The heat of a stove and the sizzle of a grill scare most little kids away from the kitchen. John Conway was the opposite.
“My first memories are cooking with my mom and grandmother,” says Conway. “I was frying chicken at a very early age.”
And while other kids were busy watching cartoons on Saturday mornings, Conway preferred Emeril Live.
“It was in high school when I decided I wanted to pursue a career in the restaurant industry and be a chef,” Conway says. “I was in college and realized I needed some ‘hands-on learning,’ so I dropped out and got a dishwashing and prep job.”
Six months later, he was working as a line cook, and “you could say I’ve been hooked ever since,” he says.
The Hutch, located in Nichols Hills, is where you’ll find Conway today.
“I got involved with The Hutch about three years ago,” he shares. A friend of a friend needed a chef at his restaurant and Conway fit the bill perfectly.
“I had not realized what exactly was going on until I was interviewing with Kurt,” says Conway. The Kurt he mentions is Kurt Fleischfresser, a culinary icon in Oklahoma City who runs Western Concepts Restaurant Group, which harbors joints including Sushi Neko, The Tasting Room and Musashi’s. A major influence and mentor for Conway, Fleischfresser has played a role in his cooking education for a long time.
“He has been mentoring me since before he was mentoring me,” Conway says. “Kurt has probably been the most impactful and influential chef in our city’s current food scene. I have worked for and with some of his former apprentices over the years, and these chefs have passed down the knowledge. Right from the beginning, working with Kurt was a great fit, as I was already quite familiar with his expectations.”
At The Hutch, Conway presents diners with upscale regional cuisine with deep French influence.
“We cook from scratch and source local ingredients for a lot of components,” says Conway. “I get the opportunity to have full creative freedom with weekly lunch, brunch and dinner specials.”
When it comes to a favorite meal to make for patrons, Conway can’t pick just one – it’s more about the art of cooking in general.
“I would say my favorite thing to cook is actually just the opportunity to do it, to create,” he says.
Never one to sit still, Conway has some other things cooking besides just food.
“On the horizon, I have a few big ideas for concepts I think would do well,” he muses. “To be a chef owner/operator is the end game. Having a small group with a handful of concepts.”
And in his downtime, you’ll still find Conway in the kitchen.
“At home, I enjoy making sourdoughs and pastries with my daughters,” he says. “They love bread and love to help.”
Keeping his skills sharp, after all, is all part of the job.
“I try to cook at home often. Professional athletes don’t become pro to then just stop practicing, working out, or exercising,” he says. “Why should I?”
Chef Conway’s Grilled Red Snapper
With celeriac puree, roasted endive, French green bean and smoked bacon with a red wine reduction
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2-6 oz. filet red snapper (skin-on)
Season both sides of fish. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper, or your favorite seasoning blend.
1 small head of celeriac
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tsp. lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to finish
5 oz french green beans – trim, quick blanch and shock
2 slice of bacon – boil and dice
1 peeled garlic clove, minced
½ peeled shallot, minced
2 tsp. brown sugar
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ teaspoon of sherry or red wine vinegar
2 heads of endive halved lengthwise
Drizzle olive oil and season with salt and pepper
1 shallot, chopped
1 head of garlic, halved
Some fresh thyme and rosemary
8 oz. red wine
8 oz. beef stock
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. brown sugar
Salt and pepper to finish
Process:
Start by gathering and pre prepping all ingredients and grouping them together.
Prep red wine reduction first ahead of time. It will need some extra time to reduce.
For the red wine reduction:
In a sauce pan over medium heat, sweat 1 shallot and head of garlic.
Add tomato paste, brown sugar and aromatics.
Deglaze pan with red wine and boil until wine is nearly gone.
Add beef stock, return to boil.
Strain the sauce.
Return to med-low heat and continue to simmer until thickened.
Season with salt and pepper to finish. You can also stir in a tablespoon of cold butter at the end.
For the celeriac puree:
Peel and dice celeriac, place in sauce pan, cover with water add a pinch of salt.
Simmer until tender.
Strain and place in food processor or blender.
While blending add lemon juice and cream. blend until smooth creamy texture. Season with salt and pepper.
Blanch and shock green beans and boil/dice bacon.
To plate:
Heat celeriac puree and red wine reduction. Grill fish on a hot grill skin side down over heat, for 2-3 minutes.
Flip and move to top rack of the grille and finish. Internal temp 145 F.
Or saute in hot pan with butter skin side down for 2-3 minutes flip and finish in preheated oven ~450F for 4-5 minutes.
Add seasoned endive at this time and cook in oven with fish. Or cook on grill with fish until lightly caramelized.
Rest fish for a few minutes
In a hot saute pan add butter green beans bacon minced garlic and shallot. Saute for a couple minutes,
the beans are still slightly crisp and fresh. Add brown sugar vinegar and stir. Season with salt and pepper to finish.
Spread 2-3 fl oz of celeriac purree off-centered on plate.
Plate green beans and bacon centered next to celeriac puree. Half the beans and bacon per plate.
Place fish skin side up partially over green beans and celeriac.
Add two halves Endive next to fish and green beans, as vertical as possible.
Drizzle .5-1 fl oz of red wine reduction diagonally across fish.
A small micro green garnish would be a nice touch. Bon Appetit!
