Chef Profile: Mark Peel
Age:
47
Job
Title; Place of Employment: Executive chef/owner Campanile
restaurant, Los Angeles.
Education:
I went to four different colleges: California State University at
Sacramento, University of California at Santa Barbara and California
Polytechnic State University in Pomona — where I participated in a
business program with an emphasis in hotel-and-restaurant management
— and University of California at Davis. I never graduated from any
of them.
Professional
Background: Apprentice to Wolfgang Puck, Ma Maison restaurant,
Los Angeles; sous chef, Michael’s Restaurant, Santa Monica, Calif.;
chef de cuisine, Spago, Los Angeles; chef, Maxwell’s Plum, New York
City; opened La Brea Bakery and Campanile in 1989
When did you decide to become a chef?
While I was in school at the University of California at Santa Barbara,
I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I took a lot of different classes.
I worked the graveyard shift at a coffeeshop and worked at a steakhouse,
but I decided I didn’t want to work at coffeeshop and steakhouses
my whole life. Then I moved to Los Angeles, where I got involved in
the Cal-Poly program. . . . I got a list of the top four restaurants
in L.A. and called all of them, and that’s how I managed to get an
apprenticeship with Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison. I started working
there and really enjoyed it. I love learning new stuff.
What
was your first job in the industry?
At 17, I was a dishwasher at Healdsburg House in Healdsburg, Calif.,
about 12 miles north of Santa Rosa. It’s a simple dinner house. I
ended up helping the chef cut up chicken and clean sweetbreads.
Did
you have a mentor? If so, who and what did he/she teach you?
Definitely Wolfgang Puck. He taught me how important consistency is
— that consistency is high quality all of the time, not some of the
time. He always said, ‘It’s just as easy to make good food as bad
[food], so why not make good food? The trick is knowing the difference.’
He also taught me that it’s important to treat everyone with respect
— not just clientele, but staff, too.
Describe
a typical workday.
I go to the wholesale fish market three times a week in the morning
and the farmer’s market two times a week. Then I go into the office
and pick up any messages, answer my e-mail and check in on the kitchen.
We change the dinner menu every day. At about 2 p.m. I start to work
on the dinner menu, which is all firmed up by 3:30 p.m. I cook from
3:30 until about 11 p.m. I cook every night except Thursday and Sunday.
I cook the special family menu on Mondays and a tasting menu on Wednesdays.
What
is the most rewarding part of being a chef?
Seeing people with talent and energy grow and become accomplished
chefs. That’s all part of teaching. Also, the physical act of cooking
on a busy night — knowing that it’s coming out the way it’s supposed
to and knowing that it’s the best I can do.
What
is your favorite thing to cook, and why?
I like everything. It depends on what I’m cooking at the moment.
What
qualities do you look for when you hire employees?
Where they worked and their longevity. If someone’s been to six places
in two years, that’s not a good sign. I also look for intelligence,
energy and apparent dedication.
What
advice would you give aspiring chefs?
Work at the best restaurants, no matter what the position or the money.
If you have the talent, interest and energy, you’ll learn and you’ll
rise.
Back
to profiles
