Chef becomes a fixture at Wheeling restaurant
Nearly 30 years old, and with the still older heritage of its Chicago original behind it, Don Roth's Blackhawk in Wheeling is known for its traditions: The spinning salad bowl, the prime rib, the Boston scrod, the radio memorabilia …
Chef Emilio Hernandez is one of those traditions.
Hernandez moved to the U.S. from Mexico City in 1984. The 18-year-old got a job washing dishes at Don Roth's. He's been there ever since, working his way up the ranks as pantry chef, line cook and sous chef.
Today, he creates most of the new items on the restaurant menu, buys the seafood and cuts up the large fresh fish.
Hernandez, his wife, Maria, and their three children live in Hanover Park.
What made you become a chef? Because I like to cook since I was little and my mom taught me. I started working here and then I tried to pay attention to what the other cooks do.
What brought you to Chicago? I was just curious. I wanted to earn more money and help my family. I had some uncles here and they offered to have me live with them.
What's your culinary philosophy? I think you need to love it, to enjoy what you do. I work with the other guys -- it's like family.
What kinds of things do you like to cook most? I like to cook steaks. I like the flavor. With fish, I try to get the freshest fish I can find for the season. I want the best fresh fish -- nothing frozen. Freezing changes a little bit of the flavor. So I try to stay away from it.
Describe your typical day. When I arrive, I check the coolers and make soup. Then I put everything together and place my orders for more fish or dairy products. Then I make sure that everything is set up, see if I need to cut more steaks or fish. We cut our own meat and fish. We cut it up and we portion it. Sometimes I cook all the steaks from 4 to 8 p.m.
How do you cook most of the steaks? 75 percent of the customers order medium-rare.
How do you create new recipes? Sometimes we play around. We give it to the manager to taste, and then we go from there. I play around, use my imagination, mix up flavors.
We try to change the menu every season, but not all of it, just a few items.
What do you do in your spare time? I like to cook outside. I ride a bike around my neighborhood and walk with my kids.
Who does the cooking in your home, you or your wife? Both. But she likes me to cook, and I don't mind. As I said, you need to love what you're doing.
What do you cook at home? Sometimes my kids love pasta. With the kids, it's hard to get them to eat fish.
Do you go back to Mexico often? I try to go every other year. I wish I could go every year. Most of my family is there.
Does anything about your life in the U.S. surprise them? They don't realize how hard we work. It's long hours you have to work here compared to my country.
What's kept you at one restaurant so long? I'm happy working with the people I work with. Right here I feel at home. We try to keep it like one big family.
Tell us about this dish. Scallops with Soy-Cumin Sauce and Wild Mushroom Rice. We use this sauce for other dishes and I was playing around and thought it would go well with the scallops.
You want to make sure the scallops aren't bright. You want dry-packed. When they're bright with liquid they're soaking water to add weight. Also, there should be no smell.
Try this at home or at Don Roth's Blackhawk, 61 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling, (847) 537-5800, www.theblackhawk.com.
read in your column about the tendency of oils to go rancid. Now I notice that my bottle of fish-oil gel capsules says the bottle should be kept tightly closed. Up until now, I've been putting my day's or even week's pill allotments into a small, open container. Sounds like this might be a problem. How long do you think fish-oil capsules can be exposed to the environment and still be effective and safe?