction in the late '70s at age 29 and forged a new path in cookery, he never looked back.

After graduating from Joliet Junior College's culinary program, he began cooking at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in 1979, working his way up to executive sous chef before moving on to cook at other Hyatt hotels.

Since 1999, Pignotti has been executive chef of the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, overseeing banquets, room service and the hotel restaurants. He opened the hotel's new O'H American Grill restaurant and Red Bar lounge this spring. In between his local stints, Pignotti served as executive chef of Hyatt Regency hotels in Richmond and Crystal City, Va., and Dearborn, Mich., and was the top toque for Regency Production by Hyatt where he oversaw catering for events such as the U.S. Open and other PGA championships and the Super Bowl.

Pignotti and his wife, Nancy, live in a log-sided home in Lemont. They have two adult children.

It seems like a long road from construction work to cooking. It was. I was in road construction for seven or eight years. But my father had owned a restaurant and a lot of my family had been in food service. I had always enjoyed cooking. An opportunity came along to work in a local restaurant and I enrolled in culinary school at the same time. I thought a major hotel chain was a good opportunity. And I was right. I've stayed with Hyatt 28 years.

What sort of restaurant did your dad have? An Italian restaurant -- my father had a diner-style restaurant. He was the cook and the owner. He was the only cook. My mother and my grandmother made homemade pasta, homemade gnocchi. They rolled out the pasta by hand. They used rolling pins.

What's your job like? In a great sense, I'm a facilitator. We have over 50 cooks. I have nine sous chefs. I do menus, proposals, customizing. I spend time making sure people have what they need. The reality is that I don't spend a lot of time cooking.

I have cooks here all but four hours of the day. You need to have a good team.

What do you enjoy most about your job? I've been able to travel. I've been able to open new Hyatts. I love the creativity. I love creating something -- like these new restaurants, starting from nothing.

I also very much enjoy developing the people. I've seen people who worked for me go on to become executive chefs on their own.

Tell us about launching new restaurants. This has been one of my most challenging years. We created 70 new menu items.

Before, our restaurant kitchens were behind the scenes, now, they're front-of-the-house open kitchens. So we all had to look at the way we did things.

The cooks are really interacting with the guests. We had to realize that we're the show now. I talk a little softer now.

What did you consider when creating the menus? We've seen an increase in some of our local business, but the majority still tends to be hotel guests. We get guests from around the country. So we looked at what travelers' want, and we came up with a theme of American comfort food. Most of our customers are domestic travelers, so we thought it would have broad appeal. We thought it was something we could do well and maintain.

I'll bet you still have a steak and club sandwich. Actually, Hyatt has a corporate standard for our club. But we also have a couple of smokers. We do a barbecue buffet twice a week and a smoked prime rib buffet twice a week. Offering barbecue in a hotel's a little different. In style, we tried to stay more Chicago-style -- a thicker sauce -- but our ribs have a little bit of bite. You can't take a knife and fork to them.

What are the most significant changes you've seen in your long career? Healthy/fresh is more of a trend than it was in the past. We sell more seafood, and vegetarian items have become mainstream. Your client base is more educated, more knowledgeable.

The presentation of banquets has changed. When I started, you'd never serve a banquet for 200 people of all seafood. People don't want chicken, peas and rice anymore. We're more adventurous. Now, we sometimes do a service where people can decide on their entree when they arrive. Some times we serve groups family-style. Passing platters around the table creates a certain warmth.

Did you ever think you'd like to work outside hotels? I started my career in a freestanding restaurant. Hotels are more exciting. I'm part of the team that helps run the hotel -- you're not just serving food. We're taking care of the guests at all different levels.

There are a lot of longtime chefs with Hyatt. That's because we're happy.

What do you like to do in your spare time? I enjoy hiking. I hunt. I like to garden. I grow vegetables and flowers. I think it's good when a chef gardens because he learns what it takes to produce food and you appreciate how great fresh fruit and vegetables can be. I always have fresh herbs grown in our garden in the summertime and in our sunroom in the winter.

I hunt mostly for deer, some birds, and moose. Moose is probably one of my wife's and my favorite game meats. It's so much like beef -- you can make it any way you make beef.

Tell us about this recipe. Salmon Stuffed with Arugula and Crabmeat. We use Alaskan salmon combined with crab from the East Coast. This unique way of preparing salmon has become one of the biggest sellers in our O'H restaurant. Serve with arugula or mixed greens tossed with sweet-onion vinaigrette.

Try this at home or at O'H American Grill in the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, 9300 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont, (847) 696-1234, www.ohare.hyatt.com.

Salmon Stuffed with Arugula and Crabmeat

¼ cup diced shallots

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 ounces baby arugula

Salt and pepper to taste

1 side of salmon (about 3 pounds), skin and bones removed

½ pound back-fin crabmeat

1 cup dry white wine

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Pull a sheet of aluminum foil that is 8 inches longer than the salmon and spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Saute the diced shallots in a hot pan with the olive oil until translucent. Add arugula and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.

Butterfly the salmon down the length of the fillet, being careful not to cut all the way through; open like a book and press flat. Spread the cooled arugula mixture over the entire surface of the salmon. Gently crumble the crabmeat on top of the arugula and season with salt and pepper. Roll the salmon into a tight roll, like a jellyroll.

Place the salmon on foil sheet and roll up tightly. With a sharp knife, cut the salmon roll through the foil into 1½-inch slices; you should have 8 portions.

Place the salmon pinwheels cut-side down in a shallow casserole with the white wine and bake 20 minutes.

Serves eight.

Chef Louis Pignotti, O'H American Grill, Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Rosemont

Sweet-Onion Vinaigrette

½ pound sweet onions such as Vidalia, chopped

1½ cups salad oil, divided

¾ cup rice-wine vinegar

1½ teaspoons dry mustard

1½ teaspoons honey

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over low heat, cook the onions in ½ cup oil until soft and translucent, about 15 minutes, being careful not to brown. Let cool.

Process the onions and all the remaining ingredients together in a blender or food processor. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Shake before using.

Makes about 2½ cups.

Chef Louis Pignotti, O'H American Grill, Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Rosemont