GK Q & A with Doug Blair,
Executive Chef at Cassique
at Kiawah Island Club, South
Carolina, USA.
Doug, I’m sure it’s been a
long journey, but can you
share how you became
interested in food and some
of your early experiences?
I grew up visiting my grandparent’s farm in Illinois. It was the
place where the entire family gathered for the holidays and other
special occasions. We had large gardens and many chores, which
was something I hated as a kid, but as a result, farming became
something that was ingrained in me.
In 1982, I started college at the University of Idaho. I changed my
major many times and ended up choosing communications and did
some bartending in my free time. The nightclub where I worked was
called the Mirage, and they had decided to split the property into a
nightclub on one side and an upscale dining restaurant on the other.
It was owned and run by a young kid whose family was very wealthy.
They gave him the business and flooded him with cash. It was a
high-end operation, and it was my first exposure to a chef. Being a
bartender, I walked into the kitchen all the time, and I became the
chef’s nemesis. I would just graze on his mise en place, and I became
so enamoured with the sauces and everything that he was making. I
realized then that I really enjoyed the culinary field.
I left college in my senior year before graduating and moved to
Seattle with a bunch of college buddies. I had every intention
of going to a hotel and restaurant school in Seattle with a great
culinary program. I applied everywhere for jobs, but I didn’t have a
reference for high-level cuisine experience. I was applying for jobs
at places like Sizzler! I was 20 at the time, and I was totally naïve. I
was just pounding the pavement. One thing I had learned in college
was how to create a resume and how to network, so I spent weeks
blitzing many areas of the city for employment.
One day I walked into a place called Il Terrazzo Carmine. Carmine
Smeraldo, who just passed away in 2012, was the owner. I remember
the first time I walked into the restaurant, and as the kitchen doors
opened, I could see that it was an open kitchen. I went in, and I left
my resume which had nothing on it but bartending, a dishwasher
job, and some time in a grocery store. They paid no attention to
me. I walked in at 11:30 am which is right as lunch was starting! I was
standing there at the pass, and the chef said: “Move along now; we
are busy, and you can’t stay here.”
I was so affected by the smells and the environment. From that
moment on I just couldn’t get that out of my mind. I would go
Volume 3 • Issue 39
39