Chef John Benjamin of Park West Tavern in Ridgewood on his favorite kitchen tool and least favorite diner requests
AUGUST 27, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2014, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, John Benjamin worked at some highly venerated restaurants, including Aureole in Manhattan and The French Laundry in California’s Napa Valley. And before he was named executive chef for the Park West Tavern this past December, the soft-spoken 45-year-old Greenwood Lake resident worked as executive chef for eight years at one of New Jersey’s most formal and acclaimed dining establishments, Restaurant Latour at the Crystal Springs Resort in Hardyston. Last month, Park West Tavern received three out of four stars from The Record.
Favorite kitchen tool: Japanese mandolin. It’s good for slicing garlic, potatoes, mushroom, onions very thin. And the Japanese one is plastic, thin and not too expensive – maybe $23. It fits in any kitchen cabinet.
Dish I’m most proud of: Right now we are offering a simple salad of watermelon, heirloom tomatoes and burrata cheese, with a spicy red-wine vinaigrette for $12. I like it ’cause it’s nice and refreshing; it’s light and cool.
What diners don’t know about chefs: The long hours they work —10 in the morning to midnight for me; the dedication we have for the craft we have; the stress.
What irks me most about diners: They want to create their own entrée. Someone will say, “I don’t want the pork in the pappardelle pasta.” But it has pork in it for a reason.
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