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Thursday, March 30, 2000 By Kathleen Ganster
Many members of the Rivers Club know of executive chef Jon York's creative cooking talents. What they probably don't know is that he has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati.
His skills start to make sense once they learn York worked as a cook while in college. "I did an apprenticeship at the Maisonette Restaurant in Cincinnati. It is the longest-running, five-star-rated restaurant in the country," he said.
Although York finished his math degree, he liked cooking so much that he made it his life's work. On his route to Pittsburgh, York, originally from North Carolina, has worked at various private clubs, including both country and city clubs in Cincinnati, New York, Chicago and St. Louis. Two and a half years ago, he became the executive chef at the Rivers Club, a private club Downtown.
York, who will direct the preparation of the White House Dinner benefit on Saturday, enjoys the freedom that working at private clubs provides.
"We have a little more financial freedom for ingredients because we have the membership fee and we aren't making all of our monies from the restaurant," he said. "Don't get me wrong, we still worry about the bottom line just like everyone else, we just have a little more leeway."
Since arriving at the Rivers Club, York has tried creative new entrees at the club, but some didn't go over as well as he had hoped.
"Right now, in places like San Francisco and New York, braising meat is very popular. When I tried it here, it just didn't sell," he says. "Cheek meat is also big. It is exactly what it sounds like. I tried a veal cheek dish and again, people didn't want to touch it."
Compared to many other American cities, Pittsburgh is known as more conservative when it comes to food. Additionally, York believes that private clubs such as the Rivers Club needs to have variety in their menus, as opposed to specialty restaurants where they can focus on various foods.
"People really don't look for a specialty item at a club. They look for a variety of foods," he says.
York has just created a new menu and is featuring Prime beef in many of his dishes. He says focus is on the Prime grade of beef. "We have always had the best quality, but we are expanding our offerings," says York.
To get the beef that he wants, York goes to a distributor in Chicago. "Prime beef has intense marbling. The government actually grades meat based on the marbling, and there is a USDA (stamp) on the meat," he explained. "But aging is commonly overlooked. This is the one variable that is subject to the purveyor."
York says the best meat has been aged at least 27 days. "There is a narrow window. I think it has to be aged between 27 and 35 days. If it is too young, it tastes gamey. Too old and it tastes like liver," he says.
Before selecting a beef distributor, York visited several. He looked for just the right amount of stock -- too much means it isn't moving fast enough and not enough means it moves too fast.
"I insist that my meat be kept separately and aged for me," he says. Rivers Club members are lucky because York will start offering the meat for sale for them to cook at home. "They will be able to buy steaks and take them home to grill or whatever."
Another benefit Rivers Club members receive is that they can enroll in one of his monthly cooking classes. "I've had classes on sauces and soups, holiday cooking, sushi and hors d'oeuvres. I have also taken them to The Strip, where we bought the food, then brought it back and cooked it," he says.
The White House Dinner is another creative venue for York. The event to benefit the Life'sWork of Western PA (formerly the Vocational Rehabilitation Center) is called the White House Dinner because chef Hans F. Raffert, retired White House executive chef, created the menu.
The Rivers Club has been the dinner host for 10 years. This will be York's third year to orchestrate the event, and he will lead a group of 15 chefs in preparation.
"We use an actual menu that chef Raffert created for the White House. We stick to the complete menu, although I have updated the presentations," he says.
This year's menu comes from a state dinner that was held at the White House on Feb. 18, 1988 when President Reagan was host to the governors.
The menu: hors d'oeuvre, Maine Lobster Mousse with Medaillons, cucumber sauce and sesame leaves; entree, roast loin of veal Farci, champagne sauce, Jardiniere of vegetables, asparagus mimosa; salad, jicama and romaine lettuce, lemon/olive oil dressing, Trappist cheese; and dessert, souffle glace Rothschild and fresh strawberries.
York also selects the hors d'oeuvres. Two hundred and fifty guests are expected for this black-tie event, which costs $250 a person.
Life'sWork is Uptown near Mercy Hospital. The agency serves persons with disabilities by assisting them in entering the work force. Services include vocational counseling, work evaluation, work adjustment, job coaching, skills training, job placement, transitional employment, sheltered employment and a program that provides temporary employees for local businesses.
York's staff will have prepared the dinner at least once, and the servers will have had a few dry runs. "We try to create the White House atmosphere as much as possible so it is military style wait service. The 10 servers work in synchronized service. We have two teams of 10 that will serve that night," he says.
Although York estimates he works a 50- to 60-hour week, he tries to cook as much as he can for his wife, Gayle, and their two children, Kaitlyn, 7, and Ethan, 1.
"Chefs are away from home so much, I figure that at least when I am home, I should be cooking good meals for my family. It's hard being married to a chef," he says.
Kaitlyn likes to help her dad in the kitchen, as does his elder daughter, Samantha, 14. "She lives in Florida with her mother, but cooks when she is here for visits. I put her in a little apron and she helped me during a charity event in Cincinnati," he says.
York looks at his role of executive chef as a mentor for the younger chefs who work for him. "I think that at 35, I've reached a certain maturity in my own ability that now I can help develop the younger chefs," he says, "We have two decent cooking schools here and can get good cooks. I enjoy working with the guys and gals, hopefully impacting them in a positive way."
Kathleen Ganster is a Hampton-based free-lance writer.
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